Inverness Museum and Art Gallery — Attraction in Crown and City Centre

I discovered this by accident yesterday (along with, funnily enough, another Invernessian who had never known this was here/been in), and immediately brought my kids back the next day - it was that good.

It was really interesting how quickly they were captivated by the exhibits. I was expecting them to want to head back out after about 30 minutes but we were there for a much longer time than that. There really was something for each of their interests there, which was really surprising in such a small space so tucked away.

I'm not sure what it was exactly, but maybe something about the layout is set up so that you just turn around and there's something interesting just next to you - even if it's not strictly the same era. It seems to be set up more as a 'look at this cool thing we have and why it's cool' rather than a more prescribed tour through a chronological hall, essentially. Not to say there's no order, it's just that designing the space around a timeline is not the main focus; it really does seem to be more on showing us these really special things about Inverness/the Highlands, which - as a resident - was exciting to see.

Staff were fantastic. Really very welcoming and happy to chat with the kids, which makes a big difference to them in feeling engaged. Highly, highly...

A really lovely museum. Very interesting things in it. A stuffed Wolf who used to live at Highland Wildlife Park but he died from natural causes. A Puma which was an exotic pet. Other Wildlife Taxidermy too. One Exhibition we saw recently was all things medical. There was a litte Doctor's waiting room, and cabinets filled with old medical equipment and instruments and chemist supplies. Retro posters about diseases etc... In one room was an Exhibition dedicated to the Pandemic and I found it very emotional. Display cases with all the PPE, masks, hazmat suits, gloves etc.. Then Covid tests (unopened) preserved for the future for people to learn about the Pandemic in years to come. A little film of pictures of people's experiences of the Pandemic in the Highlands. Empty shops and streets and social distancing etc. And scenes of the hospitals too. NHS Rainbow Thank You messages. It was one of the nicest and most emotional Exhibitions I...

Very nice and interesting museum. Geological History, Natural History, praehistoric, picts, norse, jocobites, ... Parts of the exhibitions are "interactive" and I think it would therefore be a nice place to bring kids as well. There is something here for everyone. Apparantly there usually is a Gallery showing Art as well, but that was unfortunatly beeing redone so we could not visit it. The Museum and Gallery are essentially free, but you are encouraged to donate if you think it's worth it. Depending how much of the museum interests you, you coudl likely walk through in about 20 minutes, but there is easily enough information to spend more than an hour. A tiny shop has a few nice souvenirs and toys and there is a small cafe which was closed due to COVID-19...