Svalbard Museum was opened in 1979 and up until as recently as 2005, was located in the oldest part of Longyearbyen.  Today, the museum can be found in the Svalbard Science centre, alongside the University centre and the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Fundamentally, the museum is an informative source of knowledge, demonstrating the relations between nature, culture, landscape, human activity, technology and the environment of the Arctic.  The museum endeavours to engage in research in order to discover how life in Svalbard has adapted and changed throughout the 400 years of human activity within this Arctic archipelago.  One of the museum's principal aims is to coordinate of all of the museum collections in Svalbard into a common record, which will subsequently enable easier access for all to the historical material and records.

The museum staff can provide sightseeing tours at the funicular centre, where visitors can witness how the coal was once transported.

The museum also has an astonishing collection of over 4000 digitalised pictures, the oldest of which date back to the end of the 19th century.

The museum houses fascinating exhibitions of flora, fauna, coal mining, hunting history and Svalbard during World War II.  Currently, the museum's exhibitions include:

- Basis for life
- New Land
- European Whaling
- The Pomors
- The tundra
- Inner Arctic
- Hunting and Trapping
- Geology and Mining
- Migratory Birds
- Modern Times

The museum's shop is well stocked with a wide-reaching selection of Svalbard and Arctic literature in several languages.  Visitors can also purchase a variety of fascinating fossils, beautifully handmade local jewellery and crafts as well as postcards featuring wonderful images of Svalbard, maps and posters.

For further information on the Svalbard Museum, including details on prices and opening times, please visit the museum's official website: www.svalbardmuseum.no/eframside.php