Polar Science Museum

Nerd out at the Polar Science Museum, which is all about the Japanese research team’s discoveries in Antarctica. Starting in 1957, the Japanese established a research base on the continent, significantly contributing to what we understand about Antarctica today. The teams have dug five miles into the ice to study snow that fell 720,000 years ago. Inside of the museum, you can crawl into one of the first expedition’s rovers, complete with beds and a kitchen. The Northern Lights theatre dome swallows you into the night sky and you might not want to leave. Outside of the museum, stand bronze statues commemorating the 15 sled dogs that accompanied the first research team. The 11 researchers had to be unexpectedly evacuated by helicopter during a severe storm. Sadly, they had to leave the dogs behind. Eleven months later, when the next research team arrived, they found two of the dogs still alive, having survived the harsh climate completely unassisted by humans. Apparently, dogs can learn to hunt seals and penguins.