Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum records

Bowdoin College’s deep ties to the Arctic began in 1860, when students and faculty first traveled north to study the region’s cultures and environments. These early academic interests intensified in the early twentieth century through the efforts of two prominent Bowdoin alumni: Robert E. Peary (Class of 1877) and Donald B. MacMillan (Class of 1898), both of whom led numerous expeditions into the Arctic. Peary’s controversial claim of reaching the North Pole in 1909 brought international attention to the College, while MacMillan’s nearly half-century of Arctic fieldwork from 1908 to 1954 expanded scientific and anthropological understanding of the region.

In recognition of this long-standing association, the College installed a small Arctic exhibit in the Searles Science Building in the mid-1950s. As interest and collections grew, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum was officially established in 1967 and relocated to Hubbard Hall. MacMillan himself contributed significantly to the museum’s holdings, donating a rich trove of expedition equipment, ethnographic materials, natural history specimens, archival papers, films, and photographs—creating a foundation for what would become one of the most comprehensive Arctic collections in the United States.

Building on this legacy, the Arctic Studies Center was established in the 1980s through the support of the Russell and Janet Doubleday Endowment. This initiative revitalized Bowdoin’s Arctic fieldwork tradition, enabling faculty, students, and researchers to return north for interdisciplinary projects in anthropology, archaeology, geology, and environmental studies. These expeditions also reconnected the College with Indigenous communities previously visited by Peary and MacMillan, deepening ethical research practices and cultural exchange.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the museum’s scope expanded further to include a significant collection of contemporary Inuit art from Alaska and Canada. New exhibitions, educational programs, and public workshops began to engage broader audiences and explore pressing historical and contemporary issues affecting Arctic communities.

Now located in the new Barry Mills Hall as of 2023, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum continues to serve as a vital hub for teaching, research, and public engagement