Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd’s second Antarctic expedition of 1933-1935. Photo courtesy of the Byrd Polar Archives, Ohio State University.
With artifacts telling one part of the story and artwork telling the other, two exhibits will open this week that offer a look at polar research and exploration and its connection to UNH.
The opening of “To the Ends of the Earth: New Hampshire’s Connection to Polar Exploration and Research,” at the UNH Museum and “The Long Eye” at the university’s Museum of Art, will be celebrated with a reception Thursday, Jan. 25, from 6-8 p.m. in the Paul Creative Arts Center, A218. The event is free and open to the public.
Evidence from early polar exploration up through work being done by today’s researchers will be interpreted in the exhibit at the UNH Museum, located in Dimond Library. The story is told from the perspective of explorers, scientists and historians, thanks, in part, to the collection of Peterborough, New Hampshire, historian Rob Stephenson who will lead a brief tour of the exhibit from 4-5 p.m. prior to Thursday’s reception.
New Hampshire’s historic link to polar exploration is anchored by Rear Adm. Richard Byrd, who visited UNH in 1927 and 1930, where he gave lectures and received an honorary degree. Chinook sled dogs that accompanied his expeditions were bred and raised in Tamworth, and his dog trainer was Durham resident Stuart Paine.
Present-day research is represented through a display of the work done by numerous UNH researchers.
The UNH Museum of Art, located in the Paul Creative Art Center, features the contemporary works created in response to the colors, shapes, sounds and climate of both the Arctic and Antarctica. Exhibiting artists include Eric Aho, Resa Blatman, Wendy Jacobs, Andrea Juan, Anna McKee, Claudia O'Steen and Aly Ogasian.
A panel discussion with artist Anna McKee and UNH climate scientist Mark Twickler will take place prior to the reception, from 5-6 p.m., at the Museum of Art in PCAC A218.
Funding for these exhibitions and related programs is provided by the E. Ruth Buxton Stephenson Memorial Fund, the UNH Iola Hubbard Climate Change Endowment and New Hampshire Humanities.
The exhibits run through March 31.
