Discovery Experience

Join us on an interactive adventure to explore Scotland's seas!

Discovery Experience

Dive in to Scotland’s incredible marine environment with our refreshed Discovery Experience. The exhibits, new programme of wildlife films, games and interactive live cameras on the world’s largest Northern gannet colony, the Bass Rock, bring the wonders of Scotland's exceptional marine habitats and wildlife to life.

Book Online
Day tickets for our Discovery Experience can be booked online in advance up to a day before arrival. Tickets can also be booked on arrival from our information desk.

Summer 2025 - What's On

From our daily Wild Island guided spotting sessions and stunning Underwater Photographer of the Year exhibition to our summer programme of family events including, rockpooling, live science shows and puppet shows, there's something for everyone this summer!

Wild Island Watch - Guided Spotting Sessions

When visiting our Discovery Experience you can join one of our popular guided talks and bird-spotting sessions. Start your journey with a live tour of the local islands using our interactive cameras, offering incredible close-up views of iconic seabirds such as puffins and gannets in their natural habitat. Then head up to our outdoor viewing balcony, where our knowledgeable team will help you spot these magnificent birds in real time using telescopes and binoculars. It’s the perfect way to get closer to Scotland’s remarkable marine wildlife and learn more about the seabirds that make the Firth of Forth their home. Sessions will focus on seasonal wildlife, highlighting the species along our coasts, at sea and on the islands that are present at the time of your visit.

Wild Island Watch
Daily 11am and 2pm
Live Science Shows
Summer Exhibition

Dive in to our newly re-opened interactive Discovery Experience
Helen Pugh

Inventive, great views, easy to understand information, friendly and knowledgeable staff. North Berwick is one of Scotland's finest small towns.

Trip Advisor

Open daily!

When you visit our expert staff will talk you through the seasonal wildlife that you can spot using the remote cameras on the local islands and what you can expect to find along the local shoreline. We have a changing programme of events throughout the year from interactive live science shows to wildlife talks, check out what's on when you visit here.

We're open daily and our seasonal boat trips run from 01 April and until September. If you're likely to visit more than once a year, our Membership scheme gives you free entry for 12 months enabling you to learn more about the changing seasonal wildlife. You'll also enjoy a host of other benefits and will be supporting our vital marine conservation and education programmes. Find more about our membership options HERE.

Discovery Experience tickets can also be purchased on arrival from our information desk. We will always do our best to accommodate walk-in visitors, provided we have capacity on the day of your visit. If you are visiting during a school holiday or weekend we recommend advance booking where possible to avoid disappointment.

Ticket Prices

Ask our team about our Sensory Bags
Our sensory bags are designed for anyone with sensory sensitivities in order to make your visit as comfortable and enjoyable as possible, we have bags for children and adults. The marine-themed bag and contents include: a cuddly toy, marine-themed story book, ear defenders, tactile model starfish, crocheted fidget toy, wooden 'fiddle-stick' fidget toy, emotion tags on a keyring, and a photo find sheet.

We offer a variety of shows and events alongside our Discovery Experience.
(c) Phil Wilkinson, Helen Pugh, Rob McDougall, Helen Pugh

Parking in North Berwick in the summer months can be challenging and we advise you to build in extra time to your plans to take account of this. You can find details of public transport options and parking details, including our carpark, on our plan your visit page here.

Seasonal Wildlife

Thousands of seabirds return to the islands in the Firth of Forth to breed each spring. Our seasonal wildlife calendar highlights the different wildlife you can expect to spot from our live cameras or from a wildlife boat trip at different times of year. If you want to see the puffins make sure you book a trip between April and July. Puffins only return to land for a short time to breed before heading out to sea where they spend most of the year.

Puffins spend most of the year at sea. See them between April and July each year.

Learn more about the cetaceans that visit and live in Scotland's seas.
© Helen Pugh

Learn about the challenges facing our marine wildlife.
© Helen Pugh

Shows and Other Events
Don't forget to check our What's On page to find out what seasonal exhibitions, events or shows we have on when you visit. We have a changing programme of events from wildlife walks and talks to children's shows and exhibitions running throughout the year.

Supporting our work

We want our visitors to appreciate the wonders of Scotland’s marine environment, but also understand the threats it faces and the steps they can take to help protect it. Our threats exhibits highlight the impact of noise pollution, plastics and the climate crisis on our marine wildlife in an engaging and interactive way.

We hope you enjoy your visit and leave with a greater understanding of the diverse life that Scotland’s seas support and why it's so critical we protect it.

Thank you for your ongoing support. If you would like to support our vital conservation and education work in other ways, please consider a one off donation or become a member of the Scottish Seabird Centre.

Wildlife Boat Trips
Experience the internationally important seabird colonies in the Firth of Forth up close from one of our seasonal boat trips, running April - September.