The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

Located on Bowdoin College's campus in Brunswick, Maine, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is devoted to Arctic exploration, cultures, and biology. This blog will showcase behind-the-scenes photos, special peeks into our collections, and other fun news from our museum!

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Like the contemporary Arctic music you've been hearing in our new exhibit? Now, you can take the music home with you! Check out this Spotify playlist featuring a selection of the songs from the exhibit. 

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We’re back in Maine after traveling the coast of Labrador with embroideries from the museum! Thank you to everyone from Goose Bay, Makkovik, Hopedale, and Nain who came to see the embroideries, shared their knowledge with us, and made the trip productive and enjoyable. Here are some photos & stay tuned for more updates!

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Tomorrow is International Polar Bear Day! This year we want to raise awareness about polar bears and their warming climate as usual, but we also want to draw attention to the *people* who call the Arctic home, and the amazing work they do! In celebration of the North, tomorrow we are showing Zacharias Kunuk & Natar Ungalaaq's feature film, Maliglutit (Searchers).

More details here: https://www.bowdoin.edu/calendar/event.html?bid=1016482&rid=114577

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Family Day is one of our favorite days of the year, and 2019 was no exception! Thank you all for coming. It was a delight to watch as you maneuvered through magnetic mazes and persevered packing Peary's sledge!​ 

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Family Day is just two days away! Imagine how fun it would be to explore the Arctic! What would you need to bring? What would you need to wear? What would you see? 

Families are invited to participate in Family Day at the Arctic Museum on Saturday, February 23 from 10am to 12:30pm!

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We’re celebrating Black History Month by sharing the story of Matthew Henson, intrepid Arctic explorer & co-discoverer of the North Pole. Get to know Henson here: https://www.bowdoin.edu/arctic-museum/educational-resources/arctic-biographies/henson.html 

We also have free, limited-edition Henson buttons available in the museum only!

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We have very exciting news to share! Bowdoin College announced plans to construct a Center for Arctic Studies that will provide a new home for our museum! https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2019/01/bowdoin-to-build-barry-mills-hall-and-new-center-for-arctic-studies.html

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Our new photo exhibit, "Dogs at Work in the North," opens on Tuesday, January 22nd! Come learn about past and contemporary uses of dogs in the Arctic, and how social and environmental changes are threatening their place in Inuit society.

 📸: Harry Whitney, "Entering Ellesmere Land, the home of the Musk-ox," 1909; “Beth [Solis] greets puppy sitting under snowmobile,” n.d.; Donald MacMillan, “Sledging in the Spring,” n.d.

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Henson and Peary are having a blast for Museum Selfie Day! So far they’ve found brochures about themselves, participated in some cool gallery activities, and were briefly adopted by a muskox family! https://www.instagram.com/p/BstX5PLntBd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9vssvyrnudr

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Young women carry on tradition of splitting caribou tendons

The work is part of yearlong process to prepare for whaling season.

"It's tedious," she says. "But it's for the love of maktak, for the love of whaling, for the love of serving your community and for the love of our culture and families, for the love of our amiqtit family." -- Flora Atqaqsaaq Patkotak on the process of hand-making sealskin boats for whaling season

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Each pin on the map represents a visitor's favorite place in Alaska, with an accompanying entry about their experience. As we take down the exhibit, "Enduring Connections: Contemporary Alaskan Yup'ik and Iñupiat Art," we thank everyone who shared their stories about the state that makes the U.S. an Arctic nation - Alaska! And look at all of the places you've been!

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Another wonderful holiday lunch thanks to @bowdoindining! #bowdoin #holiday (at Bowdoin College) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrigdCUHORy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=b86jvyc2kxvs

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https://www.bowdoin.edu/calendar/event.html?bid=998978&rid=113269

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The museum will be closed Wednesday 11/22 - Friday 11/23 for Thanksgiving break. We wish everyone safe travels, a wonderful holiday, and lots of pie! #thanksgiving #pie #arctic #holiday #bowdoin (at Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqahK-vnTPz/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6bslkzowcmlz

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Happy birthday to Donald MacMillan! MacMillan's career in the Arctic spanned 46 years and 300,000 miles. His work greatly contributed to scientific and ethnographic research of the Arctic, and his films and photographs remain important resources today. His birthday was this weekend, but we’re still celebrating. Happy birthday, Cap'n Mac!! 

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Our November collectible button features MacMillan’s 24-hour watch! A 24-hour watch is invaluable in the Arctic where the sun stays in the sky or below the horizon for months at a time, making it difficult to tell day from night. Come into the museum to get your pin and check out the actual watch on exhibit! #buttonofthemonth #november #bowdoin #macmillan #arctic #watch #24hour (at Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp-CAj2HPQ5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1iqe1x72wjnus

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Come hear Jamie Brake, archaeologist for the Nunatsiavut Government of Labrador, present his work on the restoration of MacMillan’s Model-T Ford snowmobile! * When: Thursday, November 8, 7-8:30 PM. Where: Visual Arts Center, Kresge Auditorium, Bowdoin * #arctic #modelt #snowmobile #nunatsiavut #labrador #bowdoin https://www.instagram.com/p/BpzlB4dHXUK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tq530tpkt2lu