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.
Online Resources
Inside Visit Us
Crofthouse Museum
The Shetland Crofthouse Museum is now closed and will reopen in May for the 2026 season.
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Archives Searchroom
The Archives searchroom is a comfortable, quiet space which is open to anyone who wishes to find out more about a particular subject, or just browse books, newspapers or records in the collection.
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Closed: Hays Dock Café
It is with regret that we announce the closure of 'Hay's Dock by The Dowry', which was operated by Beervana Ltd. Unfortunately, despite efforts to remain open, securing the necessary staff has not been possible which has resulted in a mutual end of t...
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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.
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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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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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Holbein Comes to Shetland
The countdown has begun! We are delighted to say that today marks one week until the public opening of 'A Lady with a Squirrel and a ...
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The BIG Takeover - Shetland 2018
Shetland Museum and Archives is working with other local agencies and young people as part of the Year of Young People in 2018.
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Boats on the Move
The Shetland Museum Boat Shed has had a transformation with the departure of the Oceanic Lifeboat - a long term resident during her ...
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Aith Junior High Pupils curate new exhibition at Shetland Museum and Archives
A new exhibition has been unveiled telling the story of the whaling ship, Diana. The display has been curated by pupils from P4/5 and ...
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10th Birthday Celebrations
To celebrate the milestone 10th birthday, Shetland Museum and Archives staff are hosting a day of birthday celebrations on Saturday ...
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Mathewson Lecture
Eileen Brooke-Freeman will deliver a talk about the life of her ancestor Andrew Dishington Mathewson of East Yell (1799-1887) from her ...
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Shetland Museum and Archives goes virtual
Shetland Museum and Archives have embraced the world of virtual reality with a new app available from VisitScotland.
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