When I arrived in Longyearbyen I bought a Svalbard Museum pass and have now visited seven times – which I think almost makes me a local [yeaaaah, I wish].
The museum is incredibly beautifully designed and so interesting.
It is hard to miss the massive polar bear in the middle of the exhibition space, but the real treat is the ‘northern lights’ that randomly flicker across the wall high above. They pulse and fade and are almost as elusive as the real thing.
Each of the exhibits are beautifully realised and reveal so much amazing history of this place. And possibly its future.
One of the most sobering exhibits highlights the huge impact of climate change on sea temperatures and the fish species in the waters around Svalbard. The Atlantic species who prefer warmer water are moving in to waters further north along the west and north of Svalbard, pushing the Arctic fish into smaller areas in the colder water to the east.