Address: Surgeons Hall Museums, Nicolson St, Edinburgh EH8 9DW, United Kingdom
Phone: +441315271711
Rating: 4.7
based on 419 reviews.
Exhibits and Collection
Pros:
"The collection of specimens is vast and impressive."
"Spread over multiple floors, this is a fascinating insight into the human body with displays of human remains showcasing various different ailments, diseases, tumors etc."
"Unique exhibits, telling the story of the history of surgery, with a focus on Edinburgh and Scotland."
"The museum has countless collections displaying a wide range of injuries and illnesses, many of which are perfectly preserved since the 1700s."
"Thousands of specimens all well researched and displayed impeccably."
"They literally have thousands of real human specimens on display, preserved in glass jars filled with formaldehyde/formalin."
"An array of many different jars featuring various body parts."
Cons:
"The problem is the labels are all in medical terms so sometimes you have no idea what it is, and there's no dates or info on the patients such as outcomes."
"Some of the exhibits and specimens would benefit from more explanation of what they show."
"It can be a bit repetitive (many body parts and tumours in jars) and it is not as well explained as the other building."
"Some display cabinets had a little too many pieces with lots of numbers arranged in occasionally non-sequential order making tracing their names/function slightly more difficult."
"A few displays could have more info for those who don't know a great deal of anatomy."
"Expecting something more about surgery, the body parts in jars are fun to watch but starts to feel repetitive in the later part of the exhibition."
"Not quite what I expected. Not as much history on surgery/medicine but very neat."
Accessibility and Facilities
Pros:
"I also saw a few families so this was child friendly, wheelchair accessible just not allowed to take photos."
"Each floor is accessible by lift."
"All the floor Were accessible, and wheelchair users could see the exhibits because they were all at the right height."
"Wheelchair accessible with a wheelchair you can use."
"The museum also provides manual wheelchairs, free of charge, for those who need them."
"There are a few toilets, WiFi, and a gift shop as well."
"There is some seating available."
Cons:
"Anyone needing assistance getting around might find it a little tight if it's busy when you go."
"There are also areas that are bumpy, including some of the thresholds, which may cause discomfort for any wheelchair users."
"Some areas are more narrow than others, so may not be suitable for wider wheelchairs."
"Unfortunately one floor had too narrow a passageway between all the shelves of specimen jars which was a shame as I missed out on all of those and would have really loved to see them all."
"Unfortunately, the provided wheelchairs are not self-propelled, so you will need someone else to push you."
"Overall it is not accessible if you have mobility issues."
"Parking space is limited only parking on the road which you have to pay 15£ for 3h."
Staff and Service
Pros:
"Staff are very friendly and helpful."
"The gentleman at the front desk was very prompt, polite, and kind."
"Always a delight to visit, the staff are so lovely."
"Very nice and helpful staff."
"Staff are pleasant and helpful."
"The whole place was spotless and all staff superb."
Cons:
"Half way through was also then met with another rude female staff member out by the stairs as we had some urgent work issues we had to go and deal with on our phone asap."
"When my wife ask the person on the desk if there were any places she was met with a horrible reaction."
"Staff were rude about masks, one member in particular barking at us 'are you in the museum? Well put your mask over your nose.'"
"Slightly tainted by a patronising, unaccommodating female member of staff at the ticket desk."
"Was really looking forward to visiting here, but soon as we arrived was met with a very rude female staff member."
Value and Experience
Pros:
"It's absolutely brilliant. 100% recommended."
"This should absolutely be on your list of places to visit when in Edinburgh."
"Tickets are a bargain for the amount of brain-tickling knowledge you'll gain at the end of the visit."
"The price is also fair, and they offer student discounts."
"Prices are fair (7 GBP for adults, 4 for students)."
"It costs £8.50 per adult to get in, they do concessions for under 16's, over 60's and NHS Staff with a valid ID."
"NHS staff get 50% off!"
Cons:
"A lot of museums in Edinburgh are free so it might be off-putting to some to have to pay."
"Admission is a bit high considering its basically just two rooms."
"However, despite being advertised as open until 5pm, exhibits start closing down from 4.30pm."
"Museum was over sold by the tour guide on the tour bus."
"Could have been a little bigger we got to the end and we were like oh that didn’t take long."
"The only downside was not having a place where you could possibly buy a book on the history of everything or look into it more."
"Despite the fans it was too hot!"
Interactivity and Education
Pros:
"Very educational and makes you appreciate the journey of modern medicine."
"The museum is very interactive and hands-on things to do like different Types of surgical techniques."
"Great to see how thr human body works and huge amount of effort that goes into study illness."
"You can watch videos from pioneers in their fields and have a go at trying to be a surgeon."
"Super fun interactive games replicating modern surgery tools aided by robotics."
"The robotics and interactive learning experiences were brilliant."
"They also have an interactive autopsy you sit in a room and see an autopsy taken place right in front of your eyes."
Cons:
"Some of the interactive exhibitions weren't functioning, though."
"The surgical reenactment is a great idea but was implemented badly and was just uninteresting."
"Some parts were interactive too, such as trying to use medic robotic machinery for surgery."
"The map is a bit hard to read at first."
"Only negative was the lack of air conditioning, was extremely stuffy and hot."
"I do wish the provided maps/leaflet gave more information on each room (even just a sentence or two)."
"Some of the provided information is less accessible to those without some medical/anatomical understanding."