The Fram’s main attraction is the Fram itself, a wooden ship designed by Colin Archer to Fridtjof Nansen’s specifications specifically for arctic exploration. Nansen was a remarkable man. He developed the theory that the polar icecap drifts across the ocean, and he planned an expedition to prove it. He would sail north and intentionally allow his ship to be frozen into the polar sea ice. The natural drift of the ice would carry the ship across the North Pole and far enough south to escape from the ice when it began to thaw in the summer. Many of Nansen’s contemporaries thought his plan suicidal. But the Fram was designed to be immensely strong and with a unique shape that would prevent it from being crushed in the ice. Though he didn’t reach the pole, Nansen set the farthest north record, at over 86 degrees of latitude. After retiring from his scientific and exploration careers, Nansen devoted his life to the League of Nations. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for his work helping persons displaced by World War I and the Armenian Genocide. The Fram also served a number of other expeditions to both poles, including Roald Amundsen’s successful attempt to reach the South Pole. It still holds the records for farthest north and farthest south points reached by a wooden ship. In addition to the ship, the museum contains neat exhibits on several polar explorers, their expeditions, and polar exploration in general. In an annex, the museum houses the Gjøa, the first ship to transit the Northwest Passage.
| Bygdøynesveien 39, 0286 Oslo, Norway | |
| http://frammuseum.no | |
| +47 23 28 29 50 |