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The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

@arcticmuseum / arcticmuseum.tumblr.com

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!

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).

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!

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.

"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

Source: adn.com

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

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

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

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

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Minik Wallace, an Inughuit man who was brought to New York City in the 1890s as a young boy. Within months Minik was left orphaned in a unfamiliar place far from home. Our new exhibit tells Minik’s story. #onthisday #otd https://www.instagram.com/p/Bph-OG5H9zK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cmtnt3i7iow

Our October collectible button features a carved representation of a tupilaq - a terrifying avenging creature shaped from animal parts and given life by a shaman to seek out the shaman’s enemy 😲😲 #buttonofthemonth #bowdoin #arctic #museum #tupilaq #october https://www.instagram.com/p/BpXcc7dnvTy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tsbpuynlnoco