 The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 16134 in the name of Colin Beattie on international museum day. This debate will be concluded without any question being put. Can I ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to press their question to speak buttons now? I call on Colin Beattie to open the debate. Mr Beattie, please. Presiding Officer, international museum day has been an important date on our calendar since its inception in 1977. It presents us with an opportunity to consider the extraordinary privilege that we have in Scotland to be able to enjoy such a vast wealth of museums, a vast breadth of galleries and a plethora of museums of all kind across our mainland and its islands. I know that the Presiding Officer herself would have wished to take part in this debate, particularly I have no doubt mentioning the national mining museum of Scotland and Newton Grange in her constituency. However, she is otherwise employed. I have always been passionate about museums and galleries, but not just in Scotland. Like too many people of my generation, the opportunities for a career were very limited without leaving my home country, so I began what became a global journey, living in many countries with vastly different cultures for very many years. During that time, I quickly learned that one of the best ways to rapidly get to know a country was to visit the museums and galleries, which laid out the ideas of the people of my new host nation and its history and amazing arts and crafts. Each time I returned to Scotland on her home leave, I would spend much of my time in museums and galleries in Edinburgh and Dundee. I did not pause then to consider how much education and understanding was being offered to me in those visits. They were just enormously enjoyable sources of knowledge of heritage and past relationships with other nations, but it was impossible to ignore the splendor of our collections here in Scotland, compared with so many other countries that had suffered losses from war and extreme weather, not to mention poverty. Since those days, I still seek out opportunities to visit our museums and galleries, like so many of those of us who are fortunate enough to live in Scotland, as well as the ever-increasing number of tourists from elsewhere. I was struck recently with the realisation that, though our museums tell us about our past, the buildings that house them are sometimes very much of our present and our future. In June 2011, the truly extraordinary Riverside Museum of Glasgow was completed. It currently houses Glasgow Museum of Transport, and the building was designed by Zaha Hadid. The museum has all kinds of transport designed by the world that claims architect. That is what she had to say about this remarkable contribution to her heritage and to our city of Glasgow. Through architecture, we can investigate future possibilities, yet also explore the cultural foundations that have defined the city. The Riverside Museum is a fantastic and truly unique project where the exhibits and buildings come together at this prominent and historic location on the Clyde to infuse and inspire all visitors. The design, combining geometric complexity with structural ingenuity and material authenticity, continues in Glasgow's rich engineering traditions and will be a part of the city's future as a centre of innovation. It is home to 3,000 objects and has attracted one and a half million visitors, which is hardly surprising. However, it is not just now growing cities that we find some of the most splendid and fascinating museums. Highland Council now hosts the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore, but that has developed a long way from the early years when it was recognised as Britain's first mainland open-air museum when it opened in Cengiwsi in 1944. It is a living history museum where Scottish Highland ancestors' way of life can be experienced. We can see how they lived, how they built their homes, how they dressed and even how they grew their food. It is now set on an 80-acre site with restored buildings and actors who help visitors to travel in time. It is to Dr Isabel Francis Grant that we owe a debt of gratitude for the early beginnings of this exciting museum. It was in 1930 that she organised and curated the Highland exhibition with 2,100 artefacts in Inverness. By 1935, she had founded the Highland Folk Museum in the island of Iona and 800 visitors were recorded in the first year of opening and more the following year. There is much to say about this remarkable museum, but there are others that I would like to comment on and, as you know, at times limited. However, it would be remiss of me not to make reference to the thoughtful outreach work at the Highland Museum. Through the use of the Shinti collection and many photographs, stories and the songs of the enthusiastic team at this museum used to meet sufferers of dementia, sharing light in the dimming memories when Shinti was a regular part of life in the Highlands. Through the storytelling and informal gathering, the social outreach programme has made a substantial contribution to the wellbeing of many local residents affected by this debilitating condition. There are other museums with similar programmes at the National Library of Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland, National Museum of Scotland and other organisations that have sessions offered for those suffering dementia. Tea and cake, with a range of activities that are inspired by the collections, help those visitors to have some fun and social activity whilst being stimulated by the experience. Social programmes are only one of the additional benefits that our nation's museums and galleries contribute. I previously alluded to the inspiring architectural contribution of the design by Zaha Hadid in Glasgow. However, I am sure that you are all well aware of our recent splendid edition in Dundee. The V&A has received well-deserved international acclaim, having attracted architects from around the world to compete for the opportunity to design it. It has just been shortlisted as one of the five finalists for art fund museum of the year 2019. In my constituency of Midlothian North and Musselborough, we are proud to have two museums serving our communities. One is in the historic county town of Dalkeith and the other in the honest town of Musselborough. Each of those is staffed exclusively by volunteers who are passionate about their communities and the extraordinary part that they have played in history. If you have not yet had the pleasure of visiting Musselborough, I won't spoil your fun by telling you too much, but these dedicated museum volunteers are presented to local residents with themed exhibitions in the historic town hall in addition to hosting permanent exhibits for younger and older visitors alike, which illustrate the colourful history and culture of the fishing community. The role of the women as the fish wives of Musselborough is well recorded and photographs of a lifestyle now long gone is vividly presented to generations of young people who are now the community members of Musselborough, as well as visitors who come from Australia, Canada and USA to discover their heritage. Hosted by a local housing association, Dalkeith museum is located in the magnificently restored corn exchange. Dalkeith railways station like so many in Scotland closed long ago, but thanks to a remarkable piece of good luck, the 19th century bronze station bell that would have once sounded the departure of trains, has now been restored and is currently on display at the Dalkeith museum after being lost from Midlothian for more than 50 years. It sits among many artefacts that reflect and inform the local community. Visits from school groups and local residents as well as tourists are recorded. All this is a testament to the dedicated commitment of the many curators and conservation professionals who care for this heritage, who ensure that the buildings that are home to these collections are bright, comfortable and well maintained spaces. The thoughtful and creative display of these images and artefacts change our perception of ourselves. It expands our knowledge and our understanding of our nation's heritage. Its historical importance, our relationship with the rest of the world. It means more than looking at museums and galleries, it informs our future and we thank you who make this possible for your remarkable enterprise and diligence. I know that international museums day will be celebrated for many years to come and I hope that my motion in this member's debate will be the beginning of a tradition of the Parliament recognising this special day. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr Beasie. I call Kenneth Gibson, who will be followed by Rachel Hamilton. I congratulate my colleague Colin Beattie for securing today's debate and giving us the opportunity to mark international museum day, which took place on Saturday, 18 May. Before museums were in Asons Europe, had their ancestors cabinets of curiosity. Those cabinets filled with rare eclectic and esoteric were the preserve of wealthy European aristocrats and, usually housed in private palace rooms. As early as 1587, an adviser to Christian I of Saxony set out a wish list of sculptures, paintings, curious items from Homer Abroad and antlers, horns, claws, feathers and other things belonging to strange or curious animals. Those cabinets not only served as a collection to reflect the interests and explorations of their curators but also largely social devices to establish a person's rank in society. Most people would have little opportunity to view those wonders or, indeed, participate in their curation. Now museums have become spaces that invite everyone to engage with the past and the objects or ideas that diverse communities throughout the history of humanity have held dear. As Colin Beattie's motion reminds us, museums have developed into vital cultural hubs that can foster peace and understanding. Scotland's museum collections are immensely diverse and the full extent of museum activities across the country is not yet known, making it difficult to put a financial value on the impact of Scotland's museums on tourism and the cultural economy. A report by the Moffitt Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University found that 52 per cent of museum visitors are local, making museums a vital local cultural facility that draws on tourists and enriches local life. One such museum in my constituency is West Kilbride, which invites residents and visitors alike to explore life in the parish over the past 400 years. Since its inception in 1988, a dedicated team of local volunteers has sustained an enviable collection of relics from all sections of the town and its surrounding areas, and its hard work does not end there. At Scotland's craft town, West Kilbride is home to a wonderful array of local artists working across varied mediums and their works are frequently on display in West Kilbride Museum, tying in four centuries of history with the modern world. Its exhibits embody the town's colourful story and its local events, such as the centenary year of West Kilbride Boys Club, currently being celebrated with an exhibition of memorabilia. It invites people to discover the history, traditions and development of West Kilbride, it shows how it increases people's pride in their community and inspires them to help shape its story going forward. Today in North Ayrshire, we are lucky enough to enjoy a variety of museums from the traditional exhibition to the immersive experience. Its skirmily secret bunker visitors get a chilling insight into the reality of the Cold War. The monitoring post, 15 feet underground, was designed to detect a nuclear attack. My constituent Frank Alexander took over the lease of the building in 2004 when it was just a shell and with dedication and determination, has kitted it out with authentic equipment to recreate the mood of an era when the nuclear threat was at its greatest. Climbing deep into the earth, you are overwhelmed with a real sense of taking a step within the past and a future that never transpired on a threat that thankfully was never realised. That is what the best museums do, make us feel something. Whether they help us feel proud of where we have come from, inspire us, challenge us or stimulate us, museums of all sizes have an enormous impact on our wellbeing. That is especially true today when more and more museums are developing their role as socially purposeful organisations to deliver positive social impact. Gone in the days when museums were quiet, cold and foreboding places, they are now more welcoming, more accessible and serve as a host for an incredible variety of cultural and social events. There is an increased sense today that museums belong to the people who visit them. Scottish writer Andrew Hagan helped to put that feeling into words when he spoke of his connection with Kelvin Grove Art Gallery Museum in Glasgow, which is a child that I was very familiar with. On his first step through the museum's doors, he was struck by a thought. This was ours, all ours, the paintings, the light, the stonework, it belonged to the people of Glasgow and to me. Everyone in Scotland is able to feel that level of connection to a museum or gallery, I believe, where it is indeed somewhere local or somewhere that simply captures their imagination. I thank Colin Beattie for once again facilitating this opportunity to reflect upon International Museum Day 2019 and upon the unique value of each and every one of Scotland's museums. I thank you very much, Mr Gibson. I call Rachel Hamilton, followed by Jenny Marra, Ms Hamilton. As shadow culture and tourism spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, I am delighted to speak in Colin Beattie's debate on International Museum Day. Museums are an integral part of showing off the very best of Scotland, whether it is our rich history, varied geography or diverse culture. We have a plethora of fantastic museums right on our doorsteps, which offer a wonderful window of our colourful past. I was honoured recently to visit the New Moat Bray in Dumfriesen. It was a sneak peek, because I was actually at a function there. It is not yet open. It opens in June. It is the childhood home of J.M. Barry, and most people in this chamber would have read the book Peter Pan. I would thoroughly recommend a visit if you were ever down in Joan McAlpine in Oliver Mundell's way. Oh, and Finlay Carson. In my constituency of Ettrick Rocks and Berwickshire, we have a wonderful Jim Clark Museum in Duns. That is near completion. As you may be aware, Jim Clark was an exceptional Formula One driver, becoming the Formula One world champion in 1963 and 1965, achieving 72 Grand Prix starts, 25 wins and 33 pole positions across his career. He was a true inspiration to a generation of sports fans, and he is remembered fondly in the Scottish boarders. It is fitting that we will see this year the opening of that new Jim Clark Museum, and the famous rally, of course, returned to the country roads at Berwickshire. Building Work got underway last year, and the opening of the new museum will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original memorial room being opened by Jim Clark's parents. The aim of the new museum is to inspire the next generation and generations to come with a modern and vibrant celebration of Jim Clark's incredible career and the impact that he had on motorsport around the world with his trophies that have been collected in pictures and film footage, and some of the cars that he raced. Exhibiting the cars in which Jim Clark raced will be the highlight of the new museum, with the existing trophy collection at its heart. I want to take this opportunity to thank the hard work of the many volunteers and the Scottish Borders Council heritage lottery fund, and those who have given up their time and so generously have been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition. I really cannot wait for this museum to open, and again, as well as the new Moat Brea, I would encourage everyone to take a trip down to the borders to enjoy this excellent museum when it opens. Museums have amazing power not only to display great historical artefacts, paintings and objects but also to be inspirational, informative and enlightening, and educational. They draw in tourists from everywhere, and Scotland has its fair share of fascinating museums. Last year, Scotland was pleased to see that the National Museum of Scotland drew in more than 2 million visits, first for any Scottish attraction. They do a wonderful job of course in accommodating our tourists from across the world with multi-lingual audio headsets and tours. I would ask the Scottish Government to think too of the importance of the smaller museums in exhibiting local culture and history. The Jim Clark Museum is just a small example of that. It has taken an awful lot of work to get to this point, but it is important that we do not forget about those smaller museums that do need necessarily support to invest in this provision. I would also, in the small time that I have got, ask that the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government consider supporting more public museums and galleries to establish themselves as dementia-friendly. I know that Colin Beattie has just mentioned that. There is no definition of dementia-friendly, and it is not just about putting a sticker to say this. This is about all sorts of easy changes and simple things that people can make to make a carer's experience much easier and someone experiencing the dementia condition. I want to encourage everyone of all ages to visit a museum on or around International Museum Day. Every day is a school day, and you will never know what you might learn next. I am delighted and proud to speak in this debate this evening. I thank Colin Beattie very much for bringing the debate to the chamber. I am proud because it was in 2001 that a Labour Government four years into office made all museums across the UK free entry. Now, somewhere before and some were still charging, but with Gordon Brown's VAT arrangements, we managed to make entry and accessibility to every museum across the country completely free, and that underpinned our commitment to public accessibility, to artwork and to our history. I think that it is an achievement. We can all agree that it was very worthwhile and we can all be very proud of it. For me, museums are a celebration of life and are also commemorations and historical lessons of humanity's catastrophes and serve such important purposes for both. As I prepared for the debate today about the impact of museums on my life, one of the earliest recollections that I have of being in a museum is in the Barrick Street Museum in Dundee, which is now used as a storage facility for our other museums in the city, where the great skeletal carcass of the Tay Whale that was removed from the longest river in Scotland used to hang above my head. I used to be in permanent fear that it would fall onto my head, but I remember visiting that very regularly as a child. It now hangs in the refurbished McManus galleries in Dundee, which Dundee City Council very beautifully restored just a few years ago and it has become a real hub in the city. Another early memory was queuing in Market Street just down the road from here to see Tooton Camwn's Mask in the 1980s. I cannot put an exact year on it. I think that it was roughly 1985—perhaps the cabinet secretary will remember—and I remember there being a huge buzz in my primary school and in the community about this worldwide historical artifact coming to Scotland and Scottish school children being able to see it. From huge events like that that had a real national significance to the smaller, more intimate museums that colleagues have talked about, such as the Lewis grass at Gibbon Exhibition up in the Mearns, which is beautifully accessible to everyone who has read that book and is visiting the stunning landscape of that part of the northeast. Museums are such an integral and important cultural and emotional part of our lives. I remember, as a student then, the whole world of the London museums and exhibitions opening up the Imperial War museum. I took great delight in visiting most summers we went to London, the British Museum, and the stunningly beautiful reading room and taking great delight in sitting in Carl Marx's regular seat in the reading room in the British Museum. I was lucky enough also on a scholarship to the US to then visit museums like the Metropolitan in New York. The learning experience you can have in those places goes on for days, if not months and years. I was struck just a few weeks ago by the video that was released on social media of all living UK prime ministers announcing the new Holocaust memorial and museum that is to be in London. I think that it is very fitting and perhaps long overdue development. I thought that it was a very good initiative that all living UK prime ministers had taken the time to lend their support to this very important initiative. We all know that any visitors to Berlin have seen the power that the German nation has managed to create from their national memorials, exhibitions and museums to the horrific events that happened in the 30s and 40s in Germany with the lesson that humanity must never repeat those tragedies. I went on a visit recently to Srebrenica and to Sarajevo as part of the remembering Srebrenica trust here in Scotland. I know that there is another visit going at the moment. The museums at Potikari of this terrible genocide were clean to see. I realise that I have gone slightly over my time but I hope that you will allow me to talk a little bit about the V&A in Dundee. Obviously, for our community, the addition of the V&A has been such a significant addition to our city, to the cultural life of our city and a pay tribute to the Scottish Government and to Fiona Hyslop in her role on that. It has exceeded expectations in terms of visitors' numbers, the impact on tourism in Dundee. There were some new figures released yesterday and the confidence of our city. I hope that our new museum will have some of the impact in years to come that I have described in some of our other museums in Scotland and across the United Kingdom. Thank you very much. I call Liam McArthur to follow by Alexander Stewart. Mr Stewart will be the last speaker in the open debate. Mr McArthur, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I start by echoing Jenny Marra's comments in relation to the V&A that I have still to visit, but it is very much at top of the list. I also thank Colin Beattie for allowing this debate on an issue that is clearly a real passion of his. I also thank him for the highly successful reception last week in Parliament. I was delighted that Strumnus Museum was able to be in attendance there. All the other stands that evening were extremely busy through the course of the evening. Strumnus Museum was showcasing the innovative work that it has been doing alongside the Dundee University. In 3D modelling, the wrecks of Scapa Flow, bringing that home to a wider audience than was perhaps possible before. Museums and galleries help to make Orkney the community that it is. It is a microcosm of what Colin Beattie was describing in relation to Scotland as a whole. We are blessed with a vibrant cultural scene. That stems from the value that we attach to heritage. Not only have we the Strumnus Museum, the Orkney Museum, Linus, Corrigal Farm, Fossil Centre, the Wireless Museum, the Long Hope Lifeboat Museum and a community of 21,000 museums and galleries demonstrate the extent to which Orkney is punching above its weight and attaching a value to that heritage and a pay tribute to the staff and volunteers, as well as those who support it within the council and elsewhere for the work that they do. I was intrigued by a recent survey that was undertaken by the International Council of Museums about what museums are. That is a subject of lively debate. The respondents to that came up with many weird, wonderful and imaginative responses. There was one from Greece suggesting that museums are the factory of our dreams. From Germany came the suggestion that the museum is a walk-in library of our collective memory. For another, a museum is a place that attempts to elaborate human dignity and life quality through appreciation of love, peace, equality and nature. That comes, perhaps surprisingly, from a respondent in Iran. Rather than a presaicly, somebody from Slovakia suggested that a museum is no longer just a place of collecting old stuff. A wide variety of views that encapsulate that museums and galleries probably mean very different things to different people. Perhaps a more interesting question might have been about what museums and galleries can be. The digital engagement is something that we are seeing across the board. It is reflected in Strumford's Museum's innovation around the wrecks of scapa-flow, but the co-curation that we are seeing, the decolonisation that we are seeing happening as well. However, in order to remain relevant, we need to continue to focus on the issues that affect people's lives. We are seeing more museums venturing into describing issues around poverty, racism, climate change and a multitude of other issues. That is absolutely right and proper. Again, from the same report in the museum's journal, there was a suggestion that a respondent to ICOM's survey from Spain made the point that a museum is reborn as many times as it takes, and that is something that all good museums strive to do. In order to be able to do that, funding is not just for the exhibitions or the outreach, but as one constituent made the point to me for the under-the-bonnet stuff as well, the cataloging that is absolutely critical to the work that it does. We would push our museums to look at new models of funding, whether that is through donors, through sponsorship, through the merchandising that many engage in. It was said rather powerfully that those models can only be sustainable with strong government backing in the form of public policies and a clear commitment to fund museums daily operations. I hope that this debate will help to reinforce that point, that the value that we attach has to be underscored by the funding that allows museums and galleries to do the work that they do. I know that the cabinet secretary is a strong supporter of that sector, and I very much hope that the Scottish Government would continue in that vein. Again, I thank Colin Beattie for bringing this debate and I look forward to the cabinet secretary's closing remarks. I am very pleased to take part in this evening's debate, and I commend Colin Beattie for bringing and securing this debate this evening. As we have already heard, International Museum Day is a global celebration. It takes place around 18 May and is co-ordinated by international museums, and every year it highlights a different theme. International Museum Day also gives the chance for museum professionals themselves to meet people and inform them about the many varied challenges that modern museums face in today's society. The definition of a museum is a permanent installation that is there to ensure that society is informed and has got some individual development. The participation of museums has shown that they are there to communicate, research, conserve, acquire and also have the ability to have exhibitions of human tangible and untangible heritage, as well as the environment to enjoy, to study and to process and to educate. All those services are the platform for public awareness, and it is very important that museums have the ability to organise and be part of our society and that becomes the whole level of internationalism. This year's theme is all about museums of a cultural hub and the future of tradition, and that highlights the roles that museums in society and the changing roles that they have seen over the years. As we have already heard, museums are there to be relevant within their area to show advice and audience focus, the flexibility and the adaptability of ensuring that they can be relevant in today's society. With an increasing popularity in computer-generated virtual worlds and virtual places taking place across, I believe that it is even more important than ever that museums can become cultural hubs and function and focus as a platform to contribute to create the knowledge within our society. We need to places where visitors can also create, they can share, they can interact and they get a real flavour of what is happening within that sector and they view the history and the historic achievements that are taking place and, in turn, they help to increase their knowledge, their awareness and the tolerance of others around the world. Whilst that primary mission is to ensure that there is that communication, that collecting, that collaboration, that research or that exhibition, museums have transformed their places and remain very much held within communities today. They have an involvement, they have a capacity to ensure that they are. We have heard today about different types of museums, whether it is a tartan museum or a toy museum or a transport museum, and hundreds of them across Scotland are viewed and visited on a daily basis. I would like to pay tribute to one or two around the country. Can I first of all say about the Scottish Submarine Centre at Helensborough, which recently was awarded a run-up award in a national campaign? I would also like to talk about my home town of Perth, which has many traditional museums and art galleries, which are world-renowned, and our old city hall is about to become a new virtual and vibrant new museum, which is going to create £20 million worth of money, which has come from the Tay cities deal, and we look forward to seeing that develop and move forward. In my own region of Mid Scotland and Fife, there are many. Stirling's castle and its living museums are the fantastic Carnegie library and galleries in the firm, which once again has just recently won awards. We have already heard today from a number of speakers about the impressive V&A-based in Dundee, which has revolutionised the sector and continues to shine a beacon and shine a light on where we are. By acting locally, museums can also individually advocate the global problems that are taking place and challenge the societies that we have. In conclusion, as institutions at the heart of society, museums have a real power to establish dialogue between cultures and build bridges and break down bridges as they define the suitability for going forward. I commend and congratulate all who are involved. I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak in this afternoon's motion on international museums today. First of all, thank you to Colin Beattie for bringing this motion forward and for his excellent speech and commitment to the museum sector. To all the very interesting contributions from the colleagues who have spoken and those who have supported the debate as well, and it is quite clear from the centuries to the motion and the contribution, there is cross-party support for the sector. Last week's International Museums Day event in the Scottish Parliament was hosted by Museum Gallery Scotland and kindly sponsored again by Colin Beattie, and it saw representatives from over 50 museums come together to celebrate the museum sector's hard work in keeping our heritage alive. I was very pleased to see at that exhibition further examples of the innovation taking place within Scotland's museum sector. Liam McArthur referred to Stromnes' museum's living wrecks, the marine life of Skappa Flow exhibition. It was a highlight of the exhibition and it was an interactive exhibition utilising 3D imagery, dive video footage of virtual reality to help visitors explore the maritime heritage of Skappa Flow with added sea turtles, great white sharks and blue whales. The museum's partners have created those 3D scans of the museum artifacts, vastly increasing the accessibility of Skappa Flow's heritage. They are also securely recorded, meaning that future generations will be able to see exactly what we do now. I noted it in my speech last week at the Museum Gallery's event that museums allow us to communicate across time and culture. To further ensure sustainability, museums have, by necessity, become local cultural hubs, an opportunity that has inspired new ways for museums to present their collections and engage with their communities and visitors. Museums have always held a place in our hearts presenting us with seemingly endless objects and stories to light up our imagination. I can only imagine the excitement of the children seeing the towering form of Dippy the Diplodocus during his recent visit to the Calvin Grove Museum, his first trip outside London since 1905. As much as Dippy's visit was to inspire learning, numerous events were organised, expanding Dippy's role beyond a larger-than-life copy of dinosaur bones. Draw Dippy like Leonardo. Link Dippy's stay to the temporary Leonardo da Vinci exhibition being held at the Calvin Grove at the same time, an explanation of natural history through art, and it is an example of how museums are changing the way they engage with their visitors and how they present the stories of the history and their care. Museums are also on the lookout for ways to tackle contemporary issues as well as will be seen in the National Museum of Scotland's body beautiful diversity on the Catwalk exhibition, and body beautiful will explain how the fashion industry is challenging modern perceptions of beauty and encouraging diversity, including examples from designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Jean-Paul Gaultier. Scotland's national museums obviously play a vital role in setting the larger picture of Scotland's historical, scientific and cultural histories, and they do a fantastic job. They also host international exhibitions, and I was smiling at Jenny Marra's reference to seeing the Tutankhamun mask. I think that I saw it in 1970 at the British Museum when I was a tiny child and I had to spend five hours queuing to see the mask, but I remember that it lasted an impression on me. Jenny Marra also referred to, in her speech about her personal reflections, to the Manus museum and galleries, which I think is quite outstanding refurbishment and exhibition space. In my constituency, I've got museums that are changing too. The new Llanethgo museum, with its three new galleries and bespoke community space, aims to bring the history of Llanethgo to the fore in a fresh interpretation of the Royal Bar's history. It's the result of the Llanethgo Heritage Trust's and new museum for Royal Llanethgo project. It's successfully applied to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a grant of £240,000 to enable community involvement in the development, delivery and interpretation of the Bar's heritage. Of the various exhibition highlights, I draw your attention to the Adopt an Object scheme, which invites patrons of the museum to sponsor an object for a year. That creates a steady stream of income that can be used for improvements to the building conservation of exhibition items and publicity. In addition, I understand that there are plans to host art workshops and a community archaeology dig, increasing that connectivity with the local community. I'm excited about what's happening in my own area. Of course, other members have spoken about museums in their area and galleries in their area. Kenny Gibson talked about West Kilbride's contribution and his constituency. I visited the gallery earlier this year, and I purchased one of the artworks from a fantastic exhibition that I saw there. Rachel Hamilton referred to Jim Clark's museum, a new museum, and I think that that's a reflection that there are new things happening in the museum area. It's not just about existing museums, and we've heard about the V&A as well. In terms of the vibrancy of the ambition for local places to have museums and also to take on the national role that the V&A has, there really is something to be said about that dynamism in the museum sector. However, it's also impossible to understand the role of museums without taking into account the connections that they make. They are inherent in part of our local communities. They act as a platform for placing local history in a global context. Museums Gallery Scotland administers the museum's recognition scheme. It celebrates, promotes and invests in nationally significant collections beyond our national museums and galleries. Scotland currently has 49 such collections, many in often small rural museums that are immensely varied but equally as important in the array of objects that they contain, reflecting centuries of effort. Those collections, as with the accredited museums, allow Scotland to be part of that global exchange of history ideas and learning. Alexander Stewart talked about the role of museums in society, and one of the groups that are most possibly affected by the growth of museums is the older generation. There are many older citizens who suffer from dementia, referred to by Rachel Hamilton, who are living in poverty or are socially isolated to benefit from the idea of museums as cultural hubs. I was fortunate last week to hear about some of the great work that was carried out in Glasgow and Edinburgh with older people. Diana Morton, outreach manager at Edinburgh and Glasgow councils noted some of the fantastic work that was done by council museums. That includes the Contact the Elderly scheme, where socially isolated older people are picked up by drivers and brought to a museum once a month on a Sunday for activity at a cup of tea. I would also like to offer a special mention to Stop Hill hospital in Springburn. Within the secure units of the Islay and Dura adult mental health and dementia awards, objects from Glasgow museums have been placed into display areas and cases in the walls to encourage conversation between the staff, the residents and visitors. The objects in question range from model ships to sewing machines, and we are all selected by hospital staff. The walls stimulate memory and make the environment a much nicer place to be and have been well received by those who are aimed to help. That is the example of the wellbeing that museums can provide for all of us, whatever our age. To conclude, we heard from Liam McArthur about definitions of museums and a factory of dreams. I took a walk in a library of our collective memory, but I always remember the wee boy who said to me when I asked him why he thought that museums were important and he answered that they keep the memories of our people. Yes, they are places, museums are places, but they are imbued with the spirit and the stories of people and that sense of where we have been and where we are going in the future. I am happy to take part in this debate and commend Colin Beattie for bringing it to Parliament. Thank you. That concludes this debate, and I close this meeting of Parliament.