Injecting Hope: The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine exhibition

National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh
25 January – 27 April 2025
Free admission

An exhibition telling the story of the global effort to develop a COVID-19 vaccine will open at the National Museum of Scotland in January.

Injecting Hope: The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine explores the scientific principles and adaptation of innovative research behind this extraordinary endeavour. It looks at the UK-wide, behind-the-scenes work that accompanied the vaccines’ rapid development, production, transport and delivery and examines the sheer logistical challenges behind the worldwide rollout.

Revealing the inspiring stories of scientists and innovators collaborating around the globe to find solutions and save lives, the exhibition will show how these people have shaped the world we live in today. 

Showcasing more than 100 objects and stories that were collected during the peak of the pandemic, it features artworks, interactives, and personal objects examining everything from the virus itself to the work done behind the scenes by volunteers and researchers to make huge innovations possible.

Highlights include the vial of the first COVID-19 vaccine to be administered worldwide, notebooks used by June Almeida, the Scottish scientist who discovered coronavirus in 1966 and artworks interpreting the story of the pandemic by artists including Luke Jerram, Angela Palmer and Junko Mori.

New content created for the exhibition’s Scottish run will explore some of the uniquely Scottish experiences of the pandemic.

Sophie Goggins, Senior Curator of Biomedical Science at National Museums Scotland said: “The development and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in record time is one of the greatest collaborative human achievements in recent memory.

“This exhibition tells the story of just how this extraordinary feat came to be; from the scientific breakthroughs which led to the creation of the vaccine to the countless individuals who helped to roll it out around the globe.”

Injecting Hope is presented by the Science Museum Group (SMG). It comes to the National Museum of Scotland as part of a national and international tour following its inaugural run at the Science Museum in London.

It forms part of a project with the National Council of Science Museums in India and the Guangdong Science Center in China, which, alongside the Science Museum, opened exhibitions in November 2022.

Injecting Hope builds on the work SMG has undertaken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its COVID-19 collecting project, hosting NHS vaccination centres within its museums and public engagement events and materials.  

The Injecting Hope project, including the international tour and UK national tour, has been generously supported by Wellcome. The Huo Family Foundation is kindly supporting the national tour of the exhibition.

Spectacular Enlightenment sundial acquired by National Museums Scotland

National Museums Scotland has announced the acquisition of an ornate early 18th-century sundial of exceptional precision and design. The Ilay Glynne dial, which is now on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, is a masterpiece of both art and science. 

The Ilay Glynne dial, made around 1715, was used to measure local time from the Sun, providing the most accurate means of setting clocks available at the time. It could be used at any latitude, and its form models the celestial sphere, showing the Sun’s apparent motion around the Earth.  

The acquisition of the dial, which has important connections to post-Union Scotland, has been supported by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund. 

The dial was commissioned by and belonged to Archibald Campbell, Earl of Ilay and later 3rd Duke of Argyll (1682-1761).

Ilay was hugely influential figure in post-Union Scotland. He had control over royal patronage in Scotland, and managed Scottish affairs, making him the most politically powerful figure in the first half of the 18th century.

He was a founder and the first governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland. His likeness used to appear on all RBS banknotes, and still appears on the £100 note today. Through his patronage, including at Scottish universities, he became an important sponsor and promoter of the culture of the Scottish Enlightenment  

It is signed by Richard Glynne (1681-1755), a successful and well-regarded maker of mathematical instruments and a member of the Clockmakers’ Company. In his business, skills and innovations, Glynne was closely integrated with a growing community of British instrument makers and produced instruments of outstanding quality, of which this dial is the most important surviving example. 

The dial is of a type first made for figures such as Peter I of Russia and Queen Anne’s consort, Prince George of Denmark, suggesting Ilay commissioned it from Glynne as a projection of his reputation as a nobleman of wealth and status.

Of imposing size, in brass and silvered brass, it is surmounted with the Ilay coat of arms, with leopard supporters, coronet and motto, and the central plate is decorated with the monogram ‘AC’, for Archibald Campbell, beneath an earl’s coronet.    

Dr Rebekah Higgitt, Principal Curator of Science at National Museums Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to be able to acquire the spectacular Ilay Glynne dial and hugely grateful to the funders who have made it possible.

“It is an addition which reflects the breadth of our collections, being at once a significant scientific instrument, an object of great beauty and one with strong connections to key developments in Scotland’s history.” 

Dr Simon Thurley, Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: ”The Ilay-Glynne dial is a magnificent example of scientific endeavour, and we are delighted to have supported National Museums Scotland to acquire it for a UK public collection.

“Not only is it an exquisite instrument, but its provenance offers an opportunity to explore important stories about scientific, intellectual and cultural currents that saw the birth of the Scottish Enlightenment.” 

Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund said: “This stunning sundial offers a unique insight into scientific innovations in 18th century Scotland. The precision and detail of the craftsmanship is exquisite, a true work of art.

“I’m so pleased that Art Fund has been able to support National Museums Scotland to acquire this remarkable object for their permanent collection, ensuring it will continue to enlighten visitors from Scotland and beyond on public display in the Spirit of the Age gallery.” 

The Ilay Glynne dial reveals the Earl of Ilay not just as the politically powerful and wealthy figure he is best known as, but also as a patron of arts, science and learning. It is through this patronage that Ilay is widely believed to have contributed to the Scottish Enlightenment.

Those he supported include philosopher Francis Hutcheson, chemist Joseph Black, astronomer Alexander Wilson, poet Allan Ramsay and other ingenious individuals who created emblematic works of 18th-century Scottish culture.     

In Scotland, Ilay pursued agricultural and infrastructure projects, the development of fisheries and promotion of the linen trade. As founder and governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland and the British Linen Company he aimed to encourage others to invest and improve. 

Some of these investments were in overseas trading companies, such as the African Company, East India Company and South Seas Company, which profited from colonisation and the exploitation of enslaved people, an important reminder of a key source of wealth that underlay economic and cultural change in 18th-century Scotland.   

The dial has undergone extensive cleaning and conservation work, and is now on permanent display in the Spirit of the Age gallery in the National Museum of Scotland. Admission is free. 

Royal Scots Exhibition opens at Tynecastle Park

The Royal Scots Exhibition at Tynecastle Park 5 – 10 July

Exhibition focusing on the importance of teamworking and sport in the military as part of the Heart of Midlothian FC’s 150th Celebrations 

The Royal Scots Regimental Museum is reaching out from Edinburgh Castle to deliver an exhibition, with particular focus on the importance of teamworking and sport in the military, hosted by Heart of Midlothian FC in the European Suite at Tynecastle Park as part of the Club’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations, from Friday 05 to Wednesday 10 July 2024 (10:00 to 16:30 daily – free admission).

The Museum’s Outreach Exhibition has been curated to engage and connect with people of all ages from throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians, a major part of the Regiment’s former recruiting area, to promote the Regiment’s enduring legacy and commemorate those who never came back, giving their lives for peace.

The exhibition provides a particularly poignant reminder of the supreme sacrifice made by the 1914 Hearts team with their footballers being the first in the UK to enlist to fight for their country at the outbreak of World War 1.  Many of them volunteered to join the 16th Battalion of The Royal Scots, famously known as McCrae’s Battalion.

The exhibition also covers significant events in Regimental history such as the Gretna rail disaster (1915), the Gallipoli campaign (1915), the Battle of the Somme (where 454 Royal Scots were killed on the 1st of July 1916 alone), the Battle of Kohima (part of the Burma campaign in 1944) and the First Gulf War (1991).

Through the telling of Soldiers’ Stories from 1914 onwards visitors will learn of Royal Scots’ experiences in conflict, fighting for peace. Inspired by Hearts’ continuing dedication never to forget those of their Club who were killed or wounded, the importance of teamwork and sport in the military will be explained.  Some of the items on display have never been seen publicly before. 

A Research Area has been included in the exhibition to enable families to find out more about their relatives who served with The Royal Scots. 

The exhibition hosts and guides are volunteers who served in The Royal Scots and who want to give something back through comradeship, promoting the unique heritage of the Regiment. They are fondly named Pontius Pilate’s Bodyguard.

Lianne Parry, Hearts Head of Heritage, said: “We very much look forward to hosting The Royal Scots Museum. It is wholly appropriate in our Sesquicentennial Year that we should highlight one of the most historically important episodes in Hearts’ long and rich history. 

“We hope that visitors will take advantage of their visit to the stadium, to call in at the Club’s own Museum which will be open throughout.”

Colonel Martin Gibson, representing the Royal Scots Museum’s Outreach Team, commented: “We are determined to reach out and engage with the people of Edinburgh, to tell the story of The Royal Scots from 1914 onwards, and to highlight the very close enduring connection between the Regiment and Hearts FC which began at outbreak of WW1.

“So many men from our capital City served in our Regiment which saw 373 years of unbroken service; it is so important that their achievements and sacrifices are never forgotten.”

Susie Hamilton, Scottish Veterans Commissioner, opened the exhibition yesterday and guests at the launch included Hearts legend John Robertson with club representatives Ann Park, (Director, Community & Partnerships), Lianne Parry (Head of Heritage), Julia McKenzie, (Museums & Collections Specialist) and Mia Weintraub (International Intern).

The Royal Scots were representatived by Colonel Martin Gibson of the Royal Scots Museum’s Outreach Team and former soldiers Apolosi Vanowale (former Fijian rugby international), Andy Stewart (Scotland Water Polo), Andy Gilmour and Tony Reid (Scotland boxer and referee). 

The exhibition runs from Friday 5th – Wednesday 10th July 2024 from 10:00 – 16:30 daily in the European Suite at Tynecastle Park.  Free admission. 

Pictures: Malcolm Ross