Kilmartin Museum
Work With Kilmartin Museum
The Journey of Kilmartin Museum
Kilmartin Museum opens the doors to over 12,000 years of history. Established in 1997, it is an archaeological museum in Argyll and Bute with a mission to inspire and educate people by interpreting, explaining and conserving the internationally important archaeological landscape, artefacts and natural heritage of Kilmartin Glen, one of the world’s richest prehistoric sites. The Museum’s Collections were awarded a Nationally Significant status in 2019 by an independent panel of experts and Museums Galleries Scotland. By 2012, Kilmartin Museum’s services and collections had expanded to the point where we had outgrown our buildings. To give us the space we needed to build on our successes, we expanded the Museum and re-opened the doors to the public on 3 September 2023. A major extension, designed by award-winning architects Reiach and Hall, joined together two existing buildings to create a seamless Museum facility which greatly enhances the experience for all our users and is more efficient to run. It also allowed for artefacts found in the local area which had been cared for by British Museum and National Museum of Scotland to be returned to the Museum. The Museum has now been shortlisted for the prestigious Museums + Heritage Award in the key category of Permanent Exhibition of the Year.
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The Museum has a Service Level Agreement with Historic Environment Scotland to provide engagement and educational services for Kilmartin Glen’s archaeology. Argyll and Bute Council’s Archaeology Collections are cared for by Kilmartin Museum under a Service Level Agreement. Museum employs 12 staff. It houses a Permanent Exhibition showcasing 200+ artefacts from its Collections of over 40,000 artefacts, a Special Exhibition, an exhibition of art from local artists, a Café and a Museum Shop. It also offers a wide range of educational services (school visits, Mobile Museum, talks, workshops, Young Archaeology Club and more), weekly Guided Walks and assets such as Activities at Home for children, Self-Guided Trail.
Kilmartin Museum's Mission and Impact
Kilmartin Museum aims are:
- Inspiring people to celebrate the global significance of Kilmartin Glen
- Curating and developing Argyll’s Archaeological Collections of over 40,000 artefacts
- Sustaining and developing an active and innovative education service
- Having a positive economic impact
- Contributing to the preservation, understanding and appreciation of the area’s archaeological monuments, landscape and natural heritage
Kilmartin Museum team is small and very busy, working very closely together on not only caring for the Museum but also delivering a very broad range of education activities in and around the Museum and local area, producing various industry events such as talks and conferences, also Guided Walks and so on. Kilmartin Museum is a working museum which means it organises and takes part in excavations and presents research.
The Future
What Kilmartin Museum plan to achieve long-term:
- Economic impact annual estimated at £3.8M pre-project to £5.8M post project;
- Transformation of the Museum into principle cultural and heritage venue in Argyll - increasing visitor numbers from 13,000 pa to 22,500 pa and Glen visitors from 28,000 to 44,000 visitors pa;
- Social value impact from £4 per person for every £1 invested to £6 per person;
- Tripling education service users from 3,000 pa to 9,000 pa.
