Tromsø Museum

The Tromsø Museum is the northernmost university museum in the world, holding around two million objects across its collections. Its main site south of the city centre covers northern Norwegian archaeology, natural history, and — most distinctively — an extensive exhibition on Sami culture that is one of the best anywhere in Norway.

The Sami exhibition ("Samekulturen") presents reindeer nomadism, traditional handicraft (duodji), and Sami spiritual life through more than 900 objects. The natural history section covers Arctic species and ecosystems. The museum also manages the world's northernmost botanical garden at Breivika, which is at its best in July when the alpine plants are flowering — admission is free.

things to do museum
A story
The museum's Sami collection, opened in 1973, was groundbreaking for its time: an explicit attempt to represent the indigenous Sami people on their own terms, through livelihood, handicraft, and pre-Christian religion, at a time when Norway's official policy was still one of cultural assimilation.