Doors Open Days 2015

On Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September you can explore some of the University’s most interesting buildings - for free.

We are again taking part in Edinburgh's annual Doors Open Day, one of the capital's most popular free events, which gives the public an opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes peek at buildings of architectural, cultural or social interest.

Doors Open Day 2015 (2.34 MB PDF)

Our buildings

Our buildings range from historic landmarks to contemporary structures which offer our students and staff a wide variety of locations for teaching, learning, research and leisure.

Each building will provide information and free activities to help visitors learn more about its history, design and what goes on there.

For the first time, the MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine at our Western General Hospital campus will welcome visitors to its brand new building.

Central area, Edinburgh

Across the central area, buildings open to the public will include:

• Old College, its grand Playfair Library and Raeburn portraits
• the Talbot Rice Gallery and its festival exhibition by artist Hanne Darboven
• the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, an energy-efficient hub for sustainability
• Teviot Row House, the UK's first purpose-built student union building
• the steeply-raked Anatomy Lecture Theatre and fascinating Anatomical Museum
• the Main Library, hosting an exhibition about animal genetics
• New College, including the Church of Scotland’s Assembly Hall
• the beautiful, award-winning Chapel of St Albert the Great at 23 George Square

King’s Buildings campus, Edinburgh

At King’s Buildings, home to the College of Science and Engineering, there is an orienteering trail, guided tours, and a multitude of interactive family workshops and hands-on science activities across the campus.

Buildings open to the public will include:

• the Ashworth Laboratories, which hosts the Natural History Collections
• the Grant Institute and the Cockburn Museum of rocks and fossils
• the Joseph Black Building, the oldest on campus, which will host guided tours and drop-in activities
• the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, a huge water tank (larger than the Commonwealth Pool) that helps designers of marine energy devices by offering testing opportunities in simulated waves and currents
• the James Clerk Maxwell Building, with exhibitions and activities about physics, astronomy and mathematics, including making your own ‘slime’
• the Waddington Building, where research combines synthetic biology and computer science
• the Alexander Graham Bell Building, where you can see demonstrations of Li-Fi, which turns LED light bulbs into high-speed wireless communications devices

Find more information about all the events taking place at King's Buildings on Saturday 26 September:

Undergraduate Open Day

Saturday 26 September is also the University's Undergraduate Open Day.

Easter Bush campus, Midlothian

Our Easter Bush campus will host an open day on Saturday 3 October as part of the Midlothian Science Festival. The Easter Bush campus houses the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Roslin Institute.