Visit Us

Shetland Museum & Archives is open. Drop in and visit us, no booking is necessary.

Free to visit - As always, entry to the Museum and Archives is free but now more than ever we need your support - please consider making a donation.

View our full opening times

Inside Visit Us

Hay's Dock by the Dowry

Café/restaurant at Shetland Museum’s historic Hay’s Dock.

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Tours

Make the most of your visit with us and join us on a tour to ensure you see the highlights of our museum and our Recognised Collections.

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Crofthouse Museum

The Shetland Crofthouse Museum is open daily for the 2024 summer season.

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Galleries

Visit our Museum Galleries

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Archives Searchroom

Visit the Archives searchroom

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Gift Shop

Our gift shop offers a range of products which are inspired by the Museum and Archive collections, and reflect and celebrate Shetland's unique culture and heritage.

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Activities

Whatever your reason for visiting us at Shetland Museum and Archives, there are a range of activities on offer to ensure you can make the most of your time with us.

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Hay's Dock

Shetland Museum and Archives sits on Hay’s Dock; the last remaining area of original dock on the Lerwick waterfront, which is now category B listed. This is a perfect setting to highlight the strong heritage connection with the sea, and display just some of the traditional Shetland boats in the collection.

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Public Art

Shetland Amenity Trust commissioned over 60 individual artworks as part of its Shetland Museum and Archives Public Art Project. These are on show throughout the building and dock, some even appearing alongside the artefacts and documents in the galleries and Archives.

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Accessibility

We want to make sure we continue to offer an excellent experience for all visitors with additional needs .

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Visit Us Blog Posts

New exhibition coming soon: ‘Allover’ – a photographic journey into 1970s Fair Isle knitwear by Chris Morphet

Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to announce the opening of its latest exhibition next Saturday, ‘Allover’ celebrating ...

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The Crafts of Foragers - new display

Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to announce a new display, The Crafts of Foragers, offering a captivating glimpse into ...

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Shetland Museum unveils Twenty Shades of Blue in new art exhibition inspired by Shetland’s Seascapes

Shetland Museum is delighted to announce the opening of an inspiring new exhibition, Twenty Shades of Blue, in the Gadderie space this ...

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New photographic exhibition capturing 1970s social history

A new photographic exhibition opens today at Shetland Museum and Archives which provides a glimpse into an aspect of Shetland’s ...

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‘All About Everything’ featuring the creative work of Eric Gray students

The creative and colourful work of Eric Gray students is on display from today in a new exhibition ‘All About Everything’ at the ...

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Marion Ninianson’s Roup

Roup is a word not commonly used in Shetland any more, although the Shetland Times in 1962 advertised a house in Scalloway “for sale ...

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New summer exhibition Ebbe and Flow to open this weekend

A new exhibition celebrating cultural and maritime connections with Scandinavia through the work of Scottish and Norwegian artists ...

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Shetland Amenity Trust celebrates collaboration with Shetland Family History Group in acquiring Gilbert Goudie’s Notebook

Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce the successful acquisition of a significant 19th century notebook to the Shetland ...

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Wonderful woolly evening at the Shetland Museum

What a fantastic evening at the Shetland Museum celebrating the announcement of the new Shetland Wool Week Patrons, the Doull Family, ...

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New book of Shetland Fine Lace Knitting launched

A new publication, ‘Shetland Fine Lace Knitting – Recreating patterns from the past’ by Shetland Museum’s textiles curator, ...

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Profound new exhibition, Polar North, captures the fragility of the Arctic landscape

A profound new exhibition which captures the fragile and shifting beauty of the Arctic landscape opens this Sunday 10 March at Da ...

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Shetland Museum and Archives launches series of ‘Thursday Lates’ heritage talks

Evenings celebrating Shetland’s rich culture and heritage will begin next month as Shetland Museum and Archives launches its ...

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Be My Valentine

It’s that time of year, Valentine’s Day, the 14th of February. In the Shetland Archives Catalogue references to Valentines are ...

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Shetland Museum celebrates Lerwick Up Helly Aa 2024

The Shetland Museum & Archives was full of activity last week as we celebrated Lerwick Up Helly Aa with a series of fiery events and ...

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Shetland Amenity Trust’s heritage sites open for this year’s Up Helly Aa

The fiery season will soon be back and Shetland Amenity Trust is putting together a series of events as well as offering extended ...

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