Exhibitions & displays
National Museum of Scotland
Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
Open 10:00–17:00 daily
Beyond the Little Black Dress
Until 29 Oct 2023
Special Exhibition Gallery, Level 3
Ticketed (concessions available)
From design classics to cutting-edge catwalk creations, this exhibition deconstructs the little black dress and examines the radical power of the colour black in fashion. The exhibition will chart a century of fashion in a series of themed, immersive displays.
Iconic early pieces by Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and Jean Muir will be juxtaposed with recent looks by ground-breaking contemporary designers and brands like Gareth Pugh, Simone Rocha and Off-White.
Find out more nms.ac.uk/Beyond-the-Little-Black-Dress
Rising Tide: Art and Environment in Oceania
12 Aug 2023 – 14 Apr 2024
Exhibition Gallery 2, Level 3
Free
Delve into the most important and pressing issue of our time, humanity’s damaging relationship with planet Earth. This urgent issue is felt especially deeply in Australia and the Pacific Islands where sea levels are rising due to climate change and the oceans are filling with plastic. Rising Tide considers our relationship to the natural environment through contemporary artistic responses to climate change and plastic waste by Indigenous Australian and Pacific Islander artists.
Find out more nms.ac.uk/Rising-Tide
Japanese Contemporary Design
Until 30 Jul 2023
Exhibition Gallery 3, Level 1
Free entry
From striking statement jewellery to prints and porcelain vases, this new free display considers how Japanese contemporary makers have combined innovative and traditional art, craft and design elements over the past five decades.
The star object is Hitomi Hosono’s A Large Pine Tree Pool, a sculptural porcelain bowl with complex hand-carving made and acquired in 2019. Further highlights include Junko Mori’s intricate New Pinecone Silver Organism, and colourful body adornments by jeweller Suō Emiko’s adapted from metalworking and engraving techniques traditionally used in the making of Japanese sword fittings.
Find out more nms.ac.uk/Japanese-Contemporary-Design
Events
National Museum of Scotland
Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
Open 10:00–17:00 daily
Experts Radio Lab
8 Aug – 24 Aug
Various days and times
Hawthornden Court
Free, drop in
Experts Radio Lab and the accompanying Listening Station is a free, drop-in experience, set within our pop-up radio studio at the National Museum of Scotland. Interviews are shared live to an audience of fellow interviewees, their families and anyone who’s curious. Share your expertise with us or come along and learn from the masters! You never know what you’ll learn. A production by Alice Mary Cooper and Company.
Find out more nms.ac.uk/experts-radio-lab
Museum Late: Fringe Fridays
11 Aug & 18 Aug
19:30 – 22:30
£16 – £22
Fringe Fridays are back! Enjoy a unique flavour of the Fringe and explore the museum after hours. From comedy and cabaret to music and magic, handpicked performers will showcase highlights from their acts across two adults-only extravaganzas, alongside bars and entry to our summer exhibition, Beyond the Little Black Dress. Acts across the two nights include the Black Blues Brothers, Sunshine on Leith, Cirque Afrique and many more.
Book now nms.ac.uk/museum-late-fringe-fridays
BSL Access Evening: Beyond the Little Black Dress
15 Aug
18:00-19:30
Standard exhibition entry prices apply
Part of Edinburgh Deaf Festival, join us after hours for a Deaf-led BSL tour of key objects in the Beyond the Little Black Dress exhibition.
From design classics to cutting-edge catwalk creations, this exhibition deconstructs the little black dress and examines the radical power of the colour black in fashion. The tour will last around one hour with the chance to explore the exhibition independently afterwards.
Book now nms.ac.uk/bsl-access-evening-beyond-the-little-black-dress
Morning Curator Tour: Rising Tide
16 – 24 Aug
09:15-10:00 (doors open at 09:00)
Ticketed
Join curator Dr Ali Clark for an exclusive morning tour of our Rising Tide exhibition, delving nto the stories behind the exhibition and explore the innovative and artistic responses to climate change and plastic waste by Indigenous Australian and Pacific Islander artists. Add a voucher to upgrade your experience with refreshments in one of our museum cafés.
Book now nms.ac.uk/morning-curator-tour-rising-tide
Adult Workshop: Introduction to Fashion Illustration
09 Sep
11:00 – 16:00
Studios, Level 4
Age 18+
£45 – £50
Learn the fundamentals of fashion illustration in this drawing class with illustrator, Katie Braid.
Book now nms.ac.uk/fashion-illustration
Audio-Described Access Evening: Beyond the Little Black Dress
12 Sep
17:30 – 19:00
Special Exhibition Gallery 1, Level 3
Age 8+
Explore the Beyond the Little Black Dress exhibition supported by an audio-described tour of key objects, for those who are blind, partially sighted or visually impaired.
Book now nms.ac.uk/audio-described-access-evening
Film Screening: Fashion Reimagined
16 Sep
14:00 – 16:30
Auditorium, Level 1
Tickets £6 – £10
Age 14+
Join us for a screening of this 2022 documentary film following fashion designer Amy Powney of cult label Mother of Pearl, a rising star in the London fashion scene. Documentary Fashion Reimagined follows designer Amy Powney as she embarks on a three-year journey to create a sustainable clothing collection and transform the way we engage with fashion.
Book now nms.ac.uk/fashion-reimagined
National Museum of Flight
East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian, EH39 5LF
Open daily 10:00 – 16:00
Big Build Weekend
26 & 27 Aug
10:30 –16:30
Free with museum admission
Inspired by our current Brick History display, take part in our mass participation Big Build alongside LEGO experts Warren and Teresa Elsmore. You will be building part of a 3-metre-tall Saturn V rocket, the only launch vehicle to carry humans beyond low earth orbit to the moon, which will then become part of the Brick History display until November.
Book now nms.ac.uk/big-build-weekend.
Brick Sundays
3 – 17 Sep
12:00 – 16:00
Free with museum admission
Inspired by our current Brick History display, each Sunday we will have a different build theme. Choose to make something inspired by the theme or build your own creation. For something a bit more energetic, take part in our speed build challenge and see if you can make it to the top of the champions’ board.
Book your visit nms.ac.uk/brick-sundays
Conservation Hangar Tours
Until 31 Mar 2024
Free with museum admission
Booking required
See behind the scenes of the work carried out in the museum’s Conservation hangar with a guided tour and find out more about objects from the collection that aren’t normally on display.
Book now nms.ac.uk/Conservation-Hangar-Tours
National Museum of Rural Life
Philipshill Road, East Kilbride, G76 9HR
Open 10:00–17:00 daily
Nature Track Packs
Until 31 Aug
10:00 – 17:00
Borrow from the ticket desk
Free with museum admission and Annual Pass
Explore more at the National Museum of Rural Life this summer with our Nature Track Packs. Each pack contains fun ideas and activities to encourage children to engage all their senses to explore the countryside on a walk up to the farm.
Read more nms.ac.uk/nature-track-packs
MooFest
16 & 17 Sep
10:20 – 15:30
Free with museum admission and Annual Pass
Join us for a celebration of all things cattle at the National Museum of Rural Life.New for 2023, this weekend of cattle-inspired activities, talks and tastings for young and old alike.
Book your visit now nms.ac.uk/moofest
Lewis’s Scottish Adventure Trail
Until 6 Oct 2023
Trail
Free with museum admission and Annual Pass
Go on an adventure around the museum with a new family trail at the National Museum of Rural Life.
Find out more nms.ac.uk/lewis-s-scottish-adventure-trail
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For booking, opening times and location details, contact National Museums Scotland on 0300 123 6789
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