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Dolly the Sheep

The first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell, born at the Roslin Institute in 1996 and now on show in the National Museum of Scotland.

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In the science galleries of the National Museum of Scotland, not far from the soaring ironwork of the Victorian Grand Gallery, a white-faced sheep stands in a glass case, looking out at the passing crowds with an air of mild patience.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

She is Dolly, and thirty years after her birth she is still an internationally recognised symbol of pioneering science.

Dolly was made at the Roslin Institute, just south of Edinburgh, by a team led by Ian Wilmut, working with the company PPL Therapeutics. Her arrival changed what scientists believed a single adult cell could do, and helped open the way to later work on stem cells, gene editing and regenerative medicine. The museum is free and she is easy to find. Stop for a moment with her, then carry on through the galleries of inventions, machines and discoveries around her.

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Before you go

Dolly stands in a glass case in the Science and Technology galleries of the National Museum of Scotland.

Hours
Daily, 10am to 5pm; closed 25 December, and 12 noon to 5pm on 26 December and 1 January.
Entry
Free, with charges for some special exhibitions.
Where
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF.

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Did you know

Dolly the Sheep stands preserved in a glass case beneath the Grand Gallery's ironwork at the National Museum of Scotland.
Did you know

Thought to be impossible.

Until Dolly, scientists believed a specialised adult cell, like a skin or liver cell, held only what it needed for its own job. Dolly grew from a single cell and proved it held the whole animal.

Dolly the Sheep gazes from her glass case beneath ornate ironwork at the National Museum of Scotland.
Did you know

Three mothers.

Her nucleus came from a Finn Dorset sheep, the empty egg it was put into came from a Scottish Blackface, and a third ewe carried her. She was born on 5 July 1996.

Dolly the Sheep looks toward the camera from her glass display case at the National Museum of Scotland.
Did you know

Named after Dolly Parton.

The lamb was named, affectionately, after the country singer Dolly Parton.

Dolly the Sheep's taxidermy mount sits in a glass case within the Grand Gallery at the National Museum of Scotland.
Did you know

A secret for seven months.

Her birth was kept quiet until the research was published. When it was announced on 22 February 1997, the world's press descended on Roslin, and a fierce debate about cloning began.

Dolly the Sheep's profile is lit within her display case at the National Museum of Scotland.
Did you know

Six lambs with David.

Dolly lived her whole life in a flock at Roslin and had six lambs with a Welsh Mountain ram called David: Bonny in 1998, then the twins Sally and Rosie, then triplets, Lucy, Darcy and Cotton.

Dolly the Sheep's head and shoulders are lit within her glass case at the National Museum of Scotland.
Did you know

In the museum since 2003.

In February 2003, after tumours were found in her lungs, Dolly was put to sleep at the age of six. The Roslin Institute gave her to National Museums Scotland, and she has been on show ever since.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Edinburgh

One of the National Museum of Scotland’s most popular exhibits is a stuffed ewe. This is, of course, the now-legendary Dolly the Sheep, who became a scientific phenomenon in the 1990s as the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.

Read more
Dolly the Sheep stands preserved in a glass case beneath the Grand Gallery's ironwork at the National Museum of Scotland.
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Where it is

In the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street, in Edinburgh's Old Town.

Close byThe places nearest the museum, in the Old Town.
  1. The Arthur's Seat CoffinsThe Arthur's Seat CoffinsEight tiny coffins found hidden on Arthur's Seat in 1836, in the same museum.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Five of the Lewis chess pieces against a dark background, including two bishops and a crowned figure, carved in pale ivory.The Lewis Chess PiecesThe Lewis Chess Pieces, medieval chessmen on display at the National Museum of Scotland.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Round hanging sign reading "soup cafe" outside a shopfront in black and whiteUnion of GeniusA small soup kitchen on Forrest Road.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Greyfriars BobbyGreyfriars BobbyThe statue of the Skye Terrier who guarded his owner's grave for 14 years.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars KirkThe kirk just behind the National Museum of Scotland, a short walk from the Royal Mile.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Red-fronted shop reading "The Elephant House, Birthplace of Harry Potter" with hanging flower basketsThe Elephant HouseA café that has become a pilgrimage site for Harry Potter fans.Under a mile 2 min by road
Directions
Green banquette seating and wooden tables inside a bar with large sash windowsRestaurantsCheckpointA step away
Candlelit tables and wooden chairs beneath an oval plasterwork ceiling in a restaurantRestaurantsThe OutsiderA step away
A round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.EdinburghMoment George IV BridgeSleeps 2 · A step away
Edinburgh Castle seen from a rooftop terrace with a stone drainage holeAttractionsAndy Goldsworthy's 'Hutton Roof'A step away
The long pale stone front of the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge.AttractionsNational Library of ScotlandA step away
Illustration of Paradise Palms pub on Lothian Street, corner of Bristo SquareRestaurantsParadise Palms0.2 miles
The marble shopfront of Thomas J Walls on Forrest Road, its old opticians' lettering above wide windows and a bronze door.CafeThomas J Walls0.2 miles
Timber slabs laid along the wooden floor of a grand columned galleryAttractionsTalbot Rice Gallery0.2 miles
Union Brew Lab specialty coffee bar frontage on a quiet streetCafeOrigin Coffee, South College Street0.2 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near Dolly, and when each is next free.

A round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the museum
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the museum
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the museum
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from the museum
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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