Museum sights in Glasgow
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Glasgow Science Centre
Scotland's flagship millennium project, the superb, ultramodern Glasgow Science Centre will keep the kids entertained for hours (that's middle-aged kids, too!). It brings science and technology alive through hundreds of interactive exhibits on four floors. Look out for the illusions (like rearranging your features through a 3-D head-scan) and the cloud chamber, showing tracks of natural radiation. It consists of an egg-shaped titanium-covered IMAX theatre (phone for current screenings) and an interactive Science Mall with floor-to-ceiling windows – a bounty of discovery for young, inquisitive minds. There's also a rotating observation tower, 127m high. And check out the…
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Scottish Football Museum
Football fans will just love the Scottish Football Museum, which features exhibits on the history of the game in Scotland and the influence of Scots on the world game. Football inspires an incredible passion in Scotland and the museum is crammed full of impressive memorabilia, including a cap and match ticket from the very first international football game (which took place in 1872 between Scotland and England, and ended with a score of 0-0). The museum's engrossing exhibits give insight into the players, the fans, the media and the way the game has changed over the last 140 years. You can also take a tour of the stadium (adult/child £6/3; combined ticket with museum £9/4…
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Clydebuilt
If immersing yourself in a city's heritage floats your boat, a visit to Clydebuilt will get you paddlin'. It's a superb collection of model ships, industrial displays and narrative, vividly painting the history of the Clyde, the fate of which has been inextricably linked with Glasgow and its people. It's a cleverly designed museum, with twists and turns that offer something new around every corner. Outside you can board Kyles, a typical 1872 vessel. Moored on the empty shores of the Clyde, with only the crying gulls above breaking the silence, it's a perfect place to contemplate the defunct shipyards that formed the cornerstone of Glasgow's industrial heritage.
Clydebuilt …
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Riverside Museum
The latest development along the Clyde is the building of this visually impressive new museum, designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, at Glasgow Harbour west of the centre. Opened in June, it houses a varied collection, including three recreated Glasgow streets from various points in history, a display of maritime heritage and much of what was formerly in the Museum of Transport: a display of cars made in Scotland, plus assorted railway locos, trams, bikes (including the world's first pedal-powered bicycle from 1847) and model ships. The magnificent Tall Ship Glenlee (likely admission charge £5.95 with one child free per adult), a beautiful three-master launched in 1896,…
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Museum of Transport
Across Argyle St from the Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery is the surprisingly interesting and very comprehensive, but badly signposted, Museum of Transport. Not convinced? It’s actually a very fine museum with exhibits including a reproduction of a 1938 Glasgow street scene, a display of cars made in Scotland, plus assorted railway locos, trams, bikes (including the world’s first pedal-powered bicycle from 1847) and model ships. There’s a room dedicated to the Clyde shipyards. It’s like peeping through a porthole at the not-too-distant past. Note that the museum is due to be incorporated into a new Riverside Museum down at Glasgow Harbour, sometime in 2008. By train it’s a…
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Hunterian Museum
Housed in the glorious sandstone main building of the university, which is in itself reason enough to pay a visit, this quirky museum contains the collection of renowned one-time student of the university, William Hunter (1718–83). Hunter was primarily an anatomist and physician but, as one of those gloriously well-rounded Enlightenment figures, he interested himself in everything the world had to offer. Pickled organs in glass jars take their place alongside geological phenomena, potsherds gleaned from ancient brochs, dinosaur skeletons and a creepy case of deformed animals. The main halls of the exhibition, with their high vaulted roofs, are magnificent in themselves. …
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St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life & Art
A startling achievement, this museum, set in a reconstruction of the bishop's palace that once stood here in the cathedral forecourt, is an audacious attempt to capture the world's major religions in an artistic nutshell, while presenting the similarities and differences in how they approach common themes such as birth, marriage and death. The result is commendable. The attraction is twofold: firstly, impressive art that blurs the lines between religion and culture; and secondly, the opportunity to delve into different faiths, an experience that can be as deep or shallow as you wish. There are three galleries, representing religion as art, religious life and, on the top f…
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St Mungo’s Museum
A startling achievement, St Mungo’s Museum is an audacious attempt to capture the world’s major religions in an artistic nutshell. The result is commendable. The attraction is twofold: firstly, impressive art that blurs the lines between religion and culture; and secondly, the opportunity to delve into different faiths, an experience that can be as deep or shallow as you wish. There are three galleries, representing religion as art, religious life and, on the top floor, religion in Scotland. Britain’s only Zen garden is outside.
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People's Palace
Set in the city's oldest park, Glasgow Green, is the solid orange stone People's Palace. It is an impressive museum of social history, telling the story of the city from 1750 to the present. It has creative, inventive displays, which are great for families – the kids will love the re-creation of a WWII air raid. The palace was built in the late 19th century as a cultural centre for Glasgow's East End. The attached greenhouse, the Winter Gardens, has tropical plants and makes a nice spot for a coffee.
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Scotland Street School Museum
An impressive Mackintosh building, the Scotland Street School Museum is dominated by two glass towers. It’s a fascinating museum of education, with reconstructions of classrooms from Victorian times and the 1940s to the 1960s. The place evokes childhood memories for just about everyone – don’t be surprised if you hear a few titters from elderly visitors as they pass the headmaster’s office.
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Tall Ship
Across the Clyde from the science centre, via Bell’s Bridge, is the magnificent Tall Ship, one of five sailing ships built on the Clyde still afloat. The Glenlee was launched in December 1896. The sheer size of this three-masted ship is impressive, and there are displays about her history, restoration and life on board in the early 20th century.
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Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum
Charts the history of this and previous regiments from 1678 to the present. The walls are dripping with exhibits, including uniforms, medals, pictures and other militaria. Wrought ironwork was designed by Mackintosh.
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