Visiting Scotland?

National Museums Scotland has four museums in and around Edinburgh with something for everyone

The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is a world class museum and Scotland’s most popular visitor attraction. The museum takes visitors on a journey through Scotland’s history and the wonders of the natural world, explores diverse civilisations and game-changing scientific breakthroughs, and introduces visitors to exquisite art, design and fashion from across the centuries. The museum has a vast array of interactive games and thought-provoking displays, which provide something for wee ones to adults to discover and enjoy, along with daily free tours and events for adults and families to get involved with.

The museum is perfectly designed for families to enjoy, featuring a vast array of interactive games and thought-provoking displays which provide something for wee ones to adults to discover. The museum hosts numerous daily free tours and events which can be found via the Exhibitions & Events guide.

For those unable to visit, there is a great range of online games for children, and artefact information for adults, to enjoy through Explore.

The National Museum of Flight is one of the most significant aviation museums in Europe and the best preserved WWII airfield in the United Kingdom. Based at East Fortune, it is home to an outstanding collection of aircraft including Scotland’s only Concorde and the oldest surviving Hawker Siddeley Harrier jump jet. The museum is also home to Scotland’s Annual Airshow, which usually takes place in late July and is a wonderful family event, including breathtaking aerial displays, fairground rides and an opportunity to meet the pilots.

Outside at the National Museum of Flight

Above: Aircraft and young visitors at the National Museum of Flight.

Within the walls of the iconic Edinburgh Castle, the National War Museum tells the story of Scots in battles lost and won over the last 400 years, through the military artefacts and personal treasures that have been left behind.

Sporrans on display in the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle.

Above: Military sporrans on display in the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle.

The National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride combines a modern museum, a Georgian farmhouse and a working farm, and is a great day out for kids of all ages. The farm’s prize-winning livestock include Ayrshire cows, Tamworth pigs and Clydesdale horses.

The farmhouse at the National Museum of Rural Life

Above: The farmhouse at the National Museum of Rural Life, with Mhairi the Clydesdale.

National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh is home to millions of objects in the national collections not currently on public display. It provides a platform for digitisation, cutting-edge collections science, interdisciplinary study and advanced teaching as well as specialist training for people from Scotland and around the world. This centre is closed to the general public however tours do occur monthly, with advanced booking recommended.

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