Country SNAPSHOT SCOTLAND - Maritime Museum in Aberdeen

Built at a cost of £4 million and opened in 1997, Aberdeen Maritime Museum is located in Shiprow near Aberdeen City docks. It tells the story of Aberdeen's links with the sea from the days of sail and clipper ships to the latest oil and gas exploration technology. The museum includes a range of interactive exhibits and models, including an 8.5m (28 feet) high model of the Murchison oil production platform and the 19th Century assembly taken from Rattray Head lighthouse.

Close to the site of the museum the remains of a 12th century industrial complex have been found. The current building replaced an earlier maritime museum located in Provost Ross's House.

The City of Aberdeen's award winning Maritime Museum brings the history of the North Sea to life. View multimedia displays and exciting exhibitions on the offshore oil industry, shipbuilding, fishing and clipper ships then visit the museum shop and licensed cafe. Awarded a 5 star museum rating by the Scottish Tourist Board.

What's it like to put on a survival suit, strap yourself into a helicopter and fly 150 miles to a North Sea platform? For many households this is a monthly routine that passes for commuting to work. For those left behind it is a lifestyle that can only be glimpsed through the media.

In Aberdeen' Maritime Museum, visitors can experience for themselves what it's like to live and work on board an operational oil platform. The 8.5m high model of the Murchison oil production platform is surrounded by three floors of computer displays, reconstructions and hands on exhibits giving an in-depth view of life offshore. A real accommodation cabin shows the living arrangements, the full-size replica oil platform control room shows how oil and gas is processed through the platform.

Other major exhibits in the Museum include the massive 19th Century lighthouse assembly from Rattray Head Lighthouse and an original (full sized) teak deck house of the kind used on the famous North Boats. At the touch of a button you can watch archive footage of ship launchings or see how previous generations of fisher folk lived and worked, as well as a reconstruction of a 1920s shipyard drawing office and a reconstructed steam trawler deck.

Aberdeen, Scotland, home to a population of 211.250, Aberdeen is a thriving, cosmopolitan port in the North-east of Scotland.
Built at the mouth of two major Scottish rivers, the Dee and the Don, and covering an area of 184.47 square kilometers (71.22 square miles), the Granite City owes its distinctive appearance to the famous, locally quarried and widely exported, building material. Traditional industries such as fishing and farming still flourish in and around the city but Aberdeen's buoyant modern economy - reflected in unemployment rates consistently under 2% - is fuelled by the oil industry, earning the city a new epithet as 'Oil Capital of Europe'.
With bustling shopping malls, a wide variety of entertainment and leisure amenities, and a vibrant arts scene, Aberdeen is a major retail, leisure and cultural center. First class road, rail, sea and air communications - London is only an hour's flight away - ensures the city, though Northerly, is not isolated.

Visitors can discover what it is like to live and work on a massive oil platform in the middle of the North Sea. Using models, real equipment and computer displays, the exhibitions bring the North Sea experience to life. The museum has sleek models of fast clipper ships, fishing displays and outstanding views of the harbour.

Background Information
A modern museum, opened in May 1997, covering the history of Aberdeen's close connection with the sea. Subjects covered include North Sea Oil and Gas; Shipbuilding; Fshing; asnd harbour history.

Maritime paintings include 150 ships' portraits of clippers ships through to fishing vessels.

General information
Facilities: Cafe, Shop, Disabled Access, Lectures.
Admission: 10.00-5.00 Monday to Saturday; 12.00 - 3.00 Sunday.
How to find us: By car, NCP Car Park opposite museum. By bus, Buses on Union Street. The nearest railway station is Aberdeen Guild Street - 5 minutes walk away.

Shiprow, Aberdeen, AB11 5BY
Telephone: 01224 337700

Nearest Train Station:Aberdeen
Months Open:All Year
Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm
Sun 12 - 3pm
Groups/Parties Welcome:Yes
Conference Facilities:Yes
Admission Price:Free
Gift Shop:Yes
Catering:Café

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