Exhibition Entrance

Hands-on activities help visitors of all ages understand what it would have been like to travel to the coldest place on Earth 100 years ago, as well as what it is like to conduct research there today. Visitors choose a character card featuring a member of one of the expeditionary teams and, while moving through the show, find clues about the character’s experiences on the way to the South Pole. With the aid of touch-screen exhibits, visitors explore photographs, drawings, and documents relating to the expeditions and the men who went south with Scott and Amundsen.

The section on modern scientific studies in the Antarctic opens with a stunning video projection showing the rich underwater life that dwells in Antarctic waters. An interactive digital map of Antarctica allows visitors to scan the land that lies underneath the ice and to visualize ocean currents and weather systems. Visitors also take a fun personality test to imagine how they might fare in an extreme environment over long periods of isolation.

Additional interactive exhibits and hands-on activities reveal what scientists are learning about Antarctica’s ancient past and how people manage to live year-round in this forbidding yet fascinating place.

At the entrance to the exhibition Race to the End of the Earth, visitors enter an immersive soundscape simulating the icy, windswept landscape of Antarctica, complete with life-sized penguins.