Doors Open Days 2024

Doors Open Days this year will take place 28 - 29 September 2023. We look forward to welcoming you to one of the University's buildings.

The University of Edinburgh is integral to the intellectual, cultural, social and economic fabric of the city and the wider region. Our buildings play an important part in defining the character of our University and of Edinburgh.

With more than 440 years of history and an estate which includes a mix of old, converted, listed and contemporary buildings, it is always an enjoyable challenge to present an interesting selection for our Doors Open Days visitors.

We hope you will find a great deal to interest and enlighten you during Doors Open Days. Please remember that much of what you see is open throughout the year, whether through normal museum and gallery opening hours, organised tours, or through our extensive programme of part-time courses and public lectures.

Edinburgh Futures Institute from Lauriston Place.

The Central Area

The University of Edinburgh was established by the Town Council in 1583 as Tounis College - the first in the English-speaking world to be established on a civic basis. The University's history and central location underline the symbiotic relationship between Edinburgh and the University which endures to the present day. 

50 Niddry Street (off the Royal Mile), EH1 1LG

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–5pm (last entry 4.30pm)

St Cecilia’s Hall is the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Scotland, dating from 1763. It has been many things over the years, including a Baptist chapel, a Freemasons’ Hall, the Bridges Bar and the Excelsior Ballroom and in 1959 it was acquired by the University of Edinburgh. Today it is home to the University’s Music Museum, displaying highlights from the world-famous Musical Instrument Collection. You can enjoy its grand entrance dating from the 2017 renovation, four galleries with an amazing range of instruments on display, the glass-fronted conservation studio and the Concert Room itself. 

Short talks or musical demonstrations on the hour, every hour between 10:00-16:00. Five-minute Focus at 40 minutes past each hour with one of our curators. Expert staff on hand in the galleries to answer questions.

St Cecilia's Hall Website


Old College, South Bridge, EH8 9YL

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–5pm Sunday 29 September, 10am–5pm

Talbot Rice Gallery (TRG) is the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh. With a 19th century former natural history museum and a contemporary white cube to fuel its engine, TRG is home to one of Scotland’s most ambitious curatorial visions, with large galleries spread out over an historic building. 

During the weekend, we will be hosting a scavenger hunt which will include looking and finding specific details throughout the galleries and the Old College quad to win a surprise to be picked up at reception at the end of the hunt. No pre-booking for the scavenger hunt, just Drop-In. 

We will be hosting tours of the exhibition by El Anatsui at 11am and 2pm. Book tours on the gallery Eventbrite. 

Book a tour at Talbot Rice Gallery [on Eventbrite] 


Bristo Square, EH8 9AL 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–5pm 

McEwan Hall was presented to the University in 1897 by William McEwan as a ceremonial hall for graduations and as a gift to the people of Edinburgh. 

This iconic Grade A listed building was designed by Sir Rowand Anderson, with lavish interiors by William Palin. Construction was completed in 1894, but it took another three years to complete the interior designs, the centrepiece being the 15 beautifully painted mural panels that make up the vast dome. 

A painstaking multi-million pound refurbishment has restored much of the intricacy to its original beauty and created a modern, superbly equipped space, with state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and accessible facilities.

MacEwan Hall venue details


Mound Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2LX

Open: Sunday 29 September, 12 noon–4.30pm

Founded in 1846, New College occupies an important place in Edinburgh’s iconic skyline. Once the location of the palace of Mary of Guise (mother of Mary Queen of Scots), the College is now home to the University of Edinburgh’s School of Divinity. Treasures include the beautiful Rainy Hall and the New College Library. Visitors are free to look around the building. Tour guides will be on hand to say more about the historical and architectural significance of the various rooms, and there will be a display of treasures from the Library.

Divinity at Edinburgh Website


Old Medical School (Doorway 3), Teviot Place, EH8 9AG

** SOLD OUT**

Tickets for the Anatomical Museum Open Day on 28th September have now all been taken. If you have a ticket but can no longer attend, please delete your booking on Eventbrite to allow others to come along. Cancelled tickets will automatically be made available on the Eventbrite page.

Our next Open Days are Saturday 26 October and Saturday 30 November, with ticket details published on our social media and website at the start of each month.

The Anatomical Museum is in the current Anatomy Department in the Old Medical School, which opened for the winter session of anatomy teaching in 1880. The building was designed by Robert Rowand Anderson. 

This is a rare opportunity to visit the Anatomical Museum, a venue normally used for medical student study and teaching. The museum displays specimens, models and human remains that have been used to teach anatomy since the medical school was established in 1726, most notoriously the skeleton of the murderer William Burke. 

Anatomical Museum Website 


George Square Lane, EH8 9LD* 

Open: Saturday 23 September, 1pm–5.30pm, Sunday 24 September, 1pm–5.30pm 

This award-winning Chapel is located in the two back gardens of Edinburgh’s oldest Georgian Square. 

Commissioned in 2011 by the Dominican Order who serve as chaplains to Edinburgh’s universities, the Chapel serves as the spiritual home of Catholic university students and staff and a great many others besides. 

The garden features the newly installed bronze statue, ‘St Dominic’, by Kenny Hunter, September 2023.

St Albert's Catholic Chapliancy | The Way of the Cross


Where world-leading research, innovation and creativity meet

Discover the intersection of research, innovation, creativity and stunning views at the University of Edinburgh on Doors Open Day! We invite you to experience the ground floor of the breathtaking Informatics Forum. 

Take advantage of exclusive guided tours that include a visit to the scenic roof terrace – an absolute must-see for photographers and enthusiasts alike! 

After soaking in the views, continue on the tour through the terrace link for an exclusive peek into the Bayes Centre tours including their robotics lab interactive touchscreen display. Then wrap up your visit venturing along to Inspace, Design Informatics studio and workshop facilities, to explore this high-tech venue, and glimpse behind the scenes at the ways researchers and students are thinking about the future and combining the fields of art, design, data science and technology. 

Tours begin every 45 minutes, starting at the main entrance to the Informatics Forum. First tour at 10.15am; last tour at 1.15pm. The loop takes an hour. Booking is required. 

47 Potterrow, EH8 9BT

Open: Sunday 29 September, 10am–2pm

The Bayes Centre is the University of Edinburgh’s Innovation Hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. 

The technical strengths brought together in the Bayes Centre build on world-leading academic excellence in the mathematical, computational, engineering and natural sciences in the University’s College of Science and Engineering. The £45 million Bayes Centre building, designed by Bennetts Associates, was officially opened in October 2018 by the University’s Chancellor, HRH The Princess Royal. 

Bayes is also home to the Valkyrie robot. The Valkyrie is one of the most advanced humanoid robots in the world and the Bayes atrium has the NASA Valkyrie interactive touchscreen experience which visitors can use during their visit.

Bayes Centre Website


47 Potterrow, EH8 9BT 

Open: Sunday 29 September, 10am–2pm 

Inspace is part of the Institute for Design Informatics and is a collaborative hub, commissioning and producing creative activity. Our public programme connects data, research and creative talent. 

In the Institute for Design Informatics, we fuse design and creative methodologies with data, data science, data-driven technologies and ethical AI. 

We create prototypes and experiences that make real to people the ideas that underpin the data society, and aim to ensure that new technologies sustain and enhance human values.


10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB

Open: Sunday 29 September, 10am–2pm

Did you know the Informatics Forum boasts a roof terrace offering panoramic views of the iconic Arthur’s Seat? 

The University’s history in pioneering artificial intelligence and computer science research dates back to 1963 with the establishment of dedicated research groups and has grown to a vibrant hub of activity within the state-of-the-art Informatics Forum and the adjacent Bayes Centre and InSpace. 

Opened in September 2008 the Informatics Forum, designed as a ‘Forum for Interaction’, now provides space for over 500 scientists pursuing research in fields such as computer science, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science.


The University of Edinburgh, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–4pm Sunday 29 September, 10am–4pm 

Discover how the University of Edinburgh has transformed the category-A listed Old Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh into the EFI, a new futures-focused space for learning, research and innovation. The building was originally designed by David Bryce, one of Scotland’s leading Victorian architects, and is a beautiful example of the Scottish Baronial style. 

The redevelopment allows Bryce’s original design to sing out, whilst elegant new spaces enable its new purpose. There are state-of-the-art teaching facilities, rooms for co-working with industry, public and third sector partners, incubation areas for businesses, labs for innovation and prototyping, and exhibition and performance spaces. 

Explore the building, see our exhibitions and art installations, meet staff and students and take part in a range of exciting hands-on drop-in activities suitable for all ages! 

Details for events and exhibitions can be found in the EFI Doors Open Day programme. 

EFI Doors Open Day Programme

Follow EFI on Instagram and Facebook (@efi_uoe) or find us on X and LinkedIn (Edinburgh Futures Institute). 


2 Hope Park Square, EH8 9NR 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–4pm 

The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s premier Institutes for Advanced Study. We support innovative research across the arts, humanities and social sciences through a range of interdisciplinary and international projects and programmes. 

In the mid-20th century, the building was the University’s Department of Artificial Intelligence, developing the world’s first thinking robot to combine a seeing eye and feeling hand, ‘Freddy I ’, whose brother (‘Freddy II’) can be seen in the National Museum of Scotland. 

After IASH took over in 1985, the Institute has featured in novels by Dame Rebecca Smith and Sir Alexander McCall Smith, connecting the Institute’s homely atmosphere to ground-breaking research in the humanities.

Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities 


1 Marchhall Crescent, EH16 5HP 

Open: Sunday 29 September, 10am–3pm 

Abden House was built in 1855 for Thomas Nelson, founder of the Scottish publishers of that name, designed by civil engineer Thomas Davies. 

Today it’s the property of the University, through the gift of Sir Donald Pollock. Built with three storeys in the Jacobean revivalist style of the 19th century, Abden faces a carriage circle with gates at the end of Marchhall Crescent. It has an irregular plan with single story wings on the North and South sides. 

The language and culture activities we offer on the day encourage people of all ages to learn more about the Institute, meet the Institute’s teachers, learn some Chinese language and enjoy several cultural activities.

Abden House Website 


The King's Buildings

Main pedestrian entrance: corner of West Mains Road/Mayfield Road, EH9 3JF 

Vehicle access: Gate 1 (by the Arcadia Nursery) 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–4pm 

Since its establishment in 1920, The King’s Buildings campus – home to most of the University’s College of Science and Engineering – has continually evolved to meet the changing needs of teaching and research over the past century. 

Exciting Activities for the whole family: From rockets, 3D zeotropes, robot DNA factories to dinosaurs and giant bubbles, visitors can enjoy a variety of interactive and hands-on activities designed for the whole family. 

Guided Walking Tours: Don't miss our hour-long walking tours of the campus's history and architecture. Tours depart The Nucleus Building at 10:30am, 12 noon, and 2pm. 

Outdoor Campus History Exhibition: See unique aerial images that tell the story of how the campus has evolved over the last 100 years. 

Charlotte Auerbach Road, EH9 3FL (The King’s Buildings) Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–4pm The Ashworth Labs were built in the late 1920s to house the University of Edinburgh’s Zoology Department (note the 17 beautiful stone animal plaques by sculptor Phyllis Bone on the exterior). 

They now house part of the ever-expanding School of Biological Sciences at the University. The main teaching lab will host interactive family activities facilitated by our researchers and specimens from our natural history collection. 

There will be the opportunity to visit the Manning Natural History Gallery, home to a collection of specimens and objects for over 300 years.


School of Engineering Max Born Crescent, EH9 3BF (The King’s Buildings) 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 11am–2pm 

Celebrating it’s 10th anniversary this year, FloWave is the world’s most sophisticated onshore laboratory for replicating ocean conditions and testing ocean technologies. 

The facility contains a 25m-diameter test tank which uniquely recreates scale versions of complex ocean conditions, including multi-directional wind-blown waves, long-period ocean swells and fast tidal currents. The tank is in high demand by industry and researchers from across the globe and, in combination with Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre, helps maintain Scotland’s position at the forefront of clean ocean energy research, development and innovation. 

Demonstrations of the FloWave test tank, showing the ways in which it can recreate versions of complex ocean conditions, will take place every 15 minutes.

FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility


James Hutton Road, EH9 3FE (The King’s Buildings) 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–4pm 

The Grant Institute’s Cockburn Museum holds an extensive collection of geological specimens and historical objects which reflect Edinburgh’s prominent position within geological sciences. Collections include minerals, rocks and fossils as well as maps, photographs and archives. 

A variety of activities, suitable for all ages, will explore topics from fossils to volcanoes: see labs which support our research, measuring and modelling the earth’s systems; use pressure to make tiny ice crystals at room temperature; chat with palaeontologists about fossils and prehistoric animals, and get your own fossils identified; find out how rocks appear under the microscope; and, learn about pyroclastic flows and volcanic eruptions using water tanks.

The Cockburn Geological Museum


Max Born Crescent, EH9 3BF (The King’s Buildings) 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 11am–4pm 

The Edinburgh Genome Foundry (EGF) is a research facility at the University’s School of Biological Sciences. EGF specialises in the modular assembly of DNA constructs using a highly automated robotic platform. 

We build genetic constructs for academic and industrial customers to equip cells or whole organisms with new or improved functionalities. We work on projects as diverse as programming stem cells for use in personalised medicine, vaccine development, gene therapy (including viral vectors) and living biosensors. 

Join us for a guided tour of our automated laboratory and see the robots in action. Booking takes place on the day at The Nucleus Building. Tours take place every 45 minutes, starting at 11am.


Thomas Bayes Road, EH9 3FG (The King’s Buildings) 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–4pm 

The Nucleus building is a shared learning, teaching and social hub at the heart of The King’s Buildings campus; it has transformed the student and staff experience, providing brand new, learning, teaching and social spaces for campus users. 

The Nucleus Building will be the central focus of campus activity for staff, students and visitors alike, and is an excellent starting point for the The King’s Buildings Doors Open Day experience. It is home to a host of events, activities and demonstrations by: Mathematics; Physics and Astronomy; Engineering; Chemistry; Scotland's Rural College; Edinburgh Local; and, Social Responsibility and Sustainability. 

Exhibitions and campus tours: Explore Katie Paterson’s ‘Ideas’ installation by downloading the tour app to locate 100 ideas across campus. Discover our science and alumnae exhibitions at The Nucleus Building, and uncover the history of The King’s Buildings through our outdoor campus exhibition featuring aerial images showing its evolution over 100 years.


Edinburgh BioQuarter

Visit two of the newest buildings at the BioQuarter – a health innovation district where the University works in partnership with the NHS and Scottish Enterprise to create a leading location for healthcare delivery, groundbreaking medical research and health innovation. 

There will be a time-slot sign-up sheet at each of the buildings for the guided tours. We recommend you sign up for a tour on arrival, and then attend the drop-in activities/talks until your tour.

5 Little France Drive, EH16 4UU 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–4pm 

The Institute for Regeneration and Repair is a multi-disciplinary research institute. Our scientists and clinicians study tissue regeneration and repair to advance human health and reproductive outcomes. 

The Institute incorporates the Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM), Centre for Inflammation Research (CIR) and the Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH). It was opened officially by the Chancellor of the University, the Princess Royal, in January 2024. 

Tours will be on the half-hour (minimum age of 12 years): 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm, 3:30pm.

Explore activities and tours

Institute for Regeneration and Repair


5-7 Little France Road, EH16 4UX 

Open: Saturday 28 September, 10am–4pm 

The Usher Building is home to the Usher Institute and partners – working together with people, populations and data to understand and advance the health of individuals and populations through innovative collaborations in a global community. 

Construction was completed in summer 2024, with final touches to the fit out still in progress ahead of a formal opening to come in Spring 2025. Tours will be on the hour: 11am, 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm.

Usher Institute 


Download the Doors Open Day PDF

Doors Open Day PDF Download (2.03 MB / PDF)

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