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.
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Inside Visit Us
Crofthouse Museum
The Shetland Crofthouse Museum is now closed for the season and will reopen in May 2025.
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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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Highlights from two centuries of Shetland fine knitted lace on display
A new awe-inspiring display of Shetland fine knitted lace spanning two centuries is now available to view at the Shetland Museum and ...
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Shetland Festival of Care 2022 - Tending the Light
'Tending the Light', the Shetland Festival of Care 2022, launches on Friday 18 February at the Shetland Museum and Archives. It ...
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Shetland Museum and Archives reopens to the public
We are delighted to announce that the Shetland Museum and Archives will re-open from tomorrow (Tuesday 8 February) following a ...
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550 Years Ago: how Shetland became part of Scotland
A fortnight ago some women and men from the South Mainland of Shetland marched in Glasgow with torches. They were commemorating the ...
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Up Helly Aa - the Venues
We’re missing Up Helly Aa again - not just a fire spectacle but a major social event, with dances and performances in many venues in ...
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Update on temporary closure of Shetland Museum and Archives
We apologise for the delay in reopening the museum and archives this year.
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The New Year, 1872 and the Truck Commission
The New Year of 1872 began in a special way in Shetland. On the first of January Sheriff William Guthrie began hearings in the Queens ...
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A Lerwick Christmas One Hundred Years Ago: 1921
The Town Council decided which day the Christmas holiday should be on, there had been petitions. After some deliberation they settled ...
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Shetland Museum and Archives awarded funding for Year of Stories
Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to announce that it will be celebrating and showcasing many of Shetland’s untold stories ...
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Kirk artefacts to be saved by Shetland Museum
The heritage of a number of important religious artefacts from some of Shetland’s churches is to be preserved for future generations ...
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Accounts with Women Labourers
Thomas Hardy, probably the Victorian novelist most familiar with the grit of rural life, described the work of his agricultural ...
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The Maiden
Hallowe’en at the end of October is traditionally a part of the year when macabre things are thought of and expressed. Perhaps a ...
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New exhibition - to excite young readers and art lovers
A new exhibition opens this week at the Shetland Museum and Archives. 'A’ll Tell Dee a Story' is the work of local author and ...
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October Holiday Events
Join us at the Shetland Museum and Archives this October holidays for an exciting programme of Halloween themed events.
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Bold new art exhibition celebrates Shetland nature
Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to unveil a bold new art exhibition in its Gadderie space that is inspired by Shetland ...
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