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Blog post
Time travelling at National Museums Scotland
As the clocks change back to Greenwich Mean Time and days shorten towards Winter Solstice, the sensation of passing time seems more acute than ever. A few days ago I visited our National Museums Collection Centre at Granton in North Edinburgh where time's disorientating effects are set out in concrete...Breward, Christopher
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‘Woman’s dress of dark blue cotton, Ukraine, c.1880’: the complex reality behind a simple description
Alongside the human cost of conflict, the nihilistic destruction of centuries of historic heritage in Ukraine has provoked alarm, outrage and offers of support across the international museum sector. At the outset of hostilities, we looked to provide practical support where we could. For example, in the supply of wooden...Breward, Christopher
Dress , Russia , Ukraine, Embroidery , and Textiles
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Visiting the ancient dead: Pictish reuse of a Bronze Age grave at Golspie, Highland
This blog is from a series produced as part of the AHRC funded Boundary Objects Project , a partnership between Historic Environment Scotland , National Museums Scotland and the Universities of Manchester and Reading. We often think of the graves of the dead lying undisturbed and untouched until they are...Knight, Matthew G ; Maldonado, Adrián
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Blog post
The Majestic and the Mundane the material culture of coronations
With the approaching coronation of King Charles III, Georgia Vullinghs, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary History, has been looking at our collections of coronation material. From batons of ceremony and containers for holy oils, to souvenir cups, handkerchiefs, and biscuit tins, this range of material performs an important function...Vullinghs, Georgia
Coronation, Royal History , Scottish History, Politics, and Collections
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Blog post
The Black Watch at National Museum of Scotland
Rosie Waine is the William Grant Foundation Research Fellow at the National Museum of Scotland. Here she writes how the Black Watch Museum & Castle collection contributed to the exhibition she has curated called Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland. -
Blog post
Doctor Zoo: the real-world taxonomy behind Doctor Who's monsters and aliens
Mark Gatiss, in his narration for the Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder exhibition, astutely observes that the show is rooted in science. This is evident in its portrayal of alien life, including both monstrous creatures and humanoid allies. Dr. Vladimir Blagoderov, Principal Curator of Invertebrates, explores the expansive legendarium of...Blagoderov, Vladimir
Natural Sciences, Doctor Who Worlds Of Wonder , Invertebrate Biology , and Biology
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Blog post
Winnie Drinkwater: the pioneering Scottish woman aviator
Scotswoman Winnie Drinkwater was not only the world’s first woman airline pilot but was also Scotland’s first woman to be a licensed aircraft engineer. Her achievements in the fledging aviation industry are even more remarkable since she made important inroads in a field with very few women. On the 100th...Brown, Ian
Aviation , Aviation History , and Civil Aviation
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Blog post
Inspiring Women: Helen Monro Turner
Helen Monro Turner (1901 – 1977) was a hugely influential Scottish glass engraver, designer, educator, and illustrator, as well as a highly respected role model for women pursuing careers as glass artists, designers, and makers. Her prominence in 20th century British glass made important inroads in a field which, until...Rothwell, Sarah
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Blog post
Objects in Place: the Eynhallow Sound, Orkney
Stone steps washed with waves and selkie songs glitter in the late summer gloaming. Roaring tides sweep in from all sides to batter the shore with ageless determination, steadily devouring the remnants of cairn-raisers, Picts, Norse, and crofters with equal indifference. The west wind catches a string of hanging seashells...Weinczok, David C
Orkney , Vikings, Objects In Place , Neolithic , Iron Age , and Archaeology
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Blog post
Collecting a New Past
Museums have long been interested in collecting material culture of the present. Objects that demonstrate the design, technological, natural, and social stories and changes of today. More recently, ‘contemporary collecting’ has been given renewed attention as a specific approach to building museum collections. Georgia Vullinghs, Curator of Modern and Contemporary...Vullinghs, Georgia
Collections , Community Engagement, Contemporary Collecting, and Conservation
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Blog post
Period products for a 21st century Scotland
Tampons, pads, and menstrual cups are everyday objects used by many though rarely considered noteworthy. But what can a group of period products say about the social and environmental concerns of Scotland today? Georgia Vullinghs, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary History, discusses some recent acquisitions relating to the campaign...Vullinghs, Georgia
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Blog post
Entangled Knowledges: Sharing collections in Albany
Since 2021 Ali and Andrew have been participating in a project which aims to highlight Menang Nyungar knowledge embedded in a historical collection of fishes and cultural objects and return this knowledge to the Menang community in Western Australia. Here they tell us about this collection, their recent visit to...Clark, Ali ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Research, Collections , Fish , and Colonial Histories And Legacies
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Blog post
Riddle me a creepie and a cruik: Scots words for household objects
Many of our objects speak to the rich heritage of the Scots language. Whether you came to see our ‘flauchters’ or were ‘conflummixt’ by our collection of ‘creepies’ or ‘crusies’, many of these object names have a beguiling origin and unexpected uses far removed from their original purpose. In this...Taylor, Oliver
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Blog post
First British record of the short-finned pilot whale
What is the difference between the long-finned and the short-finned pilot whale? Andrew Kitchener explains how the examination of the skull of a stranded whale revealed the true identity of the species and the most northerly stranding of a short-finned pilot whale in the northeast Atlantic.Kitchener, Andrew C
Britain , Stranding , Whales, Short-Finned Pilot Whale, Pilot Whale , and Whale
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Blog post
Objects in Place: The Eildon Hills, Scottish Borders
The might of the Roman Empire is often likened to a shadow looming over the peoples along its ever-expanding frontiers. Yet, there is one place where this metaphor is inverted. As the winter sun sets behind the three peaks of the Eildon Hills in the Scottish Borders, it is the...Weinczok, David C
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Blog post
The Jenners Archive: your ultimate guide to unrationed chic
The Second World War was a time of clothes rationing. We hold the Jenners Archive in the museum’s library which documents the clothes that were available. Library Assistant Linden Williamson delves into the archive to guide us through the fashion trends of the day through the eyes of a housewife... -
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Confronting 200 years of Egyptological histories and legacies
2022 is a landmark year in Egyptology. It’s been 200 years since the decipherment of hieroglyphs, which unlocked access to written sources from ancient Egypt, and 100 years since the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, whose splendour further fuelled global Egyptomania. Many have celebrated these milestones, but it is...Maitland, Margaret
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Blog post
Weather at the Museum
COP27 is currently underway in Egypt, with various nations working to tackle the global challenge of climate change. In this post, our Principal Curator of Science Rebekah Higgitt showcases our historical weather recording instruments, how they were used and what they can tell us about the changing climate.Higgitt, Rebekah
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Blog post
Collecting Stories: How objects came into collections
Our new Collecting Stories gallery at the National Museum of Scotland looks the development of the National Collection and explores how and why we have acquired objects over two centuries and continue to do so today. John Giblin, Keeper of Global Arts, Cultures and Design, tells us more.Giblin, John
Black History Month , National Museum Of Scotland, Galleries , Colonial Histories And Legacies , and Collecting Stories
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Blog post
Objects in Place: Kilmartin Glen, Argyll
Every part of Scotland is historic, with stories for the telling. Whether rural or urban, landscapes and communities are the ultimate source of the objects we collect and display. Yet, it is easy to be so preoccupied with the objects themselves that we lose sight of where those objects were...Weinczok, David C
Scottish History, Bronze Age, Archaeology , Early Medieval Scotland , and Prehistory
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