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Visit Us / Book

The Shetland Museum is now open with a booking system in place.

The Shetland Museum is open by pre booking only on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 10am – 4pm and Sunday from 12.00pm – 4.30pm.
Pre-book to get exclusive use of our museum facilities – as always, entry to the Museum and Archives will be free with donations welcome. Click here to view our full opening times.

We also have new social distancing and safety measures in place. Find out more at the links below.

Groups must be a maximum of 6 people from no more than 2 separate households.
Please view the Scottish Government's guidance on travelling in Scotland prior to booking.

Free to visit

Your booking and visit is FREE but now more than ever we need your support - please consider making a donation.

Inside Visit Us / Book

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Book

We have a booking system in place to allow visitors exclusive use of the Museum and Archives and we are providing longer slots to give people time to browse at their leisure.

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NEW - What to expect when you visit

We've been working hard to make sure that your visit will still be safe and enjoyable. Find out more about our social distancing and hygiene measures.

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Galleries

Visit our Museum Galleries - booking essential.

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Archives Searchroom

Visit the Archives searchroom - booking essential.

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Picnic Area

Our cafe is currently closed but you are welcome to bring a picnic.

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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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Gift Shop

You can visit our wonderful gift shop when you com and visit us in the Museum and Archives - you must wear a face covering.

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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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Boat Shed

The Boat Shed, located at the left of the building dates from around 1900, although this particular site has been a place for boatbuilding and repair since the 1820s, with the first shed built in 1844 by Hay & Company. Today, the Boat Shed provi...

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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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Museum and Archives News

Shetland Boat Week Launched Today

April 13th 2016

The first Shetland Boat Week will take place between 8th and 14th August.

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Museum and Archives News

New to Us Exhibition

March 30th 2016

A display of 'new to us' art is on display throughout the galleries and will be updated regularly during 2016/17.

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Museum and Archives News

New Website Launched

February 1st 2016

Shetland Museum and Archives has, today, launched a new website.

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Museum and Archives News

Photos in a Flash - Instant Photo Printing

December 8th 2015

Visitors to Shetland Museum and Archives can now access instant prints from a wide range of popular photo archive images from the ...

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Museum and Archives News

Reid Tait Collection transferred to Shetland Archives

October 6th 2015

Shetland Archives has recently received the last of a large and significant collection of printed material from Shetland Library, in a ...

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Museum and Archives News

P&O Flag flies at Bod

July 20th 2015

The P&O flag is again flying at the Bὂd of Gremista, following an appeal from Shetland Amenity Trust Vice Chairman, Captain George ...

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Museum and Archives News

Take a Virtual Tour of Fethaland

July 13th 2015

A new interactive visitor experience has been installed at Shetland Museum and Archives, which allows the user to take a stroll ...

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Museum and Archives News

BBC Sound Booth comes to Shetland Museum and Archives

July 9th 2015

Shetland Museum and Archives is pleased to be taking part in the BBC Listening Project Tour.

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Museum and Archives News

Archaeological Artefacts Return

July 1st 2015

Over 100,000 archaeological artefacts have been returned to Shetland for inclusion in the Recognised Archaeology Collection of ...

Museum and Archives News

Shetland's Sunken Treasure - Unveiled!

February 17th 2015

A new exhibition has been unveiled at Shetland Museum and Archives. The two displays, located outside the archives showcase finds from ...

Museum and Archives News

Breaking The Mould

November 14th 2014

After 240 years a rare Fetlar bronze armlet, will return home to Shetland for a museum exhibition from 16 November 2014 to 20 January ...

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Museum and Archives News

Essential repairs commence on Nil Desperandum

September 23rd 2014

Following a successful request for volunteers by the Shetland Amenity Trust, essential repair work has begun at Hay’s Dock to the ...

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Museum and Archives News

Gold Standard Maintained

July 11th 2014

Shetland Amenity Trust and one of its core services, the Shetland Museum and Archives, have both, again, achieved Gold Standards in ...

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Museum and Archives News

Young Ambassador Project

July 9th 2014

Shetland Museum and Archives, and Shetland Arts are looking for 12 young ambassadors to take part in an exciting 3-month project in ...

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Museum and Archives News

Writing The North Project Concludes

March 11th 2014

A year-long project which has explored the historical literature of Orkney and Shetland, and explored continuity with contemporary ...

Opening Times / Admission