Scottish Museums Federation

We’d like to extend our warmest wishes for the festive season to our members, followers, and supporters. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you all! 🎄✨

Whether you're a museum professional, volunteer, or heritage enthusiast, the conference will provide fresh insights and opportunities to exchange ideas. Stay tuned in the new year for more details, including our theme, speakers, and how to book your spot.

Join us for a day of thought-provoking discussions, inspiring presentations, and the chance to connect with colleagues from across the sector and the country.

Before we sign off for the end of the year and enjoy some well-earned holiday rest, we’re thrilled to share an exciting update with you - the date of the next Scottish Museums Federation Conference. 📅 Mark your calendars: 12 May 2025 📍 Location: Dundee

News | Closures loom as funding crisis worsens for local museums – @Auchindrain, Museum of Cannock Chase and Alyth Museum all earmarked to shut Read: ow.ly/MNwS50UlSu4

News | Funding uplift for Scottish museums ‘does not go far enough’ – sector bodies welcome budget boost but say much of the funding will be absorbed by rising costs Read: ow.ly/W4ZR50UorxY

News | Paisley Museum redevelopment costs spiral by £12.5m – project has been affected by construction problems and soaring inflation Read: ow.ly/sb2s50UsNHW @PaisleyMuseum @weareoneren

Local museums in Scotland face severe funding cuts & risks to jobs, collections, & community access. Auchindrain Township Museum, Alyth Museum, Perth Art Gallery, & Dundee Contemporary Arts are among those at risk of closure or reduced services: museumsassociation.org/museums-journa…

❓ Are you a member of the Scottish Museums Federation? 🗣 We want to hear from you! ✍️ Your insights are essential to helping us understand how we're doing and how we can better serve you and the heritage sector. 👉 Complete our survey now: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

Join us as we dive into the remarkable stories beyond museum displays & discover how collections are preserved & transformed for generations to come! #BeyondTheDisplay

First stop: Montrose Museum, where Caitlin has been cataloguing & digitising the museum’s natural history collections. Her efforts capture glimpses into Scotland’s natural history: a colossal megalodon tooth, a striking array of taxidermy birds, & cabinets of butterflies.

Welcome to Beyond the Display, our new series that takes you behind the scenes of museums across Scotland! In each post, we’ll highlight the fascinating work of SMF members as they uncover hidden stories, preserve unique collections, & bring Scotland’s rich heritage to life.

Really enjoyed this theme of #tinytreasures yesterday - what a lovely idea! If you haven't already, it's worth checking out @N_T_S @EdinCulture @WorldGolfMuseum and the hashtag 👆🏻 for many more

From artefacts to curiosities, these small but mighty treasures reflect the unique heritage we’re proud to celebrate here in small but mighty Scotland. We hope you enjoyed exploring these hidden gems as much as we did. Join us again next year for another 24-hour celebration!

We’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to our many friends, members, and sector colleagues for taking part in yesterday’s #ScottishMuseumsDay. It was a delight to see the number of #TinyTreasures shared – each one a testament to the richness and diversity of Scotland’s collections.

📚 Here in the Museum of Childhood's Book Collection, we have many #TinyTreasures in the form of these tiny books. Happy #ScottishMuseumDay! 📚 @EdinCulture #childrensbooks #childrensliterature #MuseumOfChildhood

It's #ScottishMuseumsDay and this year's theme is tiny treasures. What's your favourite tiny treasure in our collections? We'll go first: Hill of Tarvit's fighting frogs in the upstairs bathroom. 🐸⚔️ #ForTheLoveOfScotland @ScottishMuseums

Happy #ScottishMuseumsDay!!! The theme this year is #TinyTreasures, so we'd love to share our tiniest, but most exciting treasures - our collection of 14th-century groats! If you haven't been to our museum, come and check it out! Open year round and entry to the museum is free.

For #ScottishMuseumsDay the theme this year is #TinyTreasures - in the Kinetics Industrial Museum is this 1915 war service badge from Sir William Arrol & Co, about the same size as a 5p coin! (Arrol’s built the Forth Rail Bridge, Tower Bridge, and many other iconic things.)

It's #ScottishMuseumsDay, with a theme of #tinytreasures. Check out our latest addition, via #Treasuretrove. A seal matrix dating from 16th to 18th century, found at West Kilbride by a metal detectorist. it's 22mm by 13mm. @TTUScotland #northayrshire #archaeology