Located in a modern purpose-built extension to the restored Lews Castle in Stornoway, Museum nan Eilean opened on 14th July 2016 and is run by the Heritage Service of the local authority (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar). The museum tells the stories of the Outer Hebrides and their people from prehistory to the present day, including the Gaelic language, religion and culture. There are three permanent galleries; A Sense of Place which discusses the landscape and geology of the islands, The Islanders which focuses on the people and A Taste of the Islands which reviews the land, the sea, working life and community. Material on loan from the National Museum of Scotland and the British Museum include six of the world-famous Lewis Chessmen. There is a further gallery with a changing programme of temporary exhibitions, together with an education room and an archive.
Inspired by an exceptionally large conservatory and plant-house once attached to the castle but demolished in the late 1940s, the museum extension was the work of Simpson & Brown and Malcolm Fraser architects, with Graham Construction acting as contractors, who were also responsible for the restoration of the castle.
The original museum was established in Stornoway Town Hall in 1983, moving in 1995 to Francis Street where it occupied a 19th C. building which had previously been part of the Nicholson Institute. The museum has an out-station within Sgoil Lionacleit, the community school on Benbecula.
