DEATH IN THE ICE: THE MYSTERY OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION exhibit was at Mystic Seaport from December, 2018 through the end of April, 2019. It landed in the Collins Gallery of the Thompson Exhibition Building after a stint up at the Canadian Museum of History.

This is below decks on the whaling vessel Charles W. Morgan. While this has nothing to do with DEATH IN THE ICE, parts of it looked so much like below decks on THE TERROR or THE EREBUS–as shown in the AMC TV series–that it felt almost like I was on a theatrical set and not the real thing. But make no mistake: real people spent months at sea, sleeping in this tiny bunk.

These doors lead to quarters below deck on the Charles W. Morgan. Again, doesn’t have anything to do with the Franklin Expedition–only that the set for the AMC series had exactly the same doors in some places.

This is below decks on the whaling vessel Charles W. Morgan, which was built in 1841–just four years prior to the Franklin Expedition’s fateful voyage. This is an area, according to the interpretive signage, where whale catch was processed.

The rigging of the whaling vessel Charles W. Morgan, flagship of Mystic Seaport.

The bow of the whaling vessel Charles W. Morgan, flagship of Mystic Seaport.

Mystic Seaport’s Treworgy Planetarium, which presented a special show, “Polar Night, Arctic Light” as a companion to the DEATH IN THE ICE exhibit. The hour-long program explored the night sky from the perspective of King William Island, where the wrecks were found, so that visitors could see what the Franklin Expedition’s men may have seen.

Me on the steps of Mystic Seaport’s Treworgy Planetarium, which presented a special show, “Polar Night, Arctic Light” as a companion to the DEATH IN THE ICE exhibit. The hour-long program explored the night sky from the perspective of King William Island, where the wrecks were found, so that visitors could see what the Franklin Expedition’s men may have seen.