As the culmination of a summer working intensively with the museum’s collection, we challenged student interns Chapman Odlum ’22 and Alex Spear ’24 with developing an exhibit focusing on the playful side of life in the North. Fun and Games in the Arctic is their look at the ancient and modern games enjoyed by Inuit children and adults.

In the Arctic, games often incorporate skills such as strength, agility, endurance, and dexterity used by people who make a living from the land and sea. Other games are just plain fun! Today, Inuit play traditional games as well as some brought to the Arctic by Western explorers, whalers, missionaries, and traders, including card games, cribbage, and ice hockey.