HIE's museums officer Karen Fraser with Jennifer Maxwell of the Highland Museum of Childhood Highlands and Islands Museums is a partnership between Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Museums Council which aims to strengthen the museums sector in the Highlands and Islands. The Museums The Highlands and Islands is an area rich in history. Its heritage and culture attracts thousands of visitors to the area every year. Its people have a fierce pride in their culture, and interest in its care and preservation is increasingly strong.
Museums offer opportunities for both visitors and local communities.
Visitors can learn more about the Highlands and Islands through interpretation of real objects cared for on behalf of the public and preserved for future generations. For local people, museums act as a focus for local pride and interest in their heritage, assisting the development of individual skills through direct involvement and through education and lifelong learning. In this way, museums have an important contribution to the cultural and economic well-being of some of the area's most remote and fragile communities. In working in partnership with SMC, Scotland's official membership organisation representing non-national museums, HIE has recognised the need for the support of the distinctive sector within the Highlands and Islands. A priority for the co-ordinated development of museums is support for the museum groupings in the area.