National Museums Scotland: What’s On

National Museums Scotland listings to 31 December

Festive Fun at the National Museum of Rural Life

National Museum of Rural Life
Wester Kittochside, Philipshill Road, East Kilbride, G76 9HR
Open daily 10:00-17:00

Willow Star Workshop with Anna Cross
26 Nov 2021
10:15–12:45, 14:00–16:30
£35, suitable for adults (age 16+)

Kick off the festive season by weaving a spectacular willow star with artist Anna Cross. In these half-day workshops for adults, both beginners and seasoned crafters alike will learn how to create their own beautiful decoration. A stylish alternative to traditional Christmas wreaths, you’ll want to display your large willow star year after year.

Book now: nms.ac.uk/exhibitions-events

Children’s Workshop: Make a Willow Decoration
Sat 27 Nov
14:30–16:00
£10 per child, suitable for ages 10+
Advanced booking is essential

Keen to learn more about the art of willow weaving? Then book a place on this 1.5 hour-long workshop with willow artist Anna Cross, suitable for children age 10+ with an accompanying adult. Anna will show you how to weave and decorate your very own willow star decoration to take home, perfect for hanging in your room or on the Christmas tree.

Visit: nms.as.uk/exhibitions-events

Festive Family Crafts
27 Nov – 28 Nov 2021
Sat: 10:30 – 16:00
Sun: 10:30 – 15:30
Free with pre-booked museum admission

Festive family activities across the weekend, from drop-in craft sessions to a children’s willow weaving workshop with Anna Cross, the artist who created our Willow Sculpture Trail.

Our family programming is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery

Visit: nms.as.uk/exhibitions-events

Clyde’s Winter Trail
27 Nov 2021 – 9 Jan 2022
10:00 – 17:00
Free with pre-booked museum admission

Spot the festive scenes that Clyde, the Clydesdale horse, and his friends have been creating around the museum as they get ready for the festive season.

Our family programming is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery

Visit: nms.as.uk/exhibitions-events

Exhibitions & Displays

National Museum of Scotland

Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
Open 10:00–17:00 daily

Audubon’s Birds of America
12 Feb – 8 May 2022
Exhibition Gallery 1, Level 3
Ticketed

This new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland will examine the artistry and legacy of one of the world’s rarest, most coveted and biggest books.

Published as a series between 1827 and 1838, Birds of America by John James Audubon (1785-1851) was a landmark work which achieved international renown due to the epic scale of the project and the book’s spectacular, life-sized ornithological illustrations.

Audubon’s Birds of America (12 February – 8 May 2022) will showcase 46 unbound prints from National Museums Scotland’s collection, most of which have never been on display before, as well as a rare bound volume of the book, on loan from the Mitchell Library. This exhibition is a unique opportunity to see so much of Audubon’s work in one place.
Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery

Visit: nms.ac.uk/Audubon

The Typewriter Revolution

24 Jul 2021–17 Apr 2022
10:00–16:30
Exhibition Gallery 2, Level 3
Free entry

The typewriter’s social and technological influence is revealed in this new exhibition and looks at its role in society, arts, and popular culture. It traces the effect and evolution of typewriters across more than 100 years, from weighty early machines to modern style icons.

The impact of the typewriter has been much wider than simply speeding up the way we write. It helped revolutionise the world of work and change the lives of working women in particular. Typewriters helped them launch their own businesses at a time when female employers were rare and became a vital weapon in the fight for the vote.

Visit nms.ac.uk/Typewriters

Scotland’s Climate Challenge

24 Sep 2021 – 27 Mar 2022
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
Exhibition Gallery 3, Level 1
Free display

This small exhibition highlights the exciting work being carried out in Scotland to fight against climate change. It brings together just some of the technological responses that have been developed in Scotland or that are being used here in the effort to cut carbon dioxide emissions. On show are a range of leading-edge equipment, much of it newly collected, alongside samples of natural material.
Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Visit nms.ac.uk/ClimateChallenge

Extinction Bell

24 Sep 2021 – 9 Jan 2022
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
The Grand Gallery, Level 1
Free display

The Extinction Bell is a work by Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram that aims to raise awareness of biodiversity loss. A fire engine bell from National Museums Scotland’s collection has been adapted to toll at random intervals 150-200 times per day. Each ring of the bell symbolises the extinction of a species, representing the number being lost every 24 hours (according to a 2007 report from the UN).

Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Visit nms.ac.uk/ExtinctionBell

Inspiring Walter Scott

6 Aug 2021 – 9 Jan 2022
Exhibition Gallery 4, Level 1
Free entry

On the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott’s birth, experience his novels through objects that inspired him. In this small exhibition we show how Scott drew upon real historical objects for inspiration, placing objects alongside Scott’s words, and the stories in which they feature. While you view these fascinating objects, you can listen to an actor reading extracts from these tales.

In association with Walter Scott 250: Celebrating 250 Years of Scotland’s Greatest Storyteller.

Visit nms.ac.uk/walterscottexhibition

Events

Online

NEW Costume Conversations
22 Nov 2021, 17:00
Free Instagram live, follow @nationalmuseumsscotland

Join the final instalment of our Instagram Live series exploring how one object can tell multiple stories.
In Costume Conversations our expert panel will explore how clothes tell stories on stage and screen. We’re asking the big questions about costume interpretation to find out just what’s involved in fashioning the past in the present.

View nms.ac.uk/CostumeConversations

Celebrating Black Fashion

26 Nov 2021
19:30—20:15
Watch online
Free, with option to add a donation

Join model and broadcaster Eunice Olumide as she shares her experience of a transforming industry with museum curator Georgina Ripley. Eunice and Georgina will also discuss Eunice’s recent book How To Get Into Fashion, focussing on creativity, diversity, and wellbeing.

This event will be followed by a live Q&A chaired by Mal Burkinshaw, Head of the School of Design at Edinburgh College of Art.

Part of Black History Month 2021.

Book now nms.ac.uk/CelebratingBlackFashion

For booking, opening times and location details, contact National Museums Scotland on 0300 123 6789

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National Museums Scotland: What’s On

National Museums Scotland listings to 31 December

Published by

davepickering