The Polar Museum
The Scott Polar Research Institute — part of the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge — was founded in 1920 as a memorial to Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team, many of whom died on an expedition to the South Pole in 1912. It is now an Arctic and Antarctic centre of excellence that houses the World's premier Polar Library along with extensive archival, photographic and object collections of international importance on the history of polar exploration.
As you might expect from that introduction, the museum is filled not only with some fascinating antique explorer’s kit, but plenty of explanatory text to go with it. Possibly too much text, which I will admit I skipped, because it was my day off as an art critic. Instead, I briefly strolled through this mini museum with one, and only one, intention: penguins!
Nested among the miniature scale model ships and cases full of antique explorer’s clothes that made me feel cold just by looking at them, you’ll find Emperor penguin specimens (adult and chick) and the earliest Emperor egg ever recovered, brought back in the late 1830s. And yes, the gift shop has ones that are much more fluffy and huggable should you or your little ones wish to take one home.
There’s also an eye catching, large scale pastel drawing by Zaria Forman (@zarialynn) that looks just like a satellite photo of a polar coast line. Trust me, it’s a drawing, and it’s remarkable.
Plan your visit
The Polar Museum is located on Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER.
Trains from central London are 50-90 minutes, depending on departing station.
Entry is FREE and open 10.00 – 4.00 Tuesday to Saturday and on Bank Holidays.
Visit www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum and follow @scott.polar on Instagram for more info about the venue.
🖼️ Want more art? Visit the What’s On page to see a list of recommended shows, sorted by closing date. Don’t miss ‘em!