Things to do in Tromso - The Polar Museum
There is a lot to read and most is in English. Young children may get bored because of all the reading. Polaria is better for them. It took us about 2 hours to look at all the exhibits.
Museum staff have rebuilt a hunters cabin which you can go into so you can see the poor conditions they had to put up with. Whether or not you agree with seal and whale hunting it is still interesting to learn about the industry.
There are stuffed seals and a fair amount of sealskins displayed. It is also explained what was done with the meat and the skins. Both these industries have stopped.
There are some strange but true stories one being of Dr Nansen's journey in the 1890's and his five-year crackpot mission to float over the North Pole in a ship stuck on purpose in the ice. There are rooms dedicated to the early Arctic and Antarctic explorers.
In 1991, a wharf was built in conjunction with the Polar Museum. The wharf is perpendicular to the warehouse building to the south, so that it almost closes off Tollbufjaera. The design of the wharf was based on photos taken in the 1950s. The wharf is used as a mooring place for the Arctic vessel Polstjerna. The wharf is also built on poles to enable the sea to flow freely beneath it.
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