Join us for our monthly Relaxed Opening Hour for anyone who would appreciate a calmer visit to the museum.

Friendly staff will be there to give you a warm welcome and support your visit, as you explore some areas of the museum without noisy interactives and videos to give a more relaxed environment.

This session is primarily for, but not limited to, families with autistic children; autistic young people and adults; adults living with dementia; adults and children with mental health problems; and any other visitors with sensory needs or who may prefer a more relaxed experience, plus their families, friends and carers.

The Relaxed Opening Hour includes access to the entirety of the museum currently open to the public. At 11:00 sound will be switched back on, but visitors to this session are welcome to remain in the museum for as long as they like. Find out more below.

We plan to hold these sessions on the last Sunday of every month. Our next Relaxed Opening Hour is:

What does ‘relaxed’ mean?

‘Relaxed’ means the following changes will be made and additional resources offered:

• Where possible, loud sounds from audiovisual displays, interactives and films will be reduced or switched off.
• Our well-trained Visitor Experience team and other staff will be available to answer questions and support your visit – we’ll be looking out for sunflower lanyards too.
• Some sensory backpacks are available for children to borrow to enhance their visit.
• A Sensory Map of the museum is available to help you learn about sound levels, lighting levels, tactile opportunities and which galleries are more/less crowded.
• Signage around the museum, alerting visitors to the time slot being a ‘relaxed’ session, and signposting noisier and busier galleries that cannot be adapted.

Please note there are some sounds we are unable to change:

• The Millennium clock will sound at 11:05.
• The smaller clock in the Grand Gallery will still chime every 15 mins.

Children can borrow a sensory backpack during their visit.

Planning and preparing for your visit

• We suggest entering the museum through the Tower Entrance as this is usually a quieter space and staff will be there to welcome you.
• Download a visual story of the museum to help you familiarise yourself with the galleries.
• Download a PDF of the Sensory Map to help you plan your route around the museum (physical copies are also available at the museum).
• You can also tour the National Museum of Scotland on Google StreetView.

Please be aware that this opening takes place during regular museum hours so we are unable to promise reduced numbers, but first thing on a Sunday morning tends to be a quieter time. However, some areas may get busy and loud with excited visitors. Our Sensory Map can help identify areas of the museum that are usually less busy and we will have signs outside particularly noisy galleries.