Discovery Point and RRS Discovery

🚨 Visitor notice

Please note, Discovery Point & RRS Discovery and 77º South Cafe will close early at 2:30pm on Thursday 18 June.

We will reopen at 9am on Friday 19 June as usual, thank you for your understanding.

Plan your voyage of wonder at our website: https://dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/attraction/discovery-point/

📰 Read all about it!

Thanks to The Courier UK for the lovely article on our brand new cafe, 77º South; pairing views over the bow of the magnificent RRS Discovery with the finest flavours and produce from Tayside.

77º South is open during museum opening hours, and is open to all - whether you're embarking on a voyage of wonder through Discovery Point & RRS Discovery, simply passing by, or are a foodie looking for your newest culinary adventure.

📖 Read the article online here: https://thecourier.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/food-drink/5512279/77-degrees-south-cafe-dundee/
🌐 Plan your visit to 77º South here: https://dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/visit/eat-shop/
📽 Check out Kenwhaursgood's review of 77º South and enter a giveaway here: https://instagram.com/kenwhaursgood

🦐 Proof that things are not always what they seem at first glance... and that even 100 years on, the Discovery Investigations still have things to teach us!

Back in September 2025, we welcomed our friends from National Oceanography Centre [NOC] to Dundee, to open our collaborative '100 Years of RRS Discovery' exhibition.

During NOC's time visiting Dundee, their Discovery Collections curator Dr Tammy Horton found an extraordinary surprise in a specimen jar - unveiling more information about what was housed inside! 😯

What appeared to be a folded scrap piece of lab paper within a specimen jar soon revealed itself as a note written by naturalist, Arthur George Bennett; and it held a fascinating story about the sample.

The note explains how the barnacles would have once hitched a ride on the teeth of a deformed s***m whale in the Antarctic South Shetland Islands.

🐋 "This whale had the fore end of the jaw curved round to the right. On this curvature barnacles were growing around each tooth. Obviously the jaw being bent round the teeth at the anterior end did not fit the groove in the upper jaw otherwise it would [be] impossible for parasites to establish themselves. A.G. Bennet 30.11.1925”

Dive into the Discovery Investigations and explore life aboard all four generations of ships named the Royal Research Ship Discovery in '100 Years of RRS Discovery'.

📅 Exhibition on display until 13 September 2026
🎟 Included in museum admission. Book online + save!
🗺 Discovery Point & RRS Discovery, Dundee

📷: Dr Tammy Horton uncovering Bennett's note (c) NOC. '100 Years of RRS Discovery' exhibition, produced in collaboration with the NOC, the University of Southampton and the Marine Biological Association

🌎 This , we're highlighting the impact of the Discovery Investigations, which began on Discovery's first voyage as a Royal Research Ship, back in 1925.

This scientific investigation – the first of its kind in history – was financed by the British Government. Its purpose was to prevent overfishing in the British Antarctic territories and to gather scientific knowledge for whaling management.

The on-board scientists were tasked to observe the whales and document their breeding habits and their migration patterns; this would become the beginning of conservation thinking in relation to whales, and contributed to the ban of commercial whaling in the 1980s 🐋

More generally, the scientists aboard RRS Discovery in 1925-1927 conducted a study on the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

A century later, the ways in which leading scientists from the National Oceanography Centre [NOC] aboard the current RRS Discovery (2012) carry out investigations in our oceans has evolved dramatically.

🦐 Equipment such as the continuous plankton recorder and vertical plankton nets however, hark back to the first days of the Discovery Investigations over 100 years ago, connecting the 1901 ship and its crew to the work of scientists today.

Learn more about the Discovery Investigations in our latest exhibition:

🖼 '100 Years of RRS Discovery', produced in collaboration with the NOC, the University of Southampton and the Marine Biological Association
📅 On display until 13 September 2026
🎟 Included in museum admission
🎫 Book online and save: https://dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/tickets/

📷: RRS Discovery (1901) under sail in the 1920s / Alister Hardy and F.C Fraser operating a plankton net

🌊 Most people associate RRS Discovery with the vast icy plains of Antarctica. What you might not know, however, is that scientists aboard the ship 100 years ago cemented an oceanographic legacy for the ship, too.

Scientists like Sir Alister Hardy carried out pivotal oceanographic science during the Discovery Investigations; work that saw the beginnings of whale conservation, amongst other breakthroughs.

But what was life like aboard Discovery on its first voyage as a Royal Research Ship, all those years ago? You can find out, and compare it to life aboard the modern RRS Discovery, in our latest exhibition, '100 Years of RRS Discovery'!

📅 Until 13 September 2026
🎟 Included in museum admission
🗺 Discovery Point & RRS Discovery, Dundee

📻 If you can't come and visit us in Dundee, listen to The Blizzard podcast to hear insights from the crew's diaries and more, selected from the National Oceanography Centre's Library, by Emma Guest at the University of Southampton: https://youtu.be/ypW7cHURnu4

100 Years of RRS Discovery Exhibition was developed by Dundee Heritage Trust in partnership with the National Oceanography Centre, the University of Southampton and the Marine Biological Association.

in 1911, Captain Robert Falcon Scott celebrated his 43rd birthday, thousands of miles from home, in a hut in the Antarctic. This - now iconic - photograph by Herbert Ponting captures the jubilations; a hearty feast, and Scott's comrades huddled around.

Seated at the head of the table, Scott is seen with a soft, candid look. This expression became the reference and inspiration for a spectacular portrait by Scottish artist and former Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee Professor Calum Colvin, which you can see on display here at Discovery Point & RRS Discovery as part of the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) 200: Celebrating Together nation-wide exhibition.

Three cheers for Robert Falcon Scott!

🖼 See Calum Colvin's pair of Polar Portraits at Discovery Point & RRS Discovery
📅 On display until January 2027
🎟 Included in museum admission
🌐 Plan your visit: https://dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/event/calum-colvin-portaits/
📚 Learn more about the portraits: https://dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/story/rsa-200-calum-colvin/

📷: Captain Scott's 43rd Birthday (c) Herbert Ponting / Detail from Calum Colvin's portrait of Captain Scott

🍾 To celebrate the spirit of adventure, we’ve teamed up with Angus Alchemy to produce a range of Discovery 125 moonshine; mixing classic Scottish flavours with a sense of exploration rooted in the ship’s 1901 voyage to the frozen South.

You can purchase the moonshine in our gift shop. Honeyberry, Clootie Dumpling, or Cranachan - which will you choose?

Please drink responsibly. For the facts, visit Drinkaware. This product is not intended for individuals under the legal drinking age. Do not drink if you are pregnant or nursing. Never drink and drive.

🫶 We’re proud to announce the launch of our Patrons Giving Circle; an exciting new way to support the work of Dundee Heritage Trust and gain access to remarkable insights from behind-the-scenes of the Royal Research Ship Discovery and the 1833 Verdant Works mill.

By stepping aboard as Patron and joining our community of dedicated heritage lovers, you’ll unlock opportunities to get closer to the heritage stories that you love, whilst supporting the continued care and conservation of over 9,000 artefacts in our Recognised Collections of National Significance, and allowing us to continue to spark curiosity in the thousands of young learners and visitors who climb aboard RRS Discovery and roam through Verdant Works each year.

It was our pleasure to welcome John Shears, Expedition Leader on the Endurance22 Expedition to Discovery Point recently to formally launch our Patrons Giving Circle alongside David Henry, Chair of Dundee Heritage Trust.

💙 Find out more and join the Dundee Heritage Trust Patrons Giving Circle online:

📷: John Shears & David Henry / 📷: Samantha Lagneau, Development Director at Dundee Heritage Trust (Photo by Rebecca Wade)

🧗Reach, rise and soar this weekend!

Do you have what it takes to complete Dundee's new thrilling challenge?

Climb over 80 feet high up Discovery's mast in the footsteps of Captain Scott's polar crew and be rewarded with incredible views over Dundee and the River Tay. Then, embark on a daring zip-line descent back to the quayside!

Discovery Mast Climb tickets for Summer 2026 are now available to book and are selling quickly; early booking recommended 🎟💨

📅 Next chance to climb: Saturday 6 June
🤩 For visitors aged 12+
🎫 Tickets must be pre-booked in advance via https://dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/visit/discovery-mast-climb/
📚 Read VisitDundee's review of "Dundee's Coolest New Thrill"
🌐 Plan your adventure: https://dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/

"From up there, Discovery suddenly feels even more extraordinary." - VisitDundee