The Polar Museum

The Polar Museum
Scott Polar Research Institute
Lensfield Road
Cambridge
Cambridgeshire
CB2 1ER
England

Website

Our website

www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum

E-mail

Telephone

General enquiries

01223 336540

Education & Outreach Officer

01223 336562

Shop

01223 336548

Fax

01223 336549

All information is drawn from or provided by the venues themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.

The Scott Polar Research Institute was established in 1920 by Frank Debenham as a memorial to Scott and his companions. Debenham was a geologist on Captain Scott’s British Antarctic (Terra Nova) Expedition 1910-13. He had the idea of establishing a research centre as a fitting tribute to the national hero and to ensure that Scott’s pioneering scientific work would continue.

Located in a Grade 2 listed building dating from 1934, the Institute developed as a centre for polar explorers to share information, leading to the deposit of the Polar Museum's core collections.

In 2010 the renovated Polar Museum opened its doors to the public. It now displays more of its collections than before, offering visitors the chance to experience the story of Earth’s coldest, driest, highest and deadliest places.

The new displays are based on the theme of exploration into science, emphasising both the history of exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic and the wider environmental significance of the poles in a changing world.

Art and artefacts from the people who call the Arctic home are displayed alongside the last letters of Captain Scott and iconic Antarctic photographs by Herbert Ponting. A series of exhibits shows how science is undertaken in the harsh conditions of the polar regions.

As well as these permanent exhibits, the Museum regularly hosts special exhibitions and shows of modern polar art. A great range of polar-related material, including books, toys and posters, is available from the Museum Shop and may also be ordered online. The Institute has an active Friends organisation and welcomes volunteers.

Venue Type:

Museum, Library, Archive, Gallery

Opening hours

Museum opening times: 1000-1600pm (Tues to Sat), except some public and university holidays, and occasional other days, e.g. Bank Holiday weekends, between Christmas and New Year.

The Polar Museum welcomes school and other groups of all ages - please book in advance. Please note that the museum is small and we therefore ask that you limit groups to 24.

The Museum is closed Sun-Mon.

Admission charges

Admission free

Additional info

Our library and archives are open to the public by appointment.

We have been shortlisted for a European Museum of the Year Award 2012.

The Museum holds an unrivalled collection of artifacts, paintings, drawings, photographs (including cinematographic film, lantern slides, and Daguerreotypes), and other material relating to polar exploration, history and science.
The museum displays feature items from Scott's last expedition, including farewell letters to friends and family, diaries, the sleeping bag of Captain Oates, and the black flag left by Amundsen. The museum also houses displays on Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, scientific instruments and equipment from the 'heroic age' of exploration, the sledges and skis used by Scott, Shackleton and other explorers, geological specimens, modern exploration equipment and clothing, polar artworks and an example of an Emperor penguin.
Items not on display may be viewed by prior arrangement.

Collection details

Archives, Coins and Medals, Costume and Textiles, Film and Media, Land Transport, Maritime, Natural Sciences, Personalities, Photography, Science and Technology, Social History

Key artists and exhibits

Captain Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Lawrence Oates
Roald Amundsen
Sir Ernest Shackleton
British Graham Land Expedition
Northwest Passage
Sir John Franklin
Sledges and skis
Modern exploration equipment and clothing
Emperor penguin
Arctic
Antarctic
North Pole
South Pole
Inuit
Scrimshaw

Exhibition details are listed below, you may need to scroll down to see them all.

Delivery by Design: Stamps in Antarctica

12 June — 6 September 2014 *on now

These stamps highlight Antarctic flora and fauna, and commemorate many of the British expeditions that have undertaken Antarctic exploration and science. This exhibition explores the history of stamps from the British Antarctic Territory, drawing from the Scott Polar Research Institute's archives and highlights the recent gift of stamps, printing proofs and original artworks made by Crown Agents to the Scott Polar Research Institute with the kind assistance of the Polar Regions Unit, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Suitable for

Any age

Website

http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum

Reinventing the Wheel: Bicycles in the Polar Regions

1 July — 6 September 2014 *on now

To celebrate the arrival of the Tour de France in Cambridge The Polar Museum presents a small exhibition looking at the surprising history of bicycles in the Arctic and Antarctic. The display will examine the role bicycles and bicycle wheels have played in the exploration of the Poles, both as indispensable tools and as items of fun.

The Polar Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 4pm. It will also be open on Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 July for special family activity days.