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 now 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

Winter Lecture series at Shetland Museum and Archives

This winter, the Shetland Museum and Archives will be putting on a series of evening lectures and talks which delve into Shetland’s ...

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Grayson Perry: A Potted Biography - Opens at Shetland Museum & Archives

A display of ceramics by contemporary British artist, author, and broadcaster Grayson Perry is set to open at the Shetland Museum and ...

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A call for ‘Pre-loved’ leaflets

Shetland Amenity Trust are encouraging local people, businesses and visitors to help them collect up visitor information leaflets so ...

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Shetland Needleworkers Pieces in Time Exhibition

Shetland Needleworkers are mounting an exhibition in Da Gadderie at the Shetland Museum and Archives, running from 12th October until ...

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The mystery of the three kirks uncovered

Shetland Amenity Trust have been working on a project to uncover the mystery of ‘the three kirks’ and they are now ready to share ...

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Your Shetland Wool Week Stories

Shetland Wool Week celebrates its tenth year this Autumn and with more people than ever booked on classes, tours and activities it is ...

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Shetland Ponies: Choosing the best from the rest

The Shetland Pony is iconic around the world and will be the focus of a week long celebration of the breed this July culminating in ...

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Shetland Nature Festival

The annual Shetland Nature Festival starts on Saturday 6th of July until Sunday 14th July and has events throughout Shetland. There ...

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The Eagle's Last Stronghold

An exhibition opens at the Shetland Museum and Archives next week highlighting the story of the white-tailed ‘sea’ eagle in ...

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‘The Arthurs’

A feature exhibition exploring Shetland surnames Arthur and Arthurson is now on display at the Shetland Museum and Archives. The ...

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Emma Louise's Coffee Shop opening at Hay's Dock

The Shetland Amenity Trust are delighted to announce the re-opening of the café at Shetland Museum and Archives. Emma Louise and Joe ...

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Getting ready for the Summer Season

The Shetland Amenity Trust have been busy over the past month getting ready to open key sites for the 2019 visitor season. Sumburgh ...

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From this Day Forward – Wedding Exhibition

Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to present our latest exhibition, ‘From This Day Forward’ a celebration of Shetland Weddings ...

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Welcoming tenders for Hay’s Dock Café

Do you have what it takes to deliver a great café offering in a 5 star Visitor Attraction? We work hard to feed the imagination of ...

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The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2018

Five hundred years after the dazzling genius of Hans Holbein, a painting by one of the greatest portraitists of all time can now be ...

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