Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum

Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum
Established	1967
Location	Bowdoin College 10 Polar Loop, Brunswick, Maine 04011
Type	Arctic Studies
Director	Susan A. Kaplan
Curator	Genevieve LeMoine
Website	bowdoin.edu/arctic-museum

The Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum is a museum located in the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Named after Arctic explorers and Bowdoin College graduates Robert E. Peary (Class of 1877) and Donald B. MacMillan (Class of 1898), it is the only museum in the lower 48 states of the United States dedicated completely to Arctic Studies.

History

Bowdoin College’s historic relationship with the Arctic dates back to 1860, when a group of Bowdoin students accompanied professor Paul Chadbourne on a research trip to Labrador and West Greenland. Peary and MacMillan made many trips to the Arctic, together and separately. Bowdoin students also accompanied MacMillan on several expeditions in the early-to-mid-20th century. To this day, professors and students of the college continue to travel to the Arctic to pursue research.

The Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum was made possible by generous donations from the Class of 1925, George B. Knox (Class of 1929), and other alumni and friends. The Museum was dedicated in June 1967, with both MacMillan and Peary's daughter, Marie Ahnighito Peary, in attendance.

Established in 1985, the Arctic Studies Center links the resources of the museum and the library with teaching and research efforts, and hosts lectures, workshops, and educational outreach projects. "Through course offerings, field research programs, employment opportunities, and special events, the Arctic Studies Center promotes anthropological, archaeological, geological, and environmental investigations of the North."^[1]

Exhibitions

The Arctic Museum's exhibitions focus on different aspects of the Arctic, ranging from natural life, such as plants and animals, to cultural life of people native to the Arctic region. Artifacts in the Museum's collection include Peary and MacMillan's expedition equipment, anthropological objects, Inuit art, films, archival papers, publications, and natural history specimens. The Museum's exhibitions change regularly. To see current exhibits visit the museum's website.

Academic program

Bowdoin College's Departments of Sociology, Anthropology, and Geology offer a concentration in Arctic Studies. These departments, together with the Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum, provide students with opportunities to explore cultural, social, and environmental issues involving Arctic lands and peoples. The Director of the Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum & Arctic Studies Center is Susan A. Kaplan, Professor of Anthropology.

Visiting

The Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum is located in the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies, which opened in 2023.

Collection highlights

Mask with tea-stained caribou skin and animal fur

References

^ Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center Archived 2012-03-28 at the Wayback Machine Educational Resources and Facilities, The College Catalogue, 2011, p. 288.

External links

Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum – official site
An Expedition to Cape Sheridan – Follow Arctic Museum Director Susan Kaplan and Curator Genevieve LeMoine as they blog about their archaeological research at Cape Sheridan, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Summer 2011
A Glimmer on the Polar Sea – A blog documenting research on the Crocker Land Expedition from 1913-1917, including research on museum collections, at other archives, and at Etah, where the expedition was based.
Bowdoin College – official site