ORGANIZATION
Spitsbergen Airship Museum has its address in Longyearbyen, Svalbard and is registered in the Norwegian national register Brønnøysundregisteret.
The museum shall be a non-profit organization, and shall follow the international “Code of Ethics” presented by ICOM (International Council of Museums). A possible surplus will be put back into the running of the museum.
Svalbard Regnskap A/S will keep the accounts and Halvor Hundstad Revisjonsfirma
A/S is the authorized public accountant.
The Museum will offer least 3 full time positions from the opening in 2008.
This in addition to the involvement of the two owners.
During the period 2007-2008 several people will be hired for short term
in regard of preparations.
To consolidate the interests of the museum and its partners, there will
be established an external committee, an advisory board, that shall approve
of and comment on the museums management, intermediation, content and marketing,
The committee shall be composed of selected people with national and international
background.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The Museum is to be made of wood, with the shape of a hangar like the one in Ny Ålesund in 1926, about 40 meters long, 30 meters wide and app 10 meters high. The hangar will be smaller than the original, adjusted to the size of the museum.
Inside there will be one big, open room, with a gallery along the
whole building making a 1st floor.
Along the sidewalls in both floors, smaller walls will divide the space
into many smaller open rooms where historical events/episodes will be exhibited.
In the central part of the Museum there will be a gondola, size 1:1 and
other models and artifacts. The gondola can also be accessed from the gallery/first
floor. From the gallery/first floor it will be open around the gondola,
and it will be possible to see parts of the ground floor (as seen at the “Fram
Museet” in Oslo).
The inner part of the building, at the opposite side of the entrance area, there shall be a movie theatre (74 seats) in the full height of the building, entrance/exit in both floors. The movie theatre shall be used for showing films related to the airships and special arrangements.
On the ground floor there will be toilets and a playing area for children.
DRAWINGS
Ground floor, “rooms/open departments”
- Wardrobe/entrance
- Reception
- Presentation of the museum, who, what, where, how and why
- Wellman, Danskøya
- Chronology in 1925-1926, until the Airship “Norge” reaches Svalbard from Rome
- The airship “Norge”, the flight Ny Ålesund – Teller and the international resonance
- Chronology in 1926-1928, until the Airship “Italia” reaches Svalbard from Rome
- Models of “America”, ”Norge” and “Italia” with the technical differences. Landscape models of Kongsfjorden with Ny Ålesund , and Danskøya
- Touch screens and database with old pictures, newspapers, books, museums, web pages, philately, maps, web links, etc
- The two fist flights of the “Italia” in 1928, with the scientific projects
- The third flight and the catastrophe on the pack ice
- A model of the red tent on the drifting ice, landscape model
- Documents about the international reaction
- A play room for children and stairway to the 1st floor
- Toilets
- Office
- Room with toilet for staff
- Entrance to the movie theatre
- Audio/video presentation of old films, interviews etc, subtitles in several languages
First floor/gallery, “rooms/open departments”
- Entrance/stairway
- The rescue operations at Nordaustlandet (Svalbard), international participation, organization, maps and landscape models illustrated with search teams, descriptions/models of planes and ships involved in the search/rescue
- Rescue operations at Nordaustlandet; the emergency position, the attempt of Malmgren to reach land, Nobile being saved by the Swedish plane, Amundsen in Latham, Captain Sora and the trapper Hilmar Nøis and their dog team, maps
- The icebreaker “Krassin”
- After the rescue: Nobile in arrest, Amundsen disappeared, the Airship “Italia” disappeared, the misunderstandings between Norway and Italy, the average commission
- Mapping of the Nordaustlandet, attempts to find the “Italia”, modern pictures, what exists today? Where are “Italia” and “Latham”?
- Entrance/exit movie theatre
- A room for other exhibitions related to history, scientific research, discovery and the impartation of knowledge in general
- Philately
