Maine's Arctic Museum Celebrates Centennial of the First Trip to the North Pole

It has been 100 years since Robert Peary's expedition, in which he claimed to be the first person to reach the North Pole - an achievement that remains controversial in some quarters. It was the last of at least a half dozen polar exploration trips by Peary, who won worldwide acclaim for his feats.

On the campus of Peary's alma mater, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, you can visit the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and see much more than artifacts and gear from Peary's journeys. The museum also includes a vast photographic record from years of polar expeditions by Peary and Donald MacMillan. MacMillan was a fellow Bowdoin alumnus who accompanied Peary on the successful trek toward the pole, turning back a few weeks before the goal due to frostbite. Much of the original collection in the museum came from MacMillan's 30 trips to the Arctic over nearly 50 years.

Also highlighted in the exhibition are artwork and other items from the native Inuit culture of Labrador and Greenland. Crafts such as ivory and soapstone carvings, as well as caribou skin masks are featured in the displays of aboriginal art.

At the museum, visitors will learn the story of Peary's successful 1908-09 expedition to the North Pole, from the departure of his Maine-built ship, the Roosevelt, from New York City, to his return and headline-making claims of success. Artifacts from the journey - including one of the original sleds - are on display.

In conjunction with Bowdoin's renowned arctic studies program, the museum also includes an exhibition on global climate change and how scientists - including those trained at Bowdoin - are studying warming trends and the effects of climate change on people native to the Arctic region.

Peary's claim to be the first to reach the pole was disputed by Frederick Cook, who claimed to have arrived a year earlier. Scientific opinion has swayed over the years, with the more recent trend toward bolstering Peary's claim.

MacMillan spent his life traveling north to explore, conduct scientific expeditions and establishing a school for Inuit natives. During one ill-fated trip to northern Greenland, he conceived designed an exploratory ship specifically for icy waters and called it the Bowdoin. It remains in service to this day, a training ship at the Maine Maritime Academy.

The museum also features Matthew Henson, who accompanied Peary all the way to pole and who today - long after his death - is considered "America's foremost black explorer.

The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is located in Hubbard Hall on the Bowdoin College campus in Brunswick, Maine. It is open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays.