The city’s rich and diverse collections, exhibitions and public programmes are some of the most varied in the UK and can guarantee that there’s always something new for visitors to see.
The Aberdeen Maritime Museum houses a unique collection covering shipbuilding, fast sailing ships, fishing and port history, and has displays on the North Sea oil and gas industry.
The Tolbooth Museum is set in one of the best-preserved 17th century gaols in Scotland. Visitors can explore the cells of the gaol and view displays on local history and the changing face of crime and punishment through the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Aberdeen Art Gallery is one of Scotland’s finest art galleries, re-opened November 2019 after a £30-million redevelopment. This project has doubled the number of galleries, with displays and interactives that inform, engage and entertain the widest possible audience.
The Aberdeen Treasure Hub is the Council’s main museum collection store where visitors are welcomed to learn more about the collections that they care for on behalf of the people of Aberdeen. Visits must to be booked in advance.
The Gordon Highlanders Museum tells the 200 year story of “the Finest Regiment in the World” - from its 18th-century roots to its service in the Gulf War. The museum's collections include uniforms, arms and equipment used by the regiment and its opponents through the centuries, as well as extensive archives that are available for use by researchers.
The University’s own collections are spectacular, with collections ranking alongside the largest in Scotland and being one of few institutions with a Recognised Collection of National Significance. You can visit the Gallery in the Sir Duncan Rice Library with its constantly changing programme of exhibitions, and the Zoology Museum which is the only museum of its kind in the north of Scotland.
The University Collections include artefacts from Scottish history and archaeology, Egyptian and Classical antiquities, World Cultures, coins and medals, fine art, scientific instruments, geology, zoology, a herbarium and medical collections.
There are many other museums in the region, notably the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford which boasts an impressive range of transport exhibits, from travelling chariots of the 1800's, to some of the fastest cars ever made. Duff House in Banff is as a a five-star country house and gallery, run in partnership by Aberdeenshire Council, Historic Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland.