Maths at National Museums Scotland

Have fun with maths across the National Museums Scotland sites with trails, videos and activities for home or the classroom.

Activities Preview NMS Maths Trail

National Museums Scotland has collections spanning art, science and history. Discover maths in the collections, the buildings and even the work of the staff!

Maths Trail at National Museums of Scotland

Explore the National Museum of Scotland through maths themed activities and challenges. Download and print the trail to do on the day, whilst our teachers notes have some helpful hints and classroom activities to complement.

Castle Quest at Edinburgh Castle

Head up to Edinburgh Castle and explore the history through a maths lens. Why do we measure horses in hands? Why are battlements round? Download and print the trail to do on the day, whilst our teachers notes have some helpful hints and classroom activities to complement.

#ShowYourWorking at National Museums Scotland

Staff across National Museums Scotland are sharing how important maths is in their work as part of Maths Week Scotlands #ShowYourWorking campaign. Why not have a go at some of the activities!

Let us know how you get on @NMSEngage and @MathsWeekScot on Twitter.

Dan shares with us how he uses calculations to figure out the cost of objects
It's not just curators using maths! Our learning staff also rely on maths to keep our sessions running, here Helyn shares how.

Latest News and Events

News

Scottish Science Festivals in 2005

We love science festivals here at Maths Week Scotland, as there's always lots of maths involved! To help you keep up to date with all the science festivals happening in Scotland this year, we've made a list of the ones we know about and we'll update the list throughout the year.

News

Maths Week 2025: Wild Maths

Maths Week Scotland will be back 22 September - 28 September 2025 with the theme Wild Maths, looking at maths in the natural world.

16th-25th Jun
Event

Museum on the Move - National Museum of Scotland

National Museum of Scotland | | Free
A hands-on workshop where pupils work together to solve a series of maths-related problems based around planning to move one of the display objects at the National Museum of Scotland.