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Discovery Point, Dundee
A
visit to Discovery Point takes you on an adventure with Scott,
Shackleton and others of the exploration of Antarctica. The last great
wilderness, the Antarctic is a huge domed ice cap varying in depth between 6,000 and
12,000 feet, and roughly at the centre of it lies the South Pole. It was
here that
the ship Discovery came in the early days of the 20th century
and her story is retold at Discovery Point, home of Captain Scott's famous polar
exploration ship Discovery.
Discovery was one of the last wooden
three-masted ships built in Britain and the first to be constructed
specifically for scientific research. Her launch in 1901 was the beginning of an adventure that would secure her a place in the age of polar exploration.
The National Antarctic Expedition of 1901 was launched only after many
years of planning and a visit to Discovery Point retells just what was involved ...
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After her arrival in Antarctica, Discovery was quickly frozen in the
ice, where she remained for two long winters. A thirteen minute film show recreates
the life for her crew,
scientists and Antarctic explorers, and Discovery is blasted free of the crushing pack
ice in a dramatic rescue .....
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Learn how the
Royal Geographical Society laid its plans and set about commissioning
the building of Discovery and its adventure deep into the unknown waters and ice bound fastness of
Antarctica .....
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Meet Sir Clements Markham, President of the Royal Geographical
Society ... learn how he selected Captain Robert Falcon Scott to
command the Expedition ... see the obstacles that had to be
overcome before the construction of Discovery even begun .....
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See Discovery taking shape in the shipyard in Dundee .....
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Be there at the launch ceremony in Dundee in 1901 ... mingle
with the crowds and guests as Discovery goes down the slipway to begin
her great adventure .....
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Examine the stores list and learn what it takes to mount an Antarctic
expedition. Even in those days many firms with an eye on publicity supplied goods free of
charge: Cadburys sent two tons of cocoa ... Colmans supplied
barrels of flour and cases of mustard ... Birds & Son
contributed huge quantities of their famous custard powder. Almost every
man smoked, so 1,800 lbs of tobacco were ordered. Discovery
left Dundee in June 1901 for the East India Docks in London, where the
loading of the stores began .....
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Watch the scientists at work in the white Antarctic landscape making
discoveries which are still important today - exhibits
recreate the conditions they faced .....
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Learn about Scott and Shackleton's epic expedition into the interior,
when they reached farther south than any man had been before ...
When you're finished in the Exhibition, you still have Discovery to
visit in her dock outside. Venture below
decks ... descend the iron ladders and feel the creaking of
the wooden timbers ... and imagine Discovery encased
in ice and how the timbers withstood the crushing pressure of
the pack ice.
Discovery Point
Discovery Quay
Dundee
Tel: (01382) 201245
Information
and photograph Discovery Point Dundee
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