Polaria is the world's most northerly

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

. It is located in

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

, in northern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Rather than a mainly scientific aquarium such as the one in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

in the Norwegian midlands, Polaria, which opened in May 1998, is designed to be an educational experience, with particular emphasis on displays for children. Most of the displays focus on the northerly islands of

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

. There is a five-screen panoramic

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

, an "Arctic Walkway" area containing displays of

polar exploration Robert Peary and sledge party with flags at the North Pole file:at the South Pole, December 1911.jpg"> Helmer_Hanssen.html" ;"title="Roald Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen">Roald Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting at the Sout ...

equipment, stuffed animals and simulated

permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

, many conventional aquaria displaying local marine life as well as open tanks and display tanks containing rock-shore animals, baby fish and other child-friendly exhibits. Its centerpiece is an open pool containing a group of

bearded seal The bearded seal (''Erignathus barbatus''), also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its Genus, generic name from two Greek language, Greek words (''eri'' and ''gnathos ...

s, ''Erignathus barbatus''. These are trained and there are regular displays, as much to keep the animals active and healthy as for public entertainment. The seal enclosure has observation blisters set into its sides, so that visitors can look up at the animals from underneath, and a submerged walkway in a transparent tunnel across the bottom, allowing close access to the animals in their natural environment. The building itself is also worthy of note. Its striking design represents ice floes that have been pressed up on land by the rough seas of the Arctic or pressure ridges. This attractive piece of modern architecture echoes the

Arctic Cathedral Tromsdalen Church or the Arctic Cathedral () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located in the Tromsdalen valley on the east side of Tromsø. It is the church for the Tromsøysund pa ...

across the harbour in

Tromsdalen or is an urban neighborhood in the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø which is in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located just to the east of the city centre on the mainland along the coast of the Tromsøysundet strait. The v ...

on the mainland. One of Norway's most famous and successful

seal hunting Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of Pinniped, seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in nine countries: Canada, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Russia, the United States (above the Arctic Circle ...

ships, the ''Polstjerna'' (T-80-T) has been preserved in a separate

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

building less than a hundred metres away from Polaria. Tickets to the ship museum can be bought from Polaria.

External links

Polaria homepage
{{authority control Museums in Troms Natural history museums in Norway Education and research in Tromsø Buildings and structures in Tromsø Aquaria in Norway Museums established in 1998