The Exploration Museum ( is, Könnunarsögusafnið ) is dedicated to the history of human exploration, from the early explorers to the exploration of space. The museum is located in the center of

Húsavík Húsavík () is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,307 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík i ...

in North Iceland, from the Arctic Circle. The museum was founded in 2011 and formally opened in 2014 by the

President of Iceland The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir as ...

. The main exhibition room features photographs and artifacts from the Apollo astronaut training program near Húsavík in 1965 and 1967. The second exhibition room features the history of Viking exploration. Upstairs is dedicated to the exploration of the polar regions and the races to the north and south poles. The basement details expeditions which travelled underground and beneath the sea.

Main exhibition rooms

Apollo astronaut training in Iceland

The Exploration Museum opened its first exhibition in May 2011, detailing the Apollo geology training in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

in 1965 and 1967. The exhibition was opened 50 years after US president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

first announced the goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of 1969. The geology field exercises were intended to develop the astronauts observational skills in recognizing basic geologic structures. Over 50 photographs from the field training are in the museums collection. In the words of Phinney, "Iceland was probably the most Moon-like of all the field areas that were visited." In 2015, on the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo geology field trip to Iceland, the museum organized a return trip to the training area with three Apollo astronauts,

Walter Cunningham Ronnie Walter Cunningham (born March 16, 1932) is a retired American astronaut. In 1968, he was a lunar module pilot on the Apollo 7 mission. He was NASA's third civilian astronaut (after Neil Armstrong and Elliot See), and has also been a ...

of Apollo 7, Rusty Schweikart of Apollo 9, and

Harrison Schmitt Harrison Hagan Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico, and the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military aviation� ...

of Apollo 17. On the same occasion, Neil Armstrong's grandchildren unveiled

The Astronaut Monument The Astronaut Monument is a monument commemorating the training of Apollo astronauts in northern Iceland in 1965 and 1967. It is located outside the Exploration Museum in Húsavík, and contains the names of 32 Apollo astronauts who were sent to I ...

outside the museum, honoring the astronauts that trained in Iceland. The museum had previously been visited by Apollo 8 astronaut,

William Anders William Alison Anders (born 17 October 1933) is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) major general, former electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, he was a member of the crew of Apollo 8, t ...

, and

SkyLab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations ...

and

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

astronaut

Owen Garriott Owen Kay Garriott (November 22, 1930 – April 15, 2019) was an American electrical engineer and NASA astronaut, who spent 60 days aboard the Skylab space station in 1973 during the Skylab 3 mission, and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 on a S ...

Viking explorers

The Viking explorers exhibition details the history of Viking exploration and settlement. Among the items on display are portraits of some of the most known Viking explorers, including

Leif Ericson Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental Nort ...

, Erik the Red, Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir and

Garðar Svavarsson Garðarr Svavarsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; Modern Swedish: ) was a Swede who briefly resided in Iceland, according to the Sagas. He is said to be the second Scandinavian to reach the island of Iceland after Naddod. He and his family ...

Race to the South Pole

The first expedition to reach the geographic

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

was led by the Norwegian explorer

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen beg ...

. He and four others arrived at the pole in December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

as part of the

Terra Nova Expedition The ''Terra Nova'' Expedition, officially the British Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition to Antarctica which took place between 1910 and 1913. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition had various scientific and geographical objec ...

. Photographs from the two expedition and replicas of equipment used by the explorers are among the items on display. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base. Scott and his four companions died on their return journey.

Amundsen's South Pole expedition The first ever expedition to reach the geographic Southern Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as p ...

Events

Gallery

Image:Apollo 17 lunar sample display, Iceland.jpg, Apollo 17 Moon rock on display at The Exploration Museum. Image:The Exploration Museum interior.jpg, One of the exhibition rooms at The Exploration Museum. Image:Geology_training_in_Iceland_1967.jpg, Apollo 8 astronaut

Bill Anders William Alison Anders (born 17 October 1933) is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) major general, former electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, he was a member of the crew of Apollo 8, t ...

training in Iceland in 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Exploration Museum, The Museums established in 2011 Museums in Iceland Húsavík 2011 establishments in Iceland History museums