2018-04 - National Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh)

The National Museum of Scotland is housed in a beautiful building just a block away from the Royal Mile. There is so much to see and learn about here! From Dolly the sheep to a human-sized guinea pig wheel to endless stuff animals and an entire wing devoted to Scotland's history. One of the best ways to sample a bit of everything and get a brief layout of the museum is to take one of the free, docent led tours. The guide took us around to at least one important piece per collection.

Feast bowl from the Cook Islands

The Grand Gallery: this is the large, open space in the middle of the museum. It is roofed with glass, letting the sunlight warm the area. There are several larger pieces in this gallery; but, mostly, it's just for walking through and enjoying the scenery. Some interesting pieces that we saw in the gallery included part of an atom accelerator (used between 1950-1972), the skull of a sperm whale and a feast bowl from the Cook Islands.

Millenium Clock

In a side room just off the Grand Gallery is the Millenium Clock. It is a collaboration of a glass artist, a clockmaker, a furniture maker, a kinetic sculptor and an illustrator. It rings every hour from 11 am until 4 pm. We caught the Millenium Clock just in time to see it in action. While it plays a song, it is more of a cacophony of movement, bells and clangs. Highly recommend catching it on the hour.

Stegosaurus

Natural World Galleries: at the far end of the Grand Gallery is the entrance to the Natural World galleries. We entered and stopped in front of a skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Interestingly, this skeleton, discovered in Montana, is one of the most complete ever found. Above us, there was a large array of sea animals (and a hippo) hanging from the ceiling and appearing to swim through the air. On the ground level, we walked past a plethora of beautiful taxidermi animals, including a giraffe whose head stretch up to the balcony on the level above.

Dolly the sheep! First cloned sheep

On the second level, there were more stuffed animals as well as information on endangered species and poaching around the world. In fact, there is a big sign in front of the rhino stating that the horn is a replica. Rhino horns are worth more than their weight in gold. There is also a skeleton of a Stegosaurus on this level. The placard next to it speculated that it could turn it's skin red by pumping blood into the vertical plates on its back.

Trying out the human sized hamster wheel

Science and Technology Galleries: these galleries are at the other end of the Grand Gallery. In here, we saw a spinning, stuffed Dolly the sheep (the very first cloned sheep)! All the floors in this section are packed full with interesting information. Plus, there are lots of hands on exhibits. I tried running in the human-sized guinea pig wheel (tougher than it looks). We could create different waves, have a robot spell our name, and many other hands on activities. Plus, there were so many interesting exhibits, including planes hanging down from the center of the gallery, information on a Japanese scientist's invention of a fire alarm for deaf people (it sprays a scent like wasabi), many bicycles, and part of the CERN particle collider!  These galleries were so much fun. Easy to lose track here and quickly spend hours checking everything out.

Pre-historic artifacts in sculpture cases

Scottish History and Archaeology Galleries: past the Science and Technology Galleries, we arrived at an entire wing dedicated to Scotland. There is so much history here! By going down into the "dungeon" area, there are pre-historic jewelry collections displayed in sculptures that are artworks themselves. Going into the following gallery on this -1 level opens up to endless ancient artifacts meticulously cataloged and displayed. It becomes a bit overwhelming!

Lewis chessman

On the main floor of the Scottish History Gallery, our docent led us to the Lewis chessmen, part of four complete sets carried by Vikings to Scotland. Our docent showed us how to pick out the king, the queen, and the "berserker", a soldier biting his shield who would get all crazed and drugged up (go berserk) and lead the army into battle. The other pieces of interest that our docent pointed out on this floor were a replica of the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a chest that was used to send a quarter of the Scotland government's money to the New World as a failed attempt to become part of the slave trade.

Chest used to transport 1/4 of the Scottish government's wealth to the New World

Above this level are two more levels of more recent Scottish history. We had to at least check out the floor above to figure out when Scotland became part of England (1707, due to losing so much money from attempting to become part of the slave trade). The floor above that had more homewares and furniture from the Victorian age (think 1800s).

Roof Terrace: a get way to end your tour of the museum, or just give your brain a rest for a few moments, the roof terrace above the Scottish History Galleries gives a splendid view of Edinburgh.