Collection Centre Tours

National Museums Scotland are running guided tours of the National Museums Collection Centre on Tuesday 24 November, one of the many dates they've got scheduled across the season. It's a behind-the-scenes look at how they care for and manage their collections, and it's a bit different from a usual museum visit because you're going where the work actually happens.

The main draw is the chance to see artefacts and specimens that are rarely on public display. Most of what we see in the galleries is only a small fraction of what they hold; the rest stays here, and these tours let you in to see it. You'll find out how those objects feed international research, and you get to see the process first hand rather than just reading about it on a plaque. It's a good way to get a sense of the sheer scale of what they're looking after.

There are a few practical things to keep in mind before you book. The tours are for ages 14 and over, so it's not one for the very young. There's no visitor parking at the Collection Centre itself, but you'll find on-street parking and bicycle parking nearby, and a number of Lothian Buses services run to the site, so it's easy enough to get to without a car. The centre is at 242 West Granton Road, Edinburgh EH5 1JA.

Tickets start from £10.00 per person, and the tours run from 25 February 2026 through to 23 February 2027, so if the November date doesn't suit, there are plenty of others to choose from.