There are many intriguing locations to explore in Granite City, but none more so than the abundance of museums and galleries it is home to. Whatever your hobbies, Aberdeen is sure to have something that will fascinate, inform, and astound you. Here are a few of the top choices.
1. Aberdeen Science Centre
Whether you’re 6 or 60, children of all ages will enjoy this interactive museum. This museum seeks to educate visitors in an entertaining way and is a well-liked educational resource for teachers and students. A planetarium, robots, dinosaurs, and other attractions make this a great family outing.
2. Aberdeen Art Gallery
This gallery is deserving of note even though it is now closed for extensive renovations. The collections, which were founded in 1884 and are housed in a stunning edifice created by the architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, feature works by Francis Bacon, William Hogarth, and many other artists.
Many of these pieces are currently kept at adjacent locations like Drum Castle or the Maritime Museum. The gallery is anticipated to reopen in the winter of 2017, and interest is rising.
3. Gordon Highlanders Museum
This regiment was once referred to as the best in the world by Winston Churchill, and the displays exhibited here are unquestionably of the highest calibre. Here, the 200-year history of the Highlanders is brought to life with everything from weaponry to medals, and even dressing-up possibilities, earning it a five-star rating from the Scottish Tourist Board.
4. The Tolbooth
The Tolbooth, one of Aberdeen’s oldest structures, served as the city’s jail during the 17th century. As well as a number of artefacts from the prison, including iron manacles, a scold’s bridle (a metal gag that fit over the wearer’s head and compressed the tongue to stop them from speaking! ), and The Maiden, the original guillotine used for executions in the city, are on display.
It is not difficult to imagine how miserable it must have been to have been kept here as a prisoner, a participant in the unsuccessful Jacobite uprising in 1745, or, most sinisterly, as a young child who had been abducted from the nearby countryside or the town itself and sold by local merchants as an indentured servant before being sent across the Atlantic.
5. The Maritime Museum
The fate of Aberdeen has been intertwined with the sea for many centuries. This museum offers comprehensive information on this connection, ranging from the earliest days of sailing to clipper ships, fishing boats, and the contemporary offshore business.
The only museum in the UK featuring in-depth exhibits on the oil and gas industry, which have come to represent the city, is located here. A portion of the museum is housed in Provost Ross’s House, a 1593-built historical artefact in and of itself. The best part is that all of this is free for the guest.
6. King’s Museum
For generations, the University of Aberdeen has been a vital component of the city. It should not be surprising to hear that this includes a wide range of public venues, whether they are used to display art or to house amazing collections of artefacts.
Although the King’s Museum didn’t officially open until 2011, many of the items on display come from a 1727 college collection. Regular exhibition changes are combined with events like free public lectures. This place must be visited.
7. Zoology Museum
The Zoology Museum, which contains specimens from all around the world, is the other major university collection. With bones, taxidermy, skins, and even entire animals preserved in fluid, the visitor can examine a variety of species here, from the microscopic to the enormous.
