The Viewing Terrace offers some of the best views in St Andrews. It looks out onto the West Sands, where the opening scene for the award-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire was shot.
Looking out to sea on a clear day you might be able to spot the 200-year old Bell Rock Lighthouse off the coast of Arbroath. Why not use our free talking telescope to see more?
The sundial that is here tells the time according to where the shadow falls. The time on a sundial is rarely exactly right and can be up to fifteen minutes fast or slow. The quote on the sundial comes from the Roman poet Ovid.
The University of St Andrews seeks to be as green as possible and MUSA plays its part. You can see evidence of this on the roof, where photovoltaic panels use solar energy to generate electricity, which help power the lights and the lift.
The museum is also kept warm by a ground source heat pump. This works by pumping water through pipes that descend 67 metres under the car park. The water absorbs the warmth of the rocks underground.
This warmth is boosted by an electrical heat pump and sent around pipes beneath the museum’s floor to keep the galleries warm.
The lift generates a small amount of electricity every time it goes down and low energy lighting and insulation help to keep the building energy efficient.
We’ve reached the end of our tour today, but that doesn’t mean that your enjoyment of the University of St Andrews’ history and historic collections also needs to end.
The museum holds a range of free events for all ages about which you can find out more in the shop. Why not join our mailing list to be kept informed of upcoming events? You can do this at reception.
You can explore the University’s collections further at the Bell Pettigrew Museum of Natural History, though please note that their opening hours differ to those of MUSA. You can also book a behind the scenes tour of the MUSA Collections Centre.
I and the staff at MUSA hope that you’ve enjoyed your visit today. We hope to see you again soon.