Listen and Learn: Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum Releases New Audio Tour

Story posted April 22, 2009

The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum has produced an audio tour to accompany the exhibition Northward Over the Great Ice: Robert E. Peary and the Quest for the North Pole.

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Known as the Hubbard Sledge, this is one of five sledges used by Peary's North Pole party. Designed by Peary, made by Henson, it was given to Thomas Hubbard (Class of 1857), one of Peary's major financial supporters.

The exhibit is the centerpiece of on-going celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of Robert E. Peary's 1908-09 North Pole expedition.

It brings together hundreds of objects, rare photographs and film clips, and historic recordings, to tell some of the little-known stories behind Peary's quest to reach the North Pole.

The Northward Over the Great Ice audio tour guides visitors through the exhibit, focusing on the Western and Inughuit technologies Peary used on the expedition and the efforts of the many talented people who helped him throughout his career.

Download Northward Over the Ice Audio Tour
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The tour is also available free of charge as both an audio and video podcast, and can be accessed through the College's podcast Web page.

The video version of the audio tour can also be downloaded free of charge from the Bowdoin College section of iTunes U in the iTunes store. This version is designed for people who cannot visit the Arctic Museum as it features dozens of photographs from the collection.


The tour also touches on the controversy that surrounds his achievement. Visitors to the Museum can listen to the tour by borrowing an iPod and headphone set from the reception desk free of charge.

The audio tour, which lasts 40 minutes, was written, arranged and narrated by Curatorial Intern Jennifer M. Crane '05.

Crane is spending a year at the Arctic Museum coordinating the museum's outreach activities and learning about the kinds of educational programs museums offer the public.

Her internship is funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency.

"Jennifer Crane has joined the ranks of interns who have made significant contributions to the Arctic Museum's outreach initiatives while gaining professional experience working with the museum's staff," said Susan A. Kaplan, the Arctic Museum's director.

The exhibition and audio tour will be featured at the Arctic Museum through August 2010.

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American flag and sledges at the North Pole in April 1909. Photograph by Robert E. Peary or Matthew Henson.

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