It has a simple hexagonal head on which are engraved the images of saints and the coats of arms of various important families from the time of the foundation of the University of St Andrews.

A stained glass window dedicated to Thomas Chalmers, the leader of the Disruption of the Church of Scotland, an early Gregorian Reflecting Telescope, made by James Short in 1734, and a mazer which is the earliest known fully hallmarked piece of Edinburgh silver are also of some importance.

[5] The museum occasionally displays the only surviving one of the six bulls sent by Pope Benedict XIII to found the University of St Andrews in 1413.

The museum runs a wide ranging programme of talks, workshops and tours on a variety of subjects related to its collections.

[7] A significant part of the museum's schools provision is based around the annual MUSA Young Artist Award.

The competition takes a different theme each year and offers schools in Fife the opportunity to participate in workshops which prepare pupils for the contest by helping them develop their artistic abilities.

[8] A Youth Curator programme also allows teenagers in the area to gain behind-the-scenes access and get experience by putting on an exhibition at the museum.

[9][10] In 2011 the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions presented Sarah Hammond, one of the museum's staff members, with the Rising Star Award.

His Royal Highness Prince William visited in 2011 with his then fiance Catherine Middleton as part of the celebrations for the university's 600th anniversary.

[14] The museum was opened in 2008 by crime writer Ian Rankin, who had the opportunity to see rarely displayed life masks of Edinburgh grave robbers Burke and Hare.

[15] The museum has featured on the BBC2 series Celebrity Antiques Roadtrip, when news reader Alastair Stewart visited, and has welcomed Elaine C. Smith for a forthcoming documentary.

Museum Collections has responsibility for three other public venues at the university, all of which share exhibition and event programmes with MUSA.

It is located in the Bute Building, off St Mary's Quad, and was founded in memory of Professor James Bell Pettigrew, Chair of Medicine at the university.

The museum houses a collection of natural history and zoology specimens, many of which date back to the Victorian period.