National Museum of Scotland
Scottish history, world cultures, science and nature under one roof.
The National Museum of Scotland occupies two linked buildings on Chambers Street in Edinburgh's Old Town. The older of the two opened in 1866 as the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, with a Venetian Renaissance-style facade and a soaring cast-iron hall. Next door is the Museum of Scotland building, opened in 1998 with a sandstone design full of nods to Scottish brochs and castles. The two were brought together as a single museum in 2006, and entry is free.
The collections cover the whole story of Scotland from its geology and earliest settlers onwards, alongside world cultures, natural history, science, technology, art and design. A three-year project restored the Victorian building and it reopened in 2011 with sixteen new galleries, putting thousands of objects on show for the first time. Among its best-known exhibits is Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, and in 2025 it was Scotland's most visited attraction.
Highlights
- The light-filled Victorian Grand Gallery
- Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal
- The Lewis chessmen and Scotland's early history galleries
- The Millennium Clock and the rooftop terrace with castle views
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