WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Arctic: A Friend Acting Strangely exhibit is part of the Forces of Change Program at the National Museum of Natural History. The exhibit explores changes that have been observed in the Arctic, the Earth’s northernmost region, and how they are monitored by scientists and polar residents. Native peoples of the Arctic have always lived with year-to-year fluctuations in weather and ice conditions. In recent decades, they have witnessed that the climate has become unpredictable, the land and sea unfamiliar. An elder in Arctic Canada recently described the weather as uggianaqtuq—an Inuit word that can suggest strange, unexpected behavior, sometimes described as that of “a friend acting strangely.” During the past 20 years temperatures have risen rapidly; permafrost has begun to melt; and sea ice cover and ice caps have been shrinking. In response, plant and animal distributions have begun to shift. Arctic waters are warming; and animals are changing their migration routes. Some of these changes have beneficial effects while others bring hardship or have costly implications.

The exhibit’s story of the changing Arctic is illustrated by a rich array of objects from the Smithsonian’s collections, supplemented by photographs, video footage, satellite animations, graphic illustrations, and computer interactive exploration stations.