Exploring: What I learned in the National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland, set in the heart of Edinburgh, is a veritable treasure trove of interesting objects and specimens from around the world.

Here’s what I learned when I visited last week:

– Silver, as a naturally occurring mineral, can grow into beautiful leafy dendritic crystal structures and coiling, wiry masses like this:

– In 1843 it was acceptable to ask Whalers to bring you back bone samples for your collections. But you had to remember to tell them not to carve things on them during the long voyage home:

– Birmingham was home to one of the country’s only specialists in lighthouse light construction: glassmakers 

Chance & Co

– The Museum houses a large collection of the internal workings from Lighthouses, and companies like Chance and Co made their construction into an art form:

– The

Flapjack Octopus is incredibly cute.

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