The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center shares the rich history of the Arctic with Maine residents, local school groups and tourists from across the nation and abroad. The museum is named for Arctic explorers and Bowdoin College graduates Robert E. Peary (Class of 1877) and Donald B. MacMillan (Class of 1898). The museum collections include Arctic exploration gear, natural history specimens, and art and anthropological material, produced primarily by the Inuit cultures of Labrador and Greenland. The museum also has large holdings of historic and anthropological photographs and motion picture film. These collections are interpreted through educational programming and exhibitions. The museum employs eight full and part-time staff, and relies on volunteers for additional support with supplementary programs.

The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center, Bowdoin College, exists to encourage the understanding of, and appreciation for, the cultural and natural history of Arctic and Subarctic regions. It achieves these goals by sponsoring education, scholarly, research, and outreach programs that focus on northern peoples and environments, past and present.