AROUND TOWN | Museums & Attractions

building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the museum details the history of the country’s education system from the time of Queen Victoria right through to the swinging 60s. The Games We Play Until Sun 17 Aug. An exhibition looking at the culture of game playing across centuries and countries. THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL MUSEUM Hampden Park, 616 6139, scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 11am–5pm. Stadium tour £8 (£3.50); museum entry £7 (£3); combined ticket £11 (£5). Located inside Scotland’s national football stadium a couple of miles south of the city centre, this museum displays all kinds of memorabilia and offers tours of the stadium itself.

ST MUNGO MUSEUM OF RELIGIOUS ART & LIFE 2 Castle Street, 276 1625, glasgowlife. org.uk/museums Tue–Thu & Sat 10am– 5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon. Free. This museum holds artwork and historical artifacts exploring the role of religion in people’s lives, promoting understanding and respect between faiths.

THE TALL SHIP AT RIVERSIDE 150 Pointhouse Place, 357 3699, thetallship.com Daily 10am–5pm (last entry 4.30pm). Free. Step aboard the Glenlee, one of only five Clyde-built ships still afloat today. Learn about the maritime history of the area through talks, tours and costume days.

EDINBURGH

CAMERA OBSCURA & WORLD OF ILLUSIONS Castlehill, 226 3709, camera-obscura. co.uk Daily 9.30am–7pm. £12.95 (£10.95; under 16s £9.50; under 5s free). The ‘camera’ is a giant periscope inside a Victorian rooftop tower on the Royal Mile, giving a spectacular 360° perspective on Edinburgh, plus there’s interactive optical fun galore. The building also contains three galleries and lights up at night.

DEEP SEA WORLD Battery Quarry, North Queensferry, 01383 411880, deepseaworld.com Daily 10am–6pm (last entry 5pm). £13.50 (£11.50; under 13s £9.50; under 3s free; family £40–£44). Home to everything from seals to piranhas, this marine life centre has a petting area and underwater tunnel so you can get to grips with the deep. Approximately a 20-minute drive from Edinburgh.

EDINBURGH CASTLE AND NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Castlehill, 225 9846 (info)/ 668 8081 (bookings), edinburghcastle.gov.uk / nms. ac.uk/war Daily 9.30am–6pm (last entry 5pm). £16 (£12.80; children £9.60; under 5s free). Perhaps Edinburgh’s most visible landmark, the Castle perches on top of a rocky outcrop at the head of the Royal Mile, and includes ceremonial rooms, fortifications, dungeons and Scotland’s Honours or crown jewels. Inside, the National War Museum delves into the past 400 years of the country’s military history. Next of Kin Until Mar 2015. A look at Scotland at war, and how people at home deal with the absence or loss of loved ones.

THE EDINBURGH DUNGEON 31 Market Street, 240 1001 (info) / 0871 423 2250 (bookings), thedungeons. com Daily 10am–5pm. £10.95–£16.50 (£10.50–15.60; under 16s £9.50–£12.60; family £39–£49.80). A grizzly look into historical Edinburgh, with actor-led tours and rides, just above Waverley Station. With special opening hours around Hallowe’en 50 THE LIST 15 May–12 Jun 2014

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HISTORY FESTIVAL OF MUSEUMS Various venues, Edinburgh and Glasgow, Fri 16–Sun 18 May

For three days in May, a concerted national push sees audiences across Scotland encouraged to attend and make use of their local museum as part of the Festival of Museums, an event that helps illustrate precisely how well served the country is by its historical resources. The festival’s website promises events ‘from Gairloch to Glasgow and the Western Isles to Wanlochhead’, with over 80 museums nationwide taking part. Even in just the central belt, there’s an embarrassment of unique

events, most of which have an added sense of family appeal. Across Edinburgh and the Lothians, the broad theme is the 1940s, with a special 40s tea party happening at the University of Edinburgh’s St Cecilia’s Hall Museum of Instruments, and era-specific painting styles at Edinburgh College of Art, while the National Galleries of Scotland and Edinburgh International Festival join forces in a classical trio performance that takes us right back to the First World War. In Glasgow, meanwhile, Scotland Street Museum hosts an interactive trip through traditional British games like hopscotch, and the Burrell Collection offers a chance to handle armour from Greek and medieval times. Many more events across the nation are listed at festivalofmuseums.com. ‘Scotland’s a creative and cultural hub, and a country steeped in so much history that we can often forget the stories, artefacts and exhibits that sit right on our doorstep,’ says Joanne Orr, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland, in summing up the purpose of this weekend. ‘The Festival of Museums provides a chance for us to engage with our heritage and get actively involved in learning more about the fascinating collections and events that reflect our history and bring it to life.’ (David Pollock)

EDINBURGH ZOO Corstorphine Road, 334 9171, edinburghzoo.org.uk Daily 9am–6pm (last entry 5pm). £16.50 (£14; under 16s £12; under 3s free; family £36.45–£62.10). Visitors can see the headline-grabbing giant pandas, the famous Penguin Parade and over 1000 other rare and interesting animals and birds at this site three miles west of the city centre. HOLYROOD PARK Holyrood Park Road, 652 8150, historic- scotland.gov.uk Open at all times; Holyrood Lodge Information Centre daily 9.30am–3pm. Free. The main entrance to this large royal park, east of the city centre, is flanked by the Palace of Holyrood House and the Scottish Parliament Building. Its main feature is Arthur’s Seat, an 823-foot hill which has a number of smaller peaks and ponds surrounding it.

MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD 42 High Street, 529 4142, edinburghmuseums.org.uk Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun noon–5pm. Free. Kids can learn about the toys, clothes and

lifestyles of children of the past in this Royal Mile museum. Nostalgia for grown-ups guaranteed. MUSEUM ON THE MOUND The Mound, 243 5464, museumonthemound.com Tue–Fri 10am–5pm; Sat & Sun 1–5pm; closed Mon. Free. Hosted inside the Bank of Scotland’s head office, this museum is all about money. Learn how money has evolved over the past 4000 years or try cracking a safe.

NATIONAL MINING MUSEUM SCOTLAND Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtongrange, 663 7519, scottishminingmuseum. com Daily 10am–5pm. £8.50 (£6.50; children free). Nine miles south of Edinburgh, this museum is one of the best-preserved Victorian collieries in Europe. Learn about the life of a miner by taking a tour around the site.

ac.uk Daily 10am–5pm. Free. Renovated in 2011, this national beacon of culture has exhibitions on natural history, science and technology, Scottish history, art and design and world cultures in galleries surrounding a beautiful naturally lit atrium space. Power of Ten: Inventing Logarithms Until Sun 6 Jul. Learn about the extraordinary work of 16th century polymath John Napier, whose invention of logarithms made possible huge advances in physics, maths and even music theory. FREE Scotland Creates: A Sense of Place Until Sun 31 Aug. Young people from across Scotland have worked with museum staff to create an exhibition showcasing what is important where they come from.

OUR DYNAMIC EARTH Holyrood Road, 550 7800, dynamicearth. co.uk Daily 10am–5.30pm (last entry 4pm). £11–£12.50 (£9.25–£10.50; under 16s £7.25–£7.95; under 3s free). Take an interactive journey through the history of the earth.

PALACE OF HOLYROODHOUSE Royal Mile, 556 5100, royalcollection.org. uk Daily 9.30am–6pm (last entry 4.30pm). £11.30 (£10.30; under 17s £6.80; under 5s free; family £29.40). The official Scottish residence of the Queen, this baroque palace was once home to Mary, Queen of Scots and now houses the great artworks and tapestries of its regal residents.

REAL MARY KING’S CLOSE 2 Warriston’s Close, High St, 0845 070 6244, realmarykingsclose.com Daily 10am–9pm. £12.95 (£11.45; children £7.45). Beneath the Royal Mile lies a warren of hidden closes where citizens of Edinburgh lived and died in the 16th and 17th centuries. The underground tours are led by guides in the character of real people who lived in the close. ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH Inverleith Row, 552 7171, rbge.org.uk Daily 10am–6pm. Free; glasshouse entry £5 (£4; children free). These gardens, founded in the 17th century, cover over 70 acres and are just one mile from the city centre. There are glasshouses and cafés within the grounds, as well as high-profile art exhibitions at Inverleith House.

ROYAL OBSERVATORY VISITOR CENTRE Blackford Hill, 668 8404, roe.ac.uk/ vc Entry by arrangement or at Public Astronomy evenings (weekly, Fri 7.30–9pm). Public Astronomy evenings £4 (£3).

ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA Ocean Terminal, Leith, 555 5566, royalyachtbritannia.co.uk Daily 9.30am–4pm. £12.75 (£11.50; under 18s £7.75; under 5s free; family £36.50). Take a guided tour of the ornate floating royal residence and learn about life aboard the yacht, which served the royal family for almost 50 years. SCOTCH WHISKY EXPERIENCE 354 Castlehill, 220 0441, scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk Daily 10am–6pm; entry is as part of a tour. Tours £12.75–£52 (£10.25–£26; under 18s £6.50). Learn more about Scotland’s tastiest export with a tour and tasting session.

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT Horse Wynd, 0800 092 7500, scottish. parliament.uk Opening hours vary according to whether Parliament is in session, see website for details. Free. See Spanish architect Enric Miralles’ magnificent (and controversial) Holyrood building, take a tour of the interior, sit in on a debate or look at the artwork on display.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789, nms. SCOTT MONUMENT Princes Street Gardens East, 529 4068, edinburghmuseums.org.uk Daily 10am–