Polaria
Encyclopedia
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
. It is located in Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
, in northern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Rather than a mainly scientific aquarium such as the one in Bergen in the Norwegian midlands, Polaria, which opened in May 1998, is designed to be an educational experience, with particular emphasis on displays for children.
Most of the displays focus on the northerly islands of Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
. There is a five-screen panoramic cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, an "Arctic Walkway" area containing displays of polar exploration
Polar exploration
Polar exploration may refer to:* Antarctic exploration* Arctic exploration-See also:* Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration* List of Antarctic expeditions* List of Arctic expeditions* List of polar explorers* List of Russian explorers...
equipment, stuffed animals and simulated permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
, many conventional aquaria displaying local marine life as well as open tanks and display tanks containing rock-shore animals, baby fish and other child-friendly exhibits. Its centerpiece is an open pool containing a group of bearded seal
Bearded Seal
The bearded seal , also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words that refer to its heavy jaw...
s, Erignathus barbatus. These are trained and there are regular displays, as much to keep the animals active and healthy as for public entertainment. The seal enclosure has observation blisters set into its sides, so that visitors can look up at the animals from underneath, and a submerged walkway in a transparent tunnel across the bottom, allowing close access to the animals in their natural environment.
The building itself is also worthy of note. Its striking design represents ice floes that have been pressed up on land by the rough seas of the Arctic. This attractive piece of modern architecture echoes the Arctic Cathedral
Arctic Cathedral
The Tromsdalen Church , which is more commonly known as The Arctic Cathedral , is a church in Tromsø, Norway, built in 1965. The church is a parish church and not, in fact, a cathedral.The church was designed by Jan Inge Hovig, and its building materials consist mainly of concrete...
across the harbour in Tromsdalen
Tromsdalen
Tromsdalen is a village area and valley in the municipality of Tromsø in Troms county, Norway. It is located just to the east of the city of Tromsø on the mainland along the coast of the Tromsøysundet. The population of Tromsdalen is 4,589....
on the mainland.
One of Norway's most famous and successful seal hunting
Seal hunting
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...
ships, the Polstjerna (T-80-T) has been preserved in a separate museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
building less than a hundred metres away from Polaria. Tickets to the ship museum can be bought from Polaria.