Four new galleries at the National Maritime Museum. Free Entry. With over 1,100 more objects on display, you’ll be able to uncover hidden histories, reimagine familiar stories, and reflect on your connection to the sea.
‘You’re in for a treat. The new galleries are absolutely fabulous’
Sir David Attenborough
- Tudor and Stuart Seafarers uncover stories of adventure and piracy, ambition and greed.
- Polar Worlds discover the challenges of extreme environments. From Arctic and Antarctic exploration to the impact of climate change on human lives.
- Pacific Encounters voyage to the world’s largest ocean and hear hidden histories of exploration and exploitation.
- Sea Things explore what the sea means to you through personal stories from the deep.
Explore the galleries

Sackler Gallery: Pacific Encounters
Reflect on the complex legacy of European exploration and how this has shaped...

Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Gallery: Polar Worlds
Discover Polar expeditions, indigenous communities, scientific discovery, and...

Pigott Family Gallery: Tudor and Stuart Seafarers
Discover Britain’s emergence as a maritime nation through key events and...
Discover stories from our conservators

Preparing our Polar Bear: Lightening oxidised white lead paint
The lead paint on this figurehead was once as white as a polar bear's fur....

The shoes that survived: caring for Captain Scott's shoes
Follow us on a journey to learn how the famous explorer, Robert Falcon Scott...

Cleaning a Missionary: Conserving the portrait of John Williams
The Pacific Encounters Gallery features this treated portrait of John...

Conserving a nineteenth century polar over suit
In preparation of the opening of our exciting new galleries, textile...
Delve deeper
Into our new galleries and the stories held within them.
Recommended Reading
Published by the National Maritime Museum Greenwich, with contributions by curators and containing new images from the Royal Museums Greenwich Collection.

South: Race to the Pole
Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance...

Pacific Exploration
Captain Cook is generally acknowledged as the first great European scientific...

Tudor and Stuart Seafarers
Tudor and Stuart Seafarers tells the compelling story of how a small island...
Sponsors and supporters