Podcast: Royal BC Museum launches new exhibit - Race to the End of the Earth

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During the winter of 1911-1912 there was a desperate struggle by adventures to reach the South Pole. Explorers Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott set out on separate attempts to reach this historic site.

This fascinating story is being told this summer at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria through a new exhibition Race to the End of the Earth which opens May 17^th.

Canada’s History spoke with Jana Stefan, an Exhibition Technician and Conservator at the Royal BC Museum, about the project. Stefan spent several months in Antarctica helping to preserve the remains of these incredible expeditions.
 

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“The Explorers went with a sort of bravado and this focus on adventure, exploration, and science. And there was this real spirit of endurance and fraternity and creativity.”

“For the people that work there you feel this kinship with the early explorers,” Stefan described. “The challenges from the geography and the weather… in Antarctica you always say budget how much time you think you need and then add twice as much because it will take that long.”

“I think as Canadians we’re drawn to that spirit of adventure and blazing your own trail. Just being self-sufficient and the strong sense of community that comes out of these little remote enclaves of people alone against the wilderness.”

Race to the End of the Earth runs at the Royal BC Museum from May 17^th to October 14^th 2013. The exhibition is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, the Royal British Columbia Museum , and Musee des Confluences, Lyon, France