In the summer of 2011, the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) in Edinburgh reopened its doors following a £50m renovation. Five years on, NMS is again celebrating the completion of a multimillion pound project, this time 10 new galleries – four devoted to art, design and fashion and six to science and technology – showcasing more than 3,000 objects and costing a cool £14m.
In terms of museological and technological development, five years can be a long time: how does this latest instalment of the museum’s £80m masterplan measure up?
The art, design and fashion galleries provide a visual feast. All four galleries – Fashion and Style, Making and Creating, the Art of Living, Design for Living – present a fantastic range of objects showing how people have lived, dressed and socialised over the years, how designs evolve to meet consumer needs, and how much skill and craftsmanship is invested in the creation of even the smallest utensil or item of jewellery.
In the Science and Technology galleries – entitled Explore, Making It, Technology by Design, Communicate, Enquire, Energise – visitors are taken on a journey to discover how engineering, manufacturing, science and medicine have advanced over the years to give us the health, home comforts and immediacy of travel and communication we are accustomed to today.
Personally, I will always be more excited by an intricately embroidered 18th-century frock coat than a 1950s particle accelerator. The reverse may be true for other visitors, but the beauty of these galleries, with their 3,000 objects, is that there is something for everyone. Visitors may even feel inspired to move out of their comfort zone to explore new topics – although I am often too squeamish to enjoy displays on medical research, I was fascinated by the one in the Enquire gallery showing the development of life-supporting advancements, from early inhalers to advanced electronic prosthetics. In the display on industrial design in Making and Creating I was surprised to learn that our familiar traffic lights and pedestrian crossing signal boxes were designed by Yorkshire-born David Mellor, who I had previously known only as a cutlery designer.
Eclectic styles
Many of the displays effectively communicate key messages through the selection and positioning of objects. In the beautifully executed Fashion and Style gallery, the juxtaposition of garments from different periods – one display has Darcy-esque Georgian breeches next to tight-laced bodices and some Calvin Klein underpants from 2005 – shows how different eras of fashion are defined by changing ideals of body shape.
In the Art of Living gallery, the collection of glittering treasures reveals how the privileged classes lived and worshipped from the medieval period to the mid-1800s. The opulence of the objects on display inspires the awe and reverence that they were originally created to incite.
In all 10 galleries, text, presented in the traditional format of panels and object labels, is concisely written and well-layered. The museum has developed a template for clear interpretation that is clean and accessible. It resolutely conforms to best practice in terms of language, length and design, and by providing a palette of multi-sensory approaches to cater for different learning styles.
This consistency creates a holistic feel across the museum’s permanent and temporary displays, so that earlier projects will not seem dated as new galleries are developed. But at times in the new galleries it felt as though the museum could have taken a few risks in its approach to interpretation, particularly in displays dedicated to scientific and technological advances, such as 3D printing. Panels and object labels inform visitors that technology is moving fast, but perhaps the interpretive media, while still in keeping with the overall ethos and design approach, could better reflect this.
Ways of engaging
On my second visit to this gallery, a member of staff – one of the museum’s enablers – invited visitors to create a piano using a yellow pepper and a MaKey MaKey (a child-safe electronic toy that makes anything into an operational touchpad). This felt like a much more appropriate way to engage visitors with emerging technologies; I hope such inspired encounters are a regular fixture.
The museum’s website boasts of almost 150 interactives in the 10 new galleries. In the art and design galleries, touchscreens provide a secondary layer of information on the history, meaning and conservation of key objects. The content is concise and attractively presented.
The fashion gallery takes a lighter approach, with a chance to try your hand at fashion design and then see your creation paraded on a virtual catwalk. Such fun is conspicuously absent from the other art and design spaces. The interactives in the science and technology galleries, however, are aimed at a broader range of ages and interest levels. Approaches range from touchscreen games, film presentations and hands-on durable exhibits to more creative interpretations – a virtual autopsy, a Formula One car simulator, and a giant hamster wheel on which visitors can run to generate electricity.
The hands-on interactives are popular and encourage social interaction among visitors. The touchscreen-based games and activities have strong learning objectives and are well-designed but don’t always hold the same appeal or sustain attention. With so much to see and do, feelings of restlessness and impatience can develop. Repeat visitors (and there is much to warrant return visits) may feel less time-pressured and more inclined to slow down and focus on certain spaces and activities.
Given the number and range of visitors to the museum each year, the provision of lots of displays and interactives is justifiable. But, at times, particularly in the science and technology galleries, using an interactive for each key message felt a bit overwhelming. Sometimes less is more.
In spite of this, and an underlying sense that there was room for a little more fun and risk-taking, the museum’s approach to display and interpretation creates an accessible, engaging and enjoyable experience for a broad range of visitors.
NMS’s last big reveal in 2011 attracted four million visitors in its first four months. This latest chapter in the museum’s masterplan looks set to enjoy a similar level of success.
Mary Stones is an interpretation project manager with the National Trust for Scotland
The prosthetic arms and legs in their showcases are immediately recognisable for what they are, and visually present the variety of materials and designs used in different technical approaches to solve the same problem. A screen allows visitors to explore the stories, generously shared by two people who choose not to use prosthetic limbs, and one who uses them but has opted for a century old technology, rather than the latest electrically-powered hand. Nearby, there is a working state-of-the-art i-limb bionic hand, designed by Scottish firm Touch Bionics, which visitors can operate within its case. And there’s a video showing a real person using the i-limb in everyday activities.
One game – also playable on our website – lets visitors take on the role of a scientist designing a clinical trial by testing experimental drugs on groups of patients with different symptoms. There are ethical and practical pitfalls that players must deal with during the game, which bring an alternative perspective to the process of drug discovery and shed a different light on the pharmaceutical materials on display.
We discovered a number of our colleagues were surprisingly unethical – hopefully the game has taught them a lesson. The Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility worked with us on its development and is interested in using the game to teach real participants about real clinical trials before they take part in them.
Tacye Phillipson is the senior curator of modern science at the National Museum of Scotland.
Play the medical trial game
Main funders of this phase Heritage Lottery Fund £4.85m; Wellcome Trust £1.3m; Scottish government £935,000; Wolfson Foundation; Dunard Fund; Fidelity UK Foundation; Garfield Weston Foundation; Sir Tom Farmer Foundation; ScottishPower Foundation
Exhibition design Metaphor
Construction Interserve
Fit-out Beck Interiors
Interactives Kingdom; ISO;
Aivaf; Spiral
Films Edinburgh Film Co; Yoho
Conservation In house
Lighting Sutton Vane Associates
Showcases Reier; ClickNetherfield
Admission Free
In terms of museological and technological development, five years can be a long time: how does this latest instalment of the museum’s £80m masterplan measure up?
The art, design and fashion galleries provide a visual feast. All four galleries – Fashion and Style, Making and Creating, the Art of Living, Design for Living – present a fantastic range of objects showing how people have lived, dressed and socialised over the years, how designs evolve to meet consumer needs, and how much skill and craftsmanship is invested in the creation of even the smallest utensil or item of jewellery.
In the Science and Technology galleries – entitled Explore, Making It, Technology by Design, Communicate, Enquire, Energise – visitors are taken on a journey to discover how engineering, manufacturing, science and medicine have advanced over the years to give us the health, home comforts and immediacy of travel and communication we are accustomed to today.
Personally, I will always be more excited by an intricately embroidered 18th-century frock coat than a 1950s particle accelerator. The reverse may be true for other visitors, but the beauty of these galleries, with their 3,000 objects, is that there is something for everyone. Visitors may even feel inspired to move out of their comfort zone to explore new topics – although I am often too squeamish to enjoy displays on medical research, I was fascinated by the one in the Enquire gallery showing the development of life-supporting advancements, from early inhalers to advanced electronic prosthetics. In the display on industrial design in Making and Creating I was surprised to learn that our familiar traffic lights and pedestrian crossing signal boxes were designed by Yorkshire-born David Mellor, who I had previously known only as a cutlery designer.
Eclectic styles
Many of the displays effectively communicate key messages through the selection and positioning of objects. In the beautifully executed Fashion and Style gallery, the juxtaposition of garments from different periods – one display has Darcy-esque Georgian breeches next to tight-laced bodices and some Calvin Klein underpants from 2005 – shows how different eras of fashion are defined by changing ideals of body shape.
In the Art of Living gallery, the collection of glittering treasures reveals how the privileged classes lived and worshipped from the medieval period to the mid-1800s. The opulence of the objects on display inspires the awe and reverence that they were originally created to incite.
In all 10 galleries, text, presented in the traditional format of panels and object labels, is concisely written and well-layered. The museum has developed a template for clear interpretation that is clean and accessible. It resolutely conforms to best practice in terms of language, length and design, and by providing a palette of multi-sensory approaches to cater for different learning styles.
This consistency creates a holistic feel across the museum’s permanent and temporary displays, so that earlier projects will not seem dated as new galleries are developed. But at times in the new galleries it felt as though the museum could have taken a few risks in its approach to interpretation, particularly in displays dedicated to scientific and technological advances, such as 3D printing. Panels and object labels inform visitors that technology is moving fast, but perhaps the interpretive media, while still in keeping with the overall ethos and design approach, could better reflect this.
Ways of engaging
On my second visit to this gallery, a member of staff – one of the museum’s enablers – invited visitors to create a piano using a yellow pepper and a MaKey MaKey (a child-safe electronic toy that makes anything into an operational touchpad). This felt like a much more appropriate way to engage visitors with emerging technologies; I hope such inspired encounters are a regular fixture.
The museum’s website boasts of almost 150 interactives in the 10 new galleries. In the art and design galleries, touchscreens provide a secondary layer of information on the history, meaning and conservation of key objects. The content is concise and attractively presented.
The fashion gallery takes a lighter approach, with a chance to try your hand at fashion design and then see your creation paraded on a virtual catwalk. Such fun is conspicuously absent from the other art and design spaces. The interactives in the science and technology galleries, however, are aimed at a broader range of ages and interest levels. Approaches range from touchscreen games, film presentations and hands-on durable exhibits to more creative interpretations – a virtual autopsy, a Formula One car simulator, and a giant hamster wheel on which visitors can run to generate electricity.
The hands-on interactives are popular and encourage social interaction among visitors. The touchscreen-based games and activities have strong learning objectives and are well-designed but don’t always hold the same appeal or sustain attention. With so much to see and do, feelings of restlessness and impatience can develop. Repeat visitors (and there is much to warrant return visits) may feel less time-pressured and more inclined to slow down and focus on certain spaces and activities.
Given the number and range of visitors to the museum each year, the provision of lots of displays and interactives is justifiable. But, at times, particularly in the science and technology galleries, using an interactive for each key message felt a bit overwhelming. Sometimes less is more.
In spite of this, and an underlying sense that there was room for a little more fun and risk-taking, the museum’s approach to display and interpretation creates an accessible, engaging and enjoyable experience for a broad range of visitors.
NMS’s last big reveal in 2011 attracted four million visitors in its first four months. This latest chapter in the museum’s masterplan looks set to enjoy a similar level of success.
Mary Stones is an interpretation project manager with the National Trust for Scotland
Focus on: Biomedical Interactives
Developing interactives to enhance the stories of the artefacts displayed was one of the many interesting challenges of this project. To present the personal stories of the users, makers and inventors of the objects, we have used digital screens in some of the displays.The prosthetic arms and legs in their showcases are immediately recognisable for what they are, and visually present the variety of materials and designs used in different technical approaches to solve the same problem. A screen allows visitors to explore the stories, generously shared by two people who choose not to use prosthetic limbs, and one who uses them but has opted for a century old technology, rather than the latest electrically-powered hand. Nearby, there is a working state-of-the-art i-limb bionic hand, designed by Scottish firm Touch Bionics, which visitors can operate within its case. And there’s a video showing a real person using the i-limb in everyday activities.
One game – also playable on our website – lets visitors take on the role of a scientist designing a clinical trial by testing experimental drugs on groups of patients with different symptoms. There are ethical and practical pitfalls that players must deal with during the game, which bring an alternative perspective to the process of drug discovery and shed a different light on the pharmaceutical materials on display.
We discovered a number of our colleagues were surprisingly unethical – hopefully the game has taught them a lesson. The Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility worked with us on its development and is interested in using the game to teach real participants about real clinical trials before they take part in them.
Tacye Phillipson is the senior curator of modern science at the National Museum of Scotland.
Play the medical trial game
Project data
Cost £50, three-year redevelopment; this phase £14.1mMain funders of this phase Heritage Lottery Fund £4.85m; Wellcome Trust £1.3m; Scottish government £935,000; Wolfson Foundation; Dunard Fund; Fidelity UK Foundation; Garfield Weston Foundation; Sir Tom Farmer Foundation; ScottishPower Foundation
Exhibition design Metaphor
Construction Interserve
Fit-out Beck Interiors
Interactives Kingdom; ISO;
Aivaf; Spiral
Films Edinburgh Film Co; Yoho
Conservation In house
Lighting Sutton Vane Associates
Showcases Reier; ClickNetherfield
Admission Free