Celebrating Croll - our new appeal.

Celebrating Croll

A message from Professor Iain Stewart. 

Professor Iain Stewart, President of RSGS

James Croll 

Since it opened in July 2011, the Fair Maid’s House has been enthusiastically welcomed by its visitors – adults and children alike – as an imaginative, informative and inspirational place for learning about geography and the world around us.

Now, in celebration of the RSGS’s 130th anniversary, we plan to refresh and extend the interpretative displays and facilities inside and outside the building, to give visitors even more to see, to maximise the space available for visiting schools and other groups, to give us more flexibility when running events, and to celebrate the tremendous contribution made by the 19th-century Scottish scientist James Croll to geographical thinking and our modern understanding of climate cycles – how variations in the Earth’s orbit affect its climate, leading to regular and predictable ice ages.

The Garden Today

We want to transform the plain ‘garden’ area into an exciting outdoor learning and visitor space. To do this, we need to employ a project designer and provide a budget for materials and labour, and we plan to include specially-commissioned artwork that reflects Croll’s work. We want to create an ‘outdoor room’ that will be another beautiful space for visitors and will honour an inspirational Scottish scientist.

To complement this new development outdoors, we also plan to update the interpretation panels and displays indoors with attractive and accessible information and learning materials, so that the Fair Maid’s House continues to be a repository of current thinking as well as historical knowledge.

Some design ideas from students at the Edinburgh College of Art

We have set a target for the project of £16,000. If we can raise more than this from members and other supporters, then we can do even more to improve the Fair Maid’s House for all our visitors, and to support its ongoing running costs.

Every donation will make a difference, so please help us if you can.

Donate Online

Alternatively you can print and complete this donation form and send to RSGS, Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU