The Quest exhibit was unveiled by expedition leader and Royal Canadian Geographical Society CEO John Geiger and Tore Topp, whose family owned Quest after Shackleton died during the 1921-22 Shackleton-Rowett Expedition. The ship was ultimately nipped by ice and sank in the Labrador Sea in 1962.

The interactive display features Quest‘s original wheel, housed within a replica wheelhouse, and offers a photo opportunity for Shackleton admirers. Other artifacts from Quest are also displayed, along with a flag carried on the successful search for the wreck.

“It’s an unbelievable honour for RCGS’s expedition to be featured in the world’s preeminent polar museum,” said Geiger. He noted that the museum’s inclusion of Roald Amundsen’s ship Gjoa, the first to sail through the Northwest Passage, makes it an enormous attraction for Canadian visitors to Europe.

“A great deal of Canada’s exploration history is found here in Norway,” he said.

Geir Kløver, director of the Fram Museum and member of the team that found Quest, said it was important to tell the ship’s story, with its links to Britain, Canada and Norway. 

“Our participation in the Shackleton Quest 2024 Expedition led to a good relationship with the Topp and Schjelderup family, which in turn led to the donation of this important Shackleton artifact to the museum,” said Kløver. “To exhibit the wheel in genuine surroundings and let our visitors be a part of the exhibition only seemed natural.”

The display was unveiled on November 28, following Geiger and Topp’s talk on Quest, during the first day of the museum’s annual Roald Amundsen Annual Lectures.