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  • Last updated: November 25th 2025
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Museums celebrated at 2025 Scottish Thistle Awards

A young adult with medium-light skin tone and shoulder-length brown hair interacting with a screen on a counter in the middle of a museum gallery.

Museums Galleries Scotland welcomes the news that the Trimontium Museum has received the Innovation Award at VisitScotland’s national Scottish Thistle Awards, held on Friday 20 November.

The Scottish Thistle Awards are prestigious recognitions of excellence, innovation, and leadership across the Scottish tourism sector. This year, museums and galleries featured particularly strongly at regional levels, highlighting the sector’s continued creativity, resilience, and contribution to Scotland’s visitor economy.

Several other museums and galleries across Scotland were nominated for national awards after receiving regional Scottish Thistle Awards earlier this Autumn:

Regional Innovation Awards were received by HMS Unicorn, Glasgow Life Museums, while regional Best Visitor Attraction awards were presented to both The Trimontium Museum and The Tall Ship Glenlee.

Climate Action Awards were presented to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums, recognising their commitment to sustainability and sector-leading environmental practice.

“I would like to warmly congratulate Trimontium Museum and all the museums recognised at both the National and Regional Scottish Thistle Awards this year. I am delighted to see so many museums celebrated for excelling across such a variety of categories, from climate action to innovation and visitor experience. This is clear evidence of the essential role of museums in making Scotland such a thriving tourist destination.”
-Lucy Casot, CEO, Museums Galleries Scotland

The museum sector has also shone through several additional award successes in recent weeks, further demonstrating the vital contribution museums make t o Scotland’s culture, nature, communities, and visitor economy. Team members working across several museums and galleries in Scotland received nominations at ASVA’s Inspiring People Awards and RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards earlier this month for their outstanding work.

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