Learning, schools and research

Primary Schools

We offer a range of exciting workshops for primary schools based on the fantastic collections of the University Museums, as featured in the Times Educational Supplement. All of our workshops are free and run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. You can find information about  King's Museum and the Special Collections workshops and Experience Days in our Primary Schools Programme.

Please email kingsmuseum@abdn.ac.uk  or call (01224) 274330 for information on activities for schools or to enquire about research involving the museum collections.

Research 

The University of Aberdeen has seven museum collections, comprising around 300,000 artefacts, specimens and artworks.  The entire collection cared for by the University of Aberdeen is accredited and classed as a Recognised Collection of National Significance to Scotland. 

Researchers should contact Shona Elliott, Curator (Documentation and Fine Art) at s.elliott@abdn.ac.uk to discuss arrangements for research visits. 

1. Marischal Museum
The Marischal Museum collections include Scottish archaeology, local history, ethnography, fine art, coins and medals. 

 2. Zoology Museum
This museum has the only large zoological collection in the north of Scotland, covering the whole of the animal kingdom from protozoa to the great whales. 

Treasures include bird specimens presented to William MacGillivray by John James Audubon, Blaschka glass models, a Great Auk egg and the tiger from George Wombwell's travelling menagerie. 

3. Anatomy Museum
Established in the 1870s, the Anatomy Museum has a wide-ranging collection, including skeletal material, fluid-preserved specimens of human tissue, historical and modern models and works on paper. 

Of special interest are a set of 19th century watercolours and a series of anatomical drawings by Alberto Morrocco.

4.Pathology and Forensic Medicine Collection
The collection was developed over the 20th century to provide an historical record of disease and death in north-east Scotland.  It includes fluid-preserved specimens of human tissue, historical models and some objects that relate to crimes of note in Aberdeen. 

5. Geological Collections
Rock, mineral and palaeontology specimens collected from around the world, including plant and arthropod material from the Devonian Rhynie Chert.  Many specimens are from localities no longer available for collecting.

 6. Herbarium
The Herbarium is the only significant plant collection in the North of Scotland.  It is worldwide in scope and has been brought together by a number of past Professors including James Trail, William MacGillivrayand W.G. Craib.  Of particular significance are the British and Thai collections.  The latter is one of the top two collections outside Thailand.

 7, Natural Philosophy Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
The Natural Philosophy Collection is one of the most diverse and wide-ranging in any British University.  It proves a record of teaching and research in Physics over the past 200 years.  The instruments were collected and used by past Professors like Patrick Copland, James Clerk Maxwell and R.V.Jones. 

The catalogue for all seven collections can be accessed online at www.abdn.ac.uk/museums and the 'Advanced Search' function allows users to select individual collections for searching.  Typing 'Collection Description' into the 'AnyText' field will enable the user to see summaries of groups of items within these collections.  Photographs of many of the objects will soon be added to Digitool (the University's online image database).