Issue 1 October 2022 Arctic University Museum of Norway 150th Anniversary

Five new exhibitions were unveiled during the year of the Museum's anniversary. These are be based on both current scientific findings and "gems" from the Museum's collections. A number of events and the anniversary programme  culminated in a folk festival on 16 October, the date when the Museum was founded. 

150 years ago, there was a great need for a dedicated institute of science in the north that could explore, collect and document the nature, history and living culture of this part of the world. 

The Museum has four exhibition venues where you can learn about the nature, culture, history and famous people of the north. At the Polar Museum, you'll discover how Tromsø became established as the "Gateway to the Arctic",  and gain an insight into the long history of this polar region. 

In the permanent exhibitions, you can learn about the expeditions of Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, about Henry Rudi, Wanny Woldstad and other hunters who spent the winters trapping in polar regions, about seal hunting and Svalbard's cultural history. 

MS Polstjerna is Norway's best-preserved seal hunting ship. It was launched in the spring of 1949. The glass building in which the ship is kept is currently closed to visitors, but you can see the ship in all her glory from the pier. 

Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden is the world's northernmost botanical garden, where we find colourful Arctic species and plants from Alpine and cold-weather regions around the world. Many of these depend on a cold climate to grow, which is why the garden is home to species that are found in few other botanical gardens.