Everything you ever wanted to know about Scotland can be discovered at this palace of wonders, housed within two radically different buildings that stand side by side. The grand 19th-century gallery is complemented by a contemporary new wing that has become one of Edinburgh’s most striking modern buildings.
Old Wing
In the older of these two buildings, human, scientific and natural marvels are brought to life in zones that highlight world cultures, evolution and the natural world, design and fashion, technology and the remarkable exploits of Scottish inventors, engineers and scientists through the ages. Look out for grotesque masks, elaborate costumes and remarkable sculptures from Asia, Africa and South America on Level 3 and Level 4, and don’t miss the late Dolly the Sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal.
New Wing
The modern sandstone wing has been heralded as one of the most important constructs in postwar Scotland, and its exhibits are dedicated to the story of the country and its people .Begin your journey through the centuries with the prehistoric relics on the basement Level 0 and ascend floor by floor to the 21st century, on Level 6. Pause to admire exhibits including Pictish symbol stones with their mysterious carvings, the elaborately carved walrus-ivory Lewis Chessmen, carved by Viking craftsmen in the 12th century, Highland silver and weaponry, and the fearsome Maiden, a 16th-century ancestor of the guillotine.
t Grand Gallery, designed by Captain Francis Fowke and completed in 1888
Experience Edinburgh
t Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell in 1996
Unmissable Exhibits
Early People
These massive humanoid figures by sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi display delicate ornaments that demonstrate the skills of Iron Age Celtic goldsmiths.
Viking Grave
This stone tomb chamber from Orkney contains the skeleton of a Viking chief, buried with his most prized possessions.
Arthur’s Seat Coffins
Found on Arthur’s Seat in 1836, these tiny coffins and the individually dressed figures that they contain are the museum’s most mysterious exhibit.
Tyrannosaurus Rex
The 12-metre skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex with its fang-filled gaping jaws dominates the grand multi-level atrium of the Animal World gallery, dwarfing the other animal exhibits.
Moby The Whale
This skull is from a 12-m (40-ft) sperm whale that swam up the River Forth in 1997. Efforts to send him back out to sea failed, and he died after beaching on the foreshore at Airth.