Explore Ellisland
Now you can explore Robert Burns Ellisland Farm – faithfully recreated in Minecraft.
Players can navigate the 18th century farm and interact with the bard, his wife Jean Armour, their son Bobby and some of the animals on the farm, in the Explore Ellisland Minecraft game.
Explore Ellisland includes a new recording of Auld Lang Syne by Emily Smith, the award-winning traditional singer and a board member at the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, which safeguards the site.
Books scattered around the game allow players to read some of the work Burns wrote at Ellisland, including Tam o Shanter, which is also playable as an original audio recording.
Minecraft Ellisland is a partnership between the University of Glasgow, Robert Burns Ellisland Trust and The South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA). It was built by around 15 students – undergraduates and postgraduates drawn from a range of different subjects – who are part of the University’s Minecraft Society.
The Minecraft Ellisland project was led by Dr Timothy Peacock and Dr Matthew Barr from the University’s Game and Gaming Lab – a cross-disciplinary lab –based in the University’s College of Arts – on how games and gaming can be used in research and teaching.
Education Version
(An Education Version of Minecraft Ellisland is available on request. If you are interested please do not hesitate to get in touch)
Technical Guide
A technical guide to aid with installation can be found here
Download Explore Ellisland here
(You will need to have Minecraft installed on your PC or the Bedrock version on an appropriate mobile device to play)
Volunteering
Volunteers are directly involved in the Trust’s efforts to conserve the site and grounds of Ellisland, as well as telling its story. Find out more about volunteering at Ellisland.
About
Burns experienced his most creative and fruitful years here at Ellisland. He found great poetic inspiration in the beauty of the surrounding countryside, the various people he met and the events he witnessed whilst living here.
Burns Attractions
Ellisland Museum & Farm is conveniently situated on the road between Robert Burns’ birthplace in Alloway and his final resting place at St Michael’s Cemetery in Dumfries.