The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City has unveiled an exhibit, Race to the End of the Earth, that allows anyone to see and experience the difficulties involved in the original journey to the South Pole. In 1910, two men, Norway’s Roald Amundsen and England’s Robert Falcon Scott, led independent teams in hopes of becoming the first explorer to reach the South Pole and come back to tell the tale.

The explorers both approached the daunting task extremely differently: Amundsen chose to utilize some tricks he had picked up from the Inuit in the Arctic, while Scott leaned towards Western tactics. Ultimately, the race pitted the reindeer pelts of the Scandinavians against the woolens of the Englishmen. Another difference between the two, which proved to be a deciding factor in the race, was transportation over the ice. Amundsen brought along sled dogs, while Scott used primarily unsuitable ponies and manpower.

After much preparation, each team set out in the spring of 1911, Scott’s team sailing south on the Terra Nova and Amundsen’s team on the Fram. Armed with upwards of 42,000 biscuits, the Norwegians struck the South Pole first -- on December 14, 1911. When the news reached Scott’s team, they were crushed -- but pressed onwards. Scott and his team reached the pole 34 days later, but tragically they all died on the return trip in the midst of a powerful blizzard.

The demise of the British team rang out through England and across the world. To honor the two explorers, the United States opened the Amundsen-Scott Pole Station in 1956 to help promote further Antarctic exploration and scientific advancements.

Scott’s death proved that danger exists even during the most publicized and well- planned expeditions. Even though I was new to the topic, I found that the death of such a prominent scientist and explorer seemed surprising, given Scott’s overwhelming use of the time period’s most advanced technologies. I also found it extremely interesting that Amundsen’s use of primal, caveman-esque fabrics and techniques were so much more effective when it came to navigating and venturing across the Antarctic tundra. The Inuit turn out to be the world’s polar experts.

Although you might think of a museum exhibit as boring and mundane, the AMNH’s Race to the End of the Earth does a great job in keeping kids and adults engaged by providing interactive videos, stunning photography, and full scale dioramas. The exhibit also moves chronologically and makes you feel that you are living in the early 1900s by providing newspapers clips and cartoons from the time. And I must not forget to mention the blustering wind constantly whooshing through the air of the exhibit, as well as the test that checks to see how apt and fit you would have been for the journey.

Overall, Race to the End of the Earth allows any average kid, parent, or student to feel as though they are on the Fram or the Terra Nova, trekking into the bitter cold of the Arctic. I highly recommend checking out the exhibit if you have some free time to escape this blistering hot summer.

• Find out more about Antarctica! Here’s more about polar mammals from the AMNH
• Listen to Race to the End of the Earth exhibit curator Ross McPhee talk about mammals in this podcast: As Antarctic Ice Melts, Wildlife Shifts
• Finding Life at the Frozen Poles: Antarctica is an interactive that explores the effects of climate change on the Antarctic food web.

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