Review 05 Opening up Our Collections 02 National Museums of Scotland
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REVIEW 05 OPENING UP OUR COLLECTIONS 02 NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF SCOTLAND NMS is Scotland’s national NMS holds a wealth of treasures museum service. We care collected over more than two for museum collections of centuries. Our collections national and international encompass Scottish and importance, and present international archaeology, these to the public at our decorative and applied arts, six museums: world cultures, social history, science, technology and the ● Royal Museum and Museum natural world. We also provide of Scotland, Edinburgh advice, expertise and support ● National War Museum of to the museums community Scotland, Edinburgh Castle across Scotland and undertake ● Museum of Flight, East Lothian fieldwork, research and ● Museum of Scottish Country partnerships at local, national Life, near East Kilbride and international levels. ● Shambellie House Museum of Costume, near Dumfries NMS preserves, interprets, and makes accessible for all, the We also have a major Collections past and present of Scotland, Centre at Granton, Edinburgh, of other nations and cultures, which is a focal point for and of the natural world. collections storage and conservation. 1. 2. 3. Scenes from our six museums: 1. Royal Museum 2. Museum of Scotland 3. National War Museum of Scotland 4. Museum of Flight 5. Shambellie House Museum of Costume 6. Museum of Scottish Country Life 4. 5. 6. NMS A world class museums service that informs, educates and inspires. A SUPERSONIC YEAR Over the past few years we have Museum of Flight. Securing one made significant progress in of the seven decommissioned changing our focus to place Concorde aircraft, against visitors and other users at the international competition, was heart of everything we do. a significant coup for Scotland. It has resulted in visitor numbers The results of this strategy are more than trebling at the clear, with a record 1.4 million museum. Since then, we have visits to our six museums in secured two further additions to 2004-05. Against a background the collections: a Royal Air Force of overall visitor trends showing Tornado F3 aircraft and a Britten- a two per cent rise in Scotland, Norman Islander in the livery of visits to our sites are up 12 the Scottish Air Ambulance Above: per cent and our flagship site, Service. Further improvements Lord Wilson of Tillyorn and Dr Gordon Rintoul in the the Royal Museum/Museum are planned at the Museum of Museum of Scotland. of Scotland, is recognised Flight to build on this success. Below: Discover the story of Scotland’s Concorde at its new as one of the country’s top home at the Museum of Flight. visitor attractions. Over the past few years we have taken major steps to enhance Opening up the national our services. We now have a collections is at the heart of more active programme of our plans for the Royal Museum. partnerships with other This is an ambitious project to museums, galleries and visitor improve access to the building, attractions around Scotland, significantly increase the number and a growing programme of of objects on display, create loans at home and abroad. many new exhibitions and enhance learning opportunities. In this review, we cover highlights The project reached a significant from the financial year 2004-05 milestone in 2005 with a pledge through to the summer of 2005. of almost £17 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Over the We intend to continue investing in coming years we will be working our staff and buildings, developing hard to secure the matching enhanced experiences for visitors, funds to enable this £44.5 maintaining a high standard of million project to proceed, research, and making connections transforming the museum for across Scotland and the world. the twenty-first century. We believe that the National Museums of Scotland’s expertise Another outstanding achievement and active public programmes can during 2005 was the launch of make a central contribution to a The Concorde Experience at the new cultural vision for Scotland. Lord Wilson of Tillyorn Dr Gordon Rintoul Chairman of the Director Board of Trustees 04 MORE PEOPLE, MORE EXPERIENCES Visitors enjoyed our museums in The second half of a stunning Inspiring images from the record numbers during 2004 and French silver gilt tea service natural world were enjoyed by 2005 – many drawn by diverse was a centrepiece for Claret to over 12,000 visitors at the exhibitions designed to appeal to Concorde: 100 years of Entente Museum of Scottish Country Life, people of all ages and interests. Cordiale. The service was made a UK venue for the prestigious From roaring dinosaurs to to commemorate the Emperor Wildlife Photographer of the contemporary design, the desire Napoleon’s second marriage, Year exhibition. to enthral, educate, entertain and and was loaned from the Louvre, inspire remains at the heart of Paris, to be reunited with the rest our exhibition programme. of the set in the NMS collection. Another significant international Dinosaurs Alive! at the Royal collaboration was established Museum attracted our largest with The State Hermitage ever audience for a temporary Museum in St Petersburg, exhibition. Almost 90,000 people resulting in the sumptuous took the chance to get close 2005 summer exhibition to moving, roaring dinosaurs. Nicholas and Alexandra: The Last A third of these visitors were Tsar and Tsarina. This exhibition making their first visit to a brought together paintings, Scottish museum. costumes, furniture, ‘objets d’art’ and many personal items Treasures from Tuscany: The to tell the moving story of Etruscan Legacy received critical Russia’s last Imperial family to a acclaim from visitors and the large and appreciative audience. media, bringing to Scotland Above: for the first time material from Costumes from the worlds of Dress worn by Kate Winslet in the film one of the major civilisations contemporary fame and fashion Finding Neverland, part of JM Barrie – of the classical world from were the star attractions at Peter Pan at Shambellie House Museum the collections of the Museo Shambellie House Museum of Costume. Right: Nazionale in Florence. It was of Costume’s popular Younger visitors were particularly complemented by Contemporary exhibitions Cloth from the captivated by our blockbuster exhibition Italian, the first in a series of new Catwalk, Behind the Scenes Dinosaurs Alive! at the Royal Museum. exhibitions in the Crafts Gallery. and JM Barrie – Peter Pan. 1.4 MILLION people visited our museums in 2004-05, an increase of 12%. They enjoyed new attractions, special exhibitions and a broad-ranging events programme. 06 MORE PEOPLE, MORE EXPERIENCES Special events and tailored Innovative learning programmes of popular micro-sites. The learning programmes are two were introduced at the Museum development of a new Online of the most successful ways of Flight, Museum of Scottish Museum in 2006 will deliver of introducing new audiences Country Life, National War significant improvements in to our museums. Museum of Scotland and the experience we offer to Shambellie House Museum of our ‘virtual visitors’. Nearly 7,000 teenagers took part Costume, complementing the in Go Play Games at the Royal active educational programme in Museum, part of the Edinburgh place at the Royal Museum and International Games Festival, and Museum of Scotland. As a result, we broadened the audience 112,000 people participated in further through a series of lifelong learning events, an computer games workshops in increase of 13 per cent, while partnership with Wester Hailes over 51,000 school pupils Arts and Leisure. enjoyed our museums. Geology was introduced to the schools A programme of major events, programme, with curators such as Airshow 04 and the delivering Rock Detective Kittochside Country Fair, workshops and the development continued to attract new visitors of a school resource pack. New to the Museum of Flight and research into schools visits and Museum of Scottish Country Life, adult learners which we carried and we participated in a number out during the year will help to develop our services for formal of national events across our Above: sites. These included the Big and informal learning still further. In the Rock Detective workshop, pupils Draw, National Insect Week, the studied fossils such as this ammonite BBC’s Natural History of Britain, Visitors to www.nms.ac.uk as a means of exploring Scotland’s and daily performances of music, experienced better navigation fascinating geological history. Right: dance and drama in the Royal and improved content with an At the Museum of Scottish Country Life Museum as part of the Edinburgh upgrade to the website structure visitors can see what life is like on a Festival Fringe. and the introduction of a series working farm. 4.5 MILLION visits were made to our website pages, an increase of 60%. 08 REINVENTING THE ROYAL MUSEUM Our ambitious Masterplan for Project represents a significant The gallery is being realised the Royal Museum will create step towards the transformation with generous support from the an exciting new experience for of one of Scotland’s best-loved Wolfson Foundation, the Wellcome twenty-first century visitors, and museums. Announced in July Trust and other funders. a fitting home for our invaluable 2005, the HLF award is the collections. largest commitment ever made for a capital project in Scotland. The £44.5 million Royal Museum Project is key to the Essential preparatory stages now implementation of the long-term in progress include the transfer Masterplan vision, and is due of 1.5 million objects from the for completion in 2011. It will Royal Museum to better storage reinvent our landmark Victorian at our Granton Collections Centre building, providing welcoming in north Edinburgh. The Granton and accessible street level Collections Centre houses our entrances, and lifts and reserve collections, and is being escalators to encourage visitors developed to increase its to explore the full range of capacity, improve accommodation galleries.