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stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Stromness Museum
@stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
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Stromness Museum is an independent museum based in Stromness, Orkney. We host special exhibitions and have a range of permanent galleries, welcoming visitors throughout the year.
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stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Hear our Trustee Ian Johnstone outline Stromness Museum’s proposed plans for the Flaws Pier & Yole Building at 12 mins into this morning’s BBC Radio Orkney programme. 📻
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

📷 BBC Radio Orkney
Ian Johnston standing outside the Yole Building on Flaws Pier.
December 3, 2025 at 9:38 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
We want your views, memories, stories and photos! Stromness Museum are considering taking on the Flaws Pier and Yole Building next door to keep it in community ownership, but would love to hear your thoughts first. Please reply or email chair@stromnessmuseum.org.uk
Location photo and Text that reads: Flaws Pier & Yole Building. We need your memories and views! The Stromness Museum is exploring the idea of taking on the Flaws Pier and Yole Building, keeping this iconic spot in community ownership and protecting public access to the shore. Before anything moves forward, we want to hear what you think. Do you support the Museum taking on the pier and building? What memories do you have of using the pier, the beach, or the building? Why do you think this spot matters to Stromness? Please share your thoughts, stories, photos, etc. in the comments below, or email: chair@stromnessmuseum.org.uk Thank you - every voice helps!
November 29, 2025 at 12:37 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
You and Buddo can be Belles of the Christmas Ball with these lovely earrings! Made by Orkney3D.com & @sheilafleet.bsky.social, inspired by the Neolithic Skara Brae #Buddo. Available from Fri 28 Nov 2025 🔗 shop.stromnessmuseum.org.uk/products/buddo-earrings
🎁 Each purchase supports Stromness Museum.
Model wearing Buddo earrings. Close-up of Model wearing Buddo earrings.
November 26, 2025 at 2:32 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
We are looking for a Freelance Outreach and Engagement specialist to work on our new natural history collections project.
Stromness Museum Notice that reads: ‘We are hiring. Freelance Outreach and Engagement specialist for a new natural history collections digitisation project. What you’ll do: Plan, coordinate and deliver approximately 8 engagement events or workshops between March 2026 and September 2027. What we’re looking for: Proven experience of delivering public events, workshops or community engagement, ideally in museums/heritage, environmental or cultural setting. For further details on how to apply, email: j.park@stromnessmuseum.org.uk Closing Date 8 December 2025.’
November 22, 2025 at 5:34 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
It's due any minute now...
Grandfather clock-face - 'John Miller, Stromness', used to indicate the arrival time of St Ola and hung in the harbour office window in the 1960s. The words 'St. Ola due' painted, and wooden hands attached.
November 22, 2025 at 11:32 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
May your Christmas be Buddo and Bright! We sell unique gifts you won’t find on the high street, inspired by Orkney and our collections, plus games and stocking fillers. We're open Mon-Sat at 11am-3.30pm and you can shop online: shop.stromnessmuseum.org.uk

🎁 Sales support our independent Museum.
Arrangement of Museum shop stock, inc. Buddo keyrings, replica models Xmas cards and mugs. Arrangement of Museum shop stock, inc. the board games Bugtastic Bingo, Carbon City Zero and The Lost Words Card Game.
November 22, 2025 at 10:53 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Join our friends at @johnraesociety.bsky.social for FREE adventuring events this weekend and next weekend - Sat 22 & Sat 29 Nov 2025. Malcolm Handoll of Five Senses Rewilding will lead two events so you can experience John Rae’s spirit of adventure!

Booking essential: johnraesociety.com/events
Essential survival skills: preparing for Scottish Winter Wilds Saturday 22 November, 9.30am–4.30pm, Hall of Clestrain. Rewilding walk and coastal forage with Malcolm Handoll: West Mainland coastal walk, Saturday 29 November, 9am–4.30pm, Meet at Brough of Birsay Car Park. Booking essential - please email projectmanager@johnraesociety.com to book!
November 21, 2025 at 11:36 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Very glad the electricity is working well today after last night's power cut. We can enjoy attending the Arts Marketing Association's Digital Marketing Day Online uninterrupted, thanks to a bursary from @museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk

📷: Candle snuffers, made of iron.
Colour photo of a pair of candle snuffers, made of iron.
November 20, 2025 at 10:57 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Here's Stromness Athletic Football Club celebrating a big win in 1993, when they were awarded the Dick Vet Cup. ⚽
Black and white photo of Stromness Athletic Football Club team members being awarded the Dick Vet Cup on the football pitch in 1993. Black and white photo of the Stromness Athletic Football Club team members posing on the football pitch after being awarded the Dick Vet Cup in 1993.
November 19, 2025 at 11:58 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
During an Orkney diving holiday Neil Kermode (EMEC.org.uk) first saw the the potential for tidal energy from the Churchill barriers. Neil got an OBE in 2023 for services to renewable energy and Orkney. See Neil’s role in Orkney’s renewable energy story in Powered by People: tinyurl.com/yyxjedvp
A diving team at work during salvage work on the scuttled German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow from the Hourston Photographic Collection (date unknown). Neil Kermode OBE standing on a boat at the EMEC tidal test site on Orkney.
November 15, 2025 at 2:04 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Remember to take care of your new luxury sock with a good sock stretcher.

📷: Sock stretcher of wood, with pegs to hold sock when stretched.
Sock stretcher of wood, with pegs to hold sock when stretched. Stromness Museum social history collection.
November 13, 2025 at 11:10 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Orkney Councillors will consider proposals for a 20mph speed limit in built-up areas today, which is a breakneck speed compared to the past limit of 4mph. Anything faster was considered 'Furious Driving'.

📷: Official notice issued by Stromness Town Council: Furious Driving.
Official notice issued by Stromness Town Council forbidding dirving throught the streets of the burgh at more than 4 miles an hour by any horse, cart or carriage. A fine of 40 shillings will be imposed for each offfense.
November 11, 2025 at 9:37 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
It's #TrusteesWeek, a celebration of charity trustees' work. We'd like to thank the committee of volunteers elected from members of the Orkney Natural History Society Museum, who've managed and maintained Stromness Museum since 1837 to the present day.

📷: Rev Dr Charles Clouston, Mark Summers.
First Orkney Natural History Society President Rev. Dr. Charles Clouston. Current Stromness Museum Board Member Mark Summers.
November 7, 2025 at 12:30 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
It may only be early November but Buddo is already feeling festive! Packs of six A6 greetings cards (with white envelopes) featuring 'The Skara Brae Buddo' in a winter wonderland are now on sale in our Museum shop and online at: tinyurl.com/52uy777j ❄️

#Buddo ℹ️: tinyurl.com/2t3jbrsa
Front of A6 greeting card of 'The Skara Brae Buddo'. 'Buddo' (Budd-oh) is a whalebone figurine found at Skara Brae, Orkney in the 1860's. The Skara Brae Buddo is in elite company. Dating to circa 2,900 – 2,400 BC, it is just one of a handful of known figurines from the whole of the British Neolithic. Buddo is on permanent display in Stromness Museum.
November 6, 2025 at 4:42 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
However, Buddo's been caught outside in a snowstorm so is feeling a bit cold and wet at the moment. ❄️ tinyurl.com/52uy777j
Front of A6 greeting card of 'The Skara Brae Buddo'. 'Buddo' (Budd-oh) is a whalebone figurine found at Skara Brae, Orkney in the 1860's. The Skara Brae Buddo is in elite company. Dating to circa 2,900 – 2,400 BC, it is just one of a handful of known figurines from the whole of the British Neolithic. Buddo is on permanent display in Stromness Museum.
November 6, 2025 at 4:38 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Remember, Remember the Fifth of November... And to give the bairns pennies for their Pops, because you don't they'll chase you around the Stromness streets with them.

Tonight's Pop competition will be judged at the Stromness Bonfire Night, Coplands Dock at 6.30pm.
Penny for the Pop. Black & white photo of 3 children in Victoria St., Stromness holding up their decorated Pops, with a 4th licking an ice lolly. Dated 1972. Pop Day. Black and white photo of 3 children running down Victoria St., Stromness holding their Pops. Dated 1970.
November 5, 2025 at 12:08 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Join TRANSECTS for a talk by Dr Jen Harland of @uhiarchaeology.bsky.social and an informal story-sharing session about whales and whaling in Orkney. On Sat 15 Nov at the Robert Rendall Building, ORIC, Stromness at 11am-1pm / 2-3:45pm with drop in lunch 1-2pm. ℹ️: archaeologyorkney.com/transects
Poster that reads as follows... STORYLINES: WHALES Do you have a connection with whales or whaling? Arctic whaling was an important industry for Orcadians in past centuries, and in the 20th century many men joined Antarctic whalers. Local drives of pilot whales and dolphins were common occurrences here in Orkney and Shetland, with the oil from blubber used for lighting. Do you have stories of whaling and whale-related activities? Did any family members work at the whaling? Do you have whale bones or scrimshaw from whaling adventures, or from strandings closer to home? How have attitudes towards whales changed? JOIN US FOR A TALK BY DR JEN HARLAND FOLLOWED BY AN INFORMAL SESSION OF SHARING STORIES. BRING ANY PHOTOGRAPHS OR OBJECTS CONNECTED TO THE STORY OF WHALES IN ORKNEY. RESCHEDULED! SATURDAY 15 NOV ROBERT RENDALL BUILDING ORIC, STROMNESS Either 11am-1pm or 2-3:45pm with drop in lunch 1-2pm TRANSECTS aims to improve the resilience of coastal communities in the marine energy transition - Learning from previous energy transitions to help communities develop strategies for transitions happening now and in the future. The UHI Orkney team is using creative, heritage and archaeological approaches to explore marine energy transitions. Transects is a UKRI funded research project led by Heriot Watt University.
November 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
White rabbit!🐰 It's 1st Nov but it’s the last day of the #HiddenWondersHunt from @kidsinmuseums.bsky.social at Stromness Museum. Complete the trail to earn a sticker. Enter a competition for the chance to win a book set & an @artfund.bsky.social Double Nat. Art Pass + Kids. ℹ️: tinyurl.com/mwrvx4rk
Print of watercolour illustration of a female scientist looking into a microscope with her cluttered lab as the background. Illustration Copyright 2022-2025 Chloe Savage. All rights reserved.
November 1, 2025 at 11:05 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Happy Halloween! Beware of Frankenstein's Monster and his vicious, bloodthirsty hound, Kodak the Wonder Dog.

📷: Past Stromness Drama Club production poster: 'Frankenstein The Panto, Starring Kodak the Wonder Dog.'
Past Stromness Drama Club production poster: 'Frankenstein The Panto, Starring Kodak the Wonder Dog.'
October 31, 2025 at 5:22 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
As the nights are drawing in, we will be switching to winter opening times from tomorrow, Saturday 1 November 2025. We will be open Monday to Saturday from 11.00am until 3.30pm and closed on Sundays.

📷: Parrafin lamp and mantle, used at Pentland Skerries lighthouse before modernisation.
Parrafin lamp and mantle, used at Pentland Skerries lighthouse before modernisation.
October 31, 2025 at 11:59 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Elsa Ramírez Santiago is Lead Project Engineer of Leask Marine and a ‘Stemettes’ volunteer, giving industry insight to young professionals and encouraging girls pursuing STEM careers. See Elsa’s role in Orkney’s renewable energy story, told in our Powered by People exhibition: tinyurl.com/yyxjedvp
Extract of an article on Page 3 of ‘The Stromnessian’, the official magazine of Stromness Academy, in July 1961, that reads as follows: ‘What’s Cooking? ‘Every girl entering the Higher Grade has to decide whether she wishes to study Latin and the ways of the Romans, take commercial subjects and learn the intricacies of shorthand, typing and accounts, or enter the Homecraft course. ‘Many and varied are the pieces of advice given by those who have already sampled the joys or sorrows of the different courses. We listen to these hopefully, feeling that we are in great need of guidance since, once the decision is made, there will be no turning back. ‘To cook or not to cook, that was the question. Latin, I felt, was not for me. The thought of shorthand at speed terrified me. So I decided to wield the wooden spoon and I am happy to say that I have no regrets.’ Head and shoulders photo portrait of Elsa Ramírez Santiago, Lead Project Engineer of Leask Marine Ltd.
October 30, 2025 at 6:02 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Karen Boswarva & Seasearch Orkney surveyed #ShooglyHolm after 1 month underwater. See how the wee octopus has changed and the marine life in artist Jenny Pope's mooring. 📷: J Kakkonen & Elaina, Seasearch Orkney. ℹ️: tinyurl.com/3kzbrpjp (@artecology-iw.bsky.social @creativescots.bsky.social)
Scuba Diver next to te mooring. View of the beach and sea where mooring is installed. Ceramic octopus covered in seaweed and marine life. Marine life on the mooring.
October 29, 2025 at 11:13 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Are yours the hands behind this happy #shooglyholm octopus? Project artist Jenny Pope would love to know! It’s a lovely, welcoming face for marine life making it their new underwater home. 🐙 🌊
#ShooglyHolmℹ️: tinyurl.com/3kzbrpjp
Ceramic octopus with a smiling face.
October 27, 2025 at 1:30 PM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
Have you joined the #HiddenWondersHunt? Take the fun, family friendly trail from @kidsinmuseums.bsky.social & Walker Books this Oct school holiday! Find hidden wonders in the museum. Do a drawing challenge for the chance to win out of this world prizes. 🔎💫

ℹ️: stromnessmuseum.org.uk/whatson/2025...
The Hidden Wonders Hunt 18 October 2025 to 2 November 2025 Children aged 4+ and their families are invited to experience the joy of discovery at Stromness Museum during the October school holiday. The Hidden Wonders Hunt is a free spotter trail from Kids in Museums and Walker Books, celebrating the release of The Search for our Cosmic Neighbours, a new book from bestselling author-illustrator Chloe Savage. Discover hidden wonders around the museum and take on a special drawing challenge. Complete the activity sheet to receive your Hidden Wonders Hunt sticker! Share your drawing on Instagram or BlueSky with the hashtag #HiddenWondersHunt and tag @kidsinmuseums for a chance to win out of this world prizes, including a Double National Art Pass Plus Kids and a signed Hidden Wonders book bundle.
October 24, 2025 at 8:37 AM
stromnessmuseum.bsky.social
We are recruiting!

Stromness Museum is looking to recruit a Collections Assistant for a Natural History Digitisation project.

(@nhm.org @heriotwattuni.bsky.social @museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk )
Stromness Museum is recruiting a Collections Assistant for a Natural History Digitisation project. Work with our Natural History collection. Create a database for our collections management system. Create a new online nature portal. Key partners are Heriot-Watt university and the Natural History Museum London. Stromness Museum is recruiting! Natural History Collections Assistant: 21 hours per week, £26,754 pro rata. 2 years. You will have a degree or equivalent in natural science. Have museum research skills and experience. Have relevant digital experience. Be happy working alongside others and supervising volunteers. Have excellent organisation and time management skills. For further information and to apply contact chair@stromnessmuseum.org.uk. Closing date for applications Fri 31 October 2025.
October 18, 2025 at 4:48 AM