Community / Museum winter opening hours offer more flexibility for visitors
BOOKINGS will no longer be required for the Shetland Museum and Archives at the weekends as part of new winter opening hours.
Advance booking will not be required when the building is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm, and Sundays from midday to 4pm.
The museum will be open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 10am and 4pm, but booking is essential for those days.
In addition to social distancing and a one-way system operator Shetland Amenity Trust has introduced staggered entries, while staff will conduct spot cleaning throughout the day.
The winter opening hours come into force from Saturday 28 November.
The archives will be open two days a week, on Thursday and Friday from 10.15am – 4pm and booking is still required. If these days are unsuitable alternative times are also available on request.
Shetland Amenity Trust chairman Alastair Hamilton said: “We reopened the Shetland Museum and Archives to the public back in July, with a new booking system in place and we have worked hard to make it a safe and enjoyable experience for all.
“We have been delighted by the response from visitors and locals alike.
“In the winter months, our main visitors to the Museum and Archives are local people, so we work hard to put on new exhibitions, displays and activities to encourage them to visit us regularly.
“We are keen to make it as easy as possible for people to pop in to the Museum, so removing the need to pre-book at weekends is very important. At these times, we use one-way systems and staggered entry into key areas instead.”
The trust’s head of engagement Sandy Middleton said a new exhibition on Fair Isle chairs is proving popular, while a display will be installed next week on Russian wooden bowls brought home by Shetland seamen in the Baltic trade.
There will also be the return of the popular photographic display of Christmas images from the photo archive, with visitors encouraged to come along and help identify faces so that the details can be recorded.
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