Arktikum is Rovaniemi's finest museum — a science centre and regional museum housed in a dramatic glass tunnel building on the banks of the Ounasjoki river. The building alone is worth visiting: the 172-metre-long glass atrium connects the two wings and creates an extraordinary space that frames the Arctic sky above. The permanent exhibitions cover Arctic nature and peoples with genuine depth and care — the science of the Aurora Borealis, the ecology of Arctic landscapes, the cultures of Sami and other northern peoples, and the geological history of the region.
The Regional Museum of Lapland occupies one wing, with strong collections on the history of Finnish Lapland and the wartime destruction of Rovaniemi by German troops during their 1944 retreat. The Arctic Centre wing deals with contemporary Arctic research and climate change, with particular attention to how quickly conditions in the far north are shifting. Arktikum is open year-round and makes sense in any season — it is a good place to go when the weather is too extreme for outdoor activities, which in Rovaniemi happens at both temperature extremes.