Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

Midcoast Maine


This small but fascinating campus museum holds memorabilia from the expeditions of Robert Peary and Donald MacMillan, Bowdoin alumni who were among the first explorers to reach the North Pole. Particularly notable are MacMillan's massive collection of Arctic photographs; an oak-and-rawhide sledge used to carry the expedition to the pole; and narwhal tusks and stuffed polar bears.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Midcoast Maine attractions

1. Bowdoin College

0.03 MILES

Bowdoin, established in 1794, is one of the oldest colleges in the US and the alma mater of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne and US…

2. Bowdoin College Museum of Art

0.07 MILES

Set in a 19th-century building with a dramatic glass entrance pavilion, this campus art museum is small but impressive. The 20,000-piece collection is…

3. Joshua L Chamberlain Museum

0.23 MILES

This house museum exhibits artifacts from the late owner, who led one of the USA's great, eventful lives – first a college professor, then Civil War hero,…

4. Skolfield-Whittier House

0.46 MILES

Skolfield-Whittier House, a 17-room brick mansion adjacent to the Pejepscot Museum, is a virtual time capsule: it was closed off from 1925 to 1982…

5. Pejepscot Museum

0.46 MILES

Under the remit of the Pejepscot Historical Society, the Pejepscot Museum displays changing exhibits relating to Brunswick history, with photographs and…

6. Maine Maritime Museum

7.44 MILES

There's a palpable mix of reflective nostalgia and horizon-scanning adventure at this wonderful museum, which preserves the Kennebec's long shipbuilding…

7. Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park

8.92 MILES

Just outside Freeport, this park has 5 miles of easy hiking trails, including a scenic shoreline walk that skirts Casco Bay. To reach the park, take Bow…

8. Desert of Maine

10.14 MILES

William Tuttle came to Freeport in 1797 to farm potatoes, but his deadly combination of clear-cutting and overgrazing caused enough erosion to expose the…