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...

Read more

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.

Read more

Crofthouse Museum

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

Read more

Galleries

Visit our Museum Galleries

Read more

Archives Searchroom

Visit the Archives searchroom

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

Accessibility

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

Read more

Visit Us Blog Posts

Young Ambassador Project

Shetland Museum and Archives, and Shetland Arts are looking for 12 young ambassadors to take part in an exciting 3-month project in ...

Read more

Writing The North Project Concludes

A year-long project which has explored the historical literature of Orkney and Shetland, and explored continuity with contemporary ...

Read more

ARTIST ROOMS 214 Tour: Don McCullin

Shetland Museum & Archives and Shetland Arts Development Agency will show work by internationally acclaimed photojournalist Don ...

Read more

Grant Award for Migration Study

Shetland Museum and Archives are delighted to announce that they have received a Leverhulme Trust Artist in Residence award, to work ...

Read more

Writing the North

Shetland and Orkney’s literature will take centre stage in a major new project being launched this weekend in Edinburgh. The project ...

Read more

Visitor numbers boosted by Divine Cat visit

The Gayer Anderson Cat Exhibition from September to December attracted over 6000 more visits from the same period in the previous ...

Read more