Visit Us

Shetland Museum & Archives is open. Drop in and visit us, no booking is necessary.

Free to visit - As always, entry to the Museum and Archives is free but now more than ever we need your support - please consider making a donation.

View our full opening times

Inside Visit Us

CLOSED

It is with regret that we announce the closure of 'Hay's Dock by The Dowry', which was operated by Beervana Ltd. Unfortunately, despite efforts to remain open, securing the necessary staff has not been possible which has resulted in a mutual end of t...

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Tours

Make the most of your visit with us and join us on a tour to ensure you see the highlights of our museum and our Recognised Collections.

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Crofthouse Museum

The Shetland Crofthouse Museum is now closed for the season and will reopen in May 2025.

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Galleries

Visit our Museum Galleries

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Archives Searchroom

Visit the Archives searchroom

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Gift Shop

Our gift shop offers a range of products which are inspired by the Museum and Archive collections, and reflect and celebrate Shetland's unique culture and heritage.

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Activities

Whatever your reason for visiting us at Shetland Museum and Archives, there are a range of activities on offer to ensure you can make the most of your time with us.

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Hay's Dock

Shetland Museum and Archives sits on Hay’s Dock; the last remaining area of original dock on the Lerwick waterfront, which is now category B listed. This is a perfect setting to highlight the strong heritage connection with the sea, and display just some of the traditional Shetland boats in the collection.

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Public Art

Shetland Amenity Trust commissioned over 60 individual artworks as part of its Shetland Museum and Archives Public Art Project. These are on show throughout the building and dock, some even appearing alongside the artefacts and documents in the galleries and Archives.

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Accessibility

We want to make sure we continue to offer an excellent experience for all visitors with additional needs .

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Visit Us Blog Posts

Getting ready for the Summer Season

The Shetland Amenity Trust have been busy over the past month getting ready to open key sites for the 2019 visitor season. Sumburgh ...

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From this Day Forward – Wedding Exhibition

Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to present our latest exhibition, ‘From This Day Forward’ a celebration of Shetland Weddings ...

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Welcoming tenders for Hay’s Dock Café

Do you have what it takes to deliver a great café offering in a 5 star Visitor Attraction? We work hard to feed the imagination of ...

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The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2018

Five hundred years after the dazzling genius of Hans Holbein, a painting by one of the greatest portraitists of all time can now be ...

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Holbein Comes to Shetland

The countdown has begun! We are delighted to say that today marks one week until the public opening of 'A Lady with a Squirrel and a ...

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The BIG Takeover - Shetland 2018

Shetland Museum and Archives is working with other local agencies and young people as part of the Year of Young People in 2018.

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Boats on the Move

The Shetland Museum Boat Shed has had a transformation with the departure of the Oceanic Lifeboat - a long term resident during her ...

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Aith Junior High Pupils curate new exhibition at Shetland Museum and Archives

A new exhibition has been unveiled telling the story of the whaling ship, Diana. The display has been curated by pupils from P4/5 and ...

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10th Birthday Celebrations

To celebrate the milestone 10th birthday, Shetland Museum and Archives staff are hosting a day of birthday celebrations on Saturday ...

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Mathewson Lecture

Eileen Brooke-Freeman will deliver a talk about the life of her ancestor Andrew Dishington Mathewson of East Yell (1799-1887) from her ...

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Shetland Museum and Archives goes virtual

Shetland Museum and Archives have embraced the world of virtual reality with a new app available from VisitScotland.

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Rare and Unique - Shetland's rare book collection

This December the Shetland Museum and Archives are focusing on the rare and unique Shetland book collection they look after for the ...

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Littoral Art Project gives pupils a new perspective on beach litter

School pupils will be engaging with the Gadderie exhibition in coming weeks.

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Supporting Dementia Friends

Shetland Museum and Archives are proud to support Dementia Friends Scotland and recently took part in training to better understand ...

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Anniversary Events

Staff gathered for an official photo as the anniversary celebrations begin.

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