Our Dynamic Earth

Our Dynamic Earth is a science centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a 5 star visitor attraction situated at the heart of Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site. It sits within an award winning and iconic tented structure at the foot of Salisbury Crags in the Holyrood area of the city.

The centre opened in 1999 as one of the first major projects supported by the Millennium Commission. The project was the centrepiece of an urban regeneration plan which served to bring vitality to the former industrial land at the lower end of the Royal Mile and is housed within the William Younger Centre.

The building's structure consists of a steel mast-supported membrane stretched over a steel skeleton. It was designed by architects Michael Hopkins and Partners.

The principal focus of Our Dynamic Earth is to facilitate a better public understanding of the processes that have shaped the Earth (known as earth science). This includes the Big Bang, abiogenesis, plate tectonics and glaciation.

The centre's Scientific Director is the prominent Scottish geologist and science communicator Dr Stuart Monro who was instrumental in the establishment of the facility, formulating the interpretative plan for the exhibition and working with the designers to ensure the exhibition's scientific accuracy.