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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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Conservation and conversation: What can a National Museum do about a global emergency?
The global environmental emergency – not only the climate crisis but also large-scale biodiversity loss – is the biggest challenge facing the world. With COP26 just days away, our Director, Chris Breward, reflects on the role we have to play, from understanding the past to improving our future.Breward, Christopher
Climate , Climate Change, Museums , and Sustainability
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Blog post
‘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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Inspiring body, mind and spirit
It’s been over two months since I wrote my last blog post and once again our museums are closed, but we look forward to re-opening and a life beyond lockdown.Breward, Christopher
LGBT History Month , Digital Media , Sculpture, LGBTQIA+, and Art And Design
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Forewarned is forearmed: inside the hidden world of the Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps were a group of appointed civilians who manned bunkers across the country during the Cold War in case of nuclear attack. Luckily this never came to pass, and on the 30th anniversary of their stand down, Sarah Harper looks back at their important work.Harper, Sarah
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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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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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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. -
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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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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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“It’s good I’m Scottish!”: Scots and Scotland in the Doctor Who universe
The Scottish run of Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder feels, if you’ll excuse the pun, very timely. Only a few weeks prior to the launch of the exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, we witnessed the sensational return of David Tennant as The Doctor. Then came the news that...Smith, David
Scottish connections, Exhibition, and Doctor Who Worlds Of Wonder
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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...