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Education & Research

Education & Research

Shetland Museum and Archives offers a comprehensive education programme, with access to workshops focussing on different areas of our collections, and outreach sessions in the community.

The Museum and Archives is managed by the Shetland Amenity Trust, a small charity caring for Shetland's natural and cultural heritage. It is free to visit the Museum and Archives and we work hard to deliver resources and activities to as many people as possible for free. Donations are welcomed to help the Trust care for the collections and our heritage both now and in the future.

Resource packs are available for teachers or community groups and staff are on hand to assist with personal or academic research on artefacts or in the Archives.

The education services and resources offered all focus on aspects of Shetland’s rich heritage and culture and promoting access to the Shetland Museum and Archive’s collections. From fun pre-school sessions to post-graduate research and important reminiscence sessions with older groups; all age groups are catered for.

Browse the pages in this section to find resources suitable for your own needs.

Inside Education & Research

Online Activities

If you can't come and visit us in person we have lots of things to keep you up to date and entertained.

Pre-Schoolers

In addition to family and school workshops and events, Shetland Museum and Archives learning team have developed a range of activities for pre-school children.

Schools

Our learning team offer themed tours and workshops designed to meet the needs the of the Curriculum for Excellence from Early Level to Senior phase. All of our schools programme is based on our collections, with special workshops developed to compliment visiting exhibitions. All education visits are free of charge.

Families

Family activity days are regularly scheduled and often tie in with seasonal themes or exhibition topics.

Adult Learning - Individuals

Lifelong Learning staff, curators and visiting lecturers and artists provide a range of adult learning events through the year. See our Events Calendar for details of upcoming events.

Adult Learning - Groups

There are a number of events planned during the year by learning staff which are designed for groups. In addition to scheduled events, some sessions can be arranged on an outreach basis, or to suit group users.

Museum Collections

Many people use Shetland Museum and Archives artefact collections for research. Subjects vary greatly, although the most common themes for research are archaeology and textiles. Both of these collections have been ‘Recognised’ as collections of national significance.

Archives Services

Shetland Archives searchroom provides a quiet space to carry out research using the extensive range of archive material held in the repository. The Archives are a public resource open to everyone, without appointment, and provide access to documents, images and sound files.

Online Resources

A number of teachers packs have been developed to assist with classroom learning which can be followed up with visits to the Museum and Archives for further investigation into the collections. These are available to download here.

Year of Stories 2022

The Shetland Museum and Archives are hosting a series of events as part of the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund with Shetland’s community stories at its heart.

Collections

Online Resources