Polar Worlds

The polar regions have been a focus for scientific enquiry and exploration for centuries. As we confront the consequences of climate change, understanding that history is more important than ever. The Polar Worlds gallery looks at the history of Arctic and Antarctic exploration, and examines how humans have adapted to life in the most challenging environments on Earth. Visit the Polar Worlds gallery at the National Maritime Museum, and explore the past, present and future of polar exploration. Inside the gallery The polar regions have long held a fascination for those wanting to learn more about our world or test the limits of human endurance. Early European expeditions to the Arctic involved searching for the North-West Passage, a sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The most infamous of these was led by Sir John Franklin in HMS Erebus and Terror in the mid-1840s. At the turn of the 20th century the challenge of reaching the South Pole gripped the public imagination. Figures like Captain Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton became national heroes. However, the polar regions are not as isolated as you might imagine. The Arctic has been home to Indigenous communities for thousands of years. Today, several thousand scientists work in Antarctica each year. As the world’s climate changes, the polar regions are once again in the spotlight. It is here that the most dramatic shifts are being experienced, and the lessons of polar science may prove vital to the future of the planet.