Named after anatomist William Hunter, the man who bestowed his prized collection to the University, it features an array of artefacts from throughout the ages, be it a fossilised shark from 330 million years ago, an Egyptian coin from the rule of Cleopatra, or more recent pieces, such as scientific equipment belonging to scientific sons of Glasgow like James Watt and Lord Kelvin. It also includes many models and work by Hunter himself in his specialist field of anatomy. 

The museum shares its name with the London Museum of the Royal College of the Surgeons of England, named after William’s brother, the distinguished surgeon John Hunter. Both brothers hail from nearby East Kilbride, where their lives are celebrated in the Hunter House Museum. 

Over its 200-year history, the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery has added to its collection and now holds over one million pieces. These include over 800 drawings and paintings by famous Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, as well as Mackintosh House, which features the reassembled interiors of his house in Glasgow.