Museum events, exhibitions and activities
Museums are a warm place with a friendly face
Free to visit and have regularly changing craft activities suitable for children and families as well as temporary exhibitions and reference books available to browse and read.
John Gray Centre (Museum) 15 Lodge Street, Haddington, EH41 3DX.
Thursday and Friday 10am to 1pm, 2pm to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 1pm, 2pm to 4pm.
John Muir's Birthplace 126 High Street, Dunbar, EH42 1JJ.
Wednesday – Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 1pm to 5pm.
Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery High Street, Dunbar, EH42 1ER.
Saturday 2 to 4pm courtesy of Dunbar and District History Society volunteers.
Visit past exhibitions or explore our local history from the comfort of your home or a local library!
John Gray Centre East Lothian History
What’s so special about bogs? An exhibition from one of our partner organisations, the John Muir Trust, as part of their Peatland Appeal. Discover more about this slow-growing, water-packed ecosystem that’s fast becoming recognised as an amazing collector of carbon, a rich archaeological site, and home to unique species of wildlife.
John Muir, Earth, Planet, Universe This exhibition focuses on John Muir’s legacy and his role as an environmental activist and successful campaigner and his relevance for our situation today in addressing the climate crisis.
Muir Houses Through Time Museum Assistant David Anderson spent part of the 2020 lockdown amalgamating all his research on the buildings occupied by the Muirs on Dunbar High Street. What has emerged are tales of commerce, greed and deceit as we follow the lives of those who have occupied the site from the iron age onwards. First published as a series of blogs June – August 2020
Gardens of East Lothian An exhibition by Sheila Sim Photography. East Lothian has a long and proud heritage of gardening and has produced several horticultural pioneers. With its good climate and fertile soil, the county has often been called ‘the garden of Scotland’.
125 Years of the Sierra Club This exhibition curated by Friends of John Muir’s Birthplace gave an overview of the history of the Sierra Club with an emphasis on John Muir’s involvement in the founding, and ethos, of the organisation.
John Muir and Geology
Another exhibition from Friends of John Muir’s Birthplace John Muir and Geology explores the Scottish heroes who helped unravel Dunbar’s geological history.
Ukraine/Scotland – Land Art and Photography Exhibition
John Gray Centre, 15 Lodge Street, Haddington, EH41 3DX
Friday 11 October 2024 to 25 January 2025. Opening times at www.johngraycentre.org
LAND is the focus of this exhibition and what it means to people when it is the land of their birth, their own country. Many Ukrainians, for the time being, have settled in Scotland. As a group of artists both Ukrainian and Scottish, we wanted to record this brief moment in history and celebrate the connection between the two countries. We celebrate the land with photography, painting, print, drawing and some small sculpture. Although the conflict continues there is still the need to enjoy the beauty of the landscape of each country, a subject which has inspired artist for centuries. Group exhibition curated by Cathy Bell.
Find out more here
Images: Top L to R photograph by Vika Yasynska and Bass Rock by David Hutchison. Bottom L-R Land by Cathy Bell and Saturation by Ira Andreichuk.
Working Lives at Dunbar Town House Museum & Gallery
Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery, High Street, Dunbar EH42 1ER
October to March, Saturdays 2 to 4pm
Display open courtesy of Dunbar & District History Society. Free admission but donations welcome.
Dunbar’s Town House or Tolbooth is more than 400 years old and touched the lives of many people. Through the Town Council, Police Station, Library, Registrars, Tourist Information, Housing Office, MP and MSP Office, Museum and many more!
Do you know someone who worked here? Have you been to a wedding here? We would love to hear your stories and see your photos.
Step back in time as we help you discover the hidden past of this iconic building.
