Prior to its opening scheduled for early 2017, exhibits from the new V&A Dundee Museum of Design are to tour Scotland, visiting 78 venues across the country through 2015.

The travelling gallery will stop at schools, museums, and libraries before its final stop at the Victoria and Albert museum in London – the only venue outside of Scotland.

The exhibition will change depending on the location, with each stop highlighting local heritage and showcasing leading designers. Construction of the new £45m (US$70.7m, €56.5m) V&A in Dundee is expected to start next year.

Dundee-based firm eeGeo is developing a mobile app in conjunction with the tour to track the bus as it travels across Scotland, with the app also highlighting stories about local design over the course of the last 300 years. Alongside this, users will be encouraged to pin their favourite Scottish designers, design icons and objects to the map, sharing their own thoughts, ideas and stories of Scottish creativity.

It’s an incredibly ambitious project, but one that we feel underlines the scope and scale of the new museum, and really allows us to set out our stall as a new national institution,” said Sarah Saunders, head of learning and engagement for V&A Dundee.

“We look forward to seeing what our audiences pin to the map and are excited to think of the potential of this information in enabling audiences to inform our future programme.”

The tour will launch on 13 February 2015, departing from the site of the V&A Dundee, before completing its journey in London on 21 June.