The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, England. It is located on Lensfield Road in the south of Cambridge.
SPRI was founded in 1920 as the national memorial to Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his companions, who died on their return journey from the South Pole in 1912. It investigates issues relevant to the Arctic and Antarctic in the environmental sciences, social sciences and humanities. The institute has some 60 personnel, consisting of academic, library and support staff plus postgraduate students, associates and fellows attached to research programmes.[1]
The institute also hosts the secretariats of the International Glaciological Society and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, and is part of the NERC Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling.
SPRI claims to have the most comprehensive polar library and archives in the world.[2] Its Thomas H. Manning Polar Archives are named in honor of the British-Canadian Arctic researcher, a university alumnus.[3] In addition to scholarly books and journals, the library has an exceptional collection of archives on polar exploration. Its work includes an oral history programme which interviews people who have worked in the polar regions over the years. It is home to the ICSU's World Data Centre for Glaciology, Cambridge (WDCGC), funded by the Royal Society.
Since 1998, the collection has been housed in the Shackleton Memorial Library, which in 1999 won a regional award from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
SPRI operates the Polar Museum, which features artefacts (particularly from the Heroic Age of Exploration), paintings, drawings, photographs (which includes cinematographic film, lantern slides, and daguerreotypes), and other material relating to polar history, exploration, science and art.
In 2010 the renovated Polar Museum opened its doors to the public. It now displays more of its collections than before. The new displays are based on the theme of exploration into science, emphasising both the history of exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic and the wider environmental significance of the poles in a changing world.
Art and artefacts from the people who call the Arctic home are displayed alongside the last letters of Captain Scott and iconic Antarctic photographs by Herbert Ponting. A series of exhibits shows how science is undertaken in the harsh conditions of the polar regions.
As well as these permanent exhibits, the Museum regularly hosts special exhibitions and shows of modern polar art. The Museum is open Tuesdays to Saturdays, admission is free." - Wikipedia