Svalbard Science Centre

SSC is located centrally in Longyearbyen, the administrative centre and largest settlement in the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway.

UNIS was first established in 1993 and the first building in the current location was opened in 1995. Svalbard Science Centre was established in 2006 when the existing building was extended to include facilities for additional institutions, including NPI and Svalbard Museum. SSC is a world-class base for Arctic research, with extensive laboratory and logistical support facilities.

Longyearbyen is located in the Longyear valley, where the Longyear river drains into the Advent fjord. The area is characterised by High Arctic tundra vegetation, mountains, wide valleys and glaciers. The local fauna consist of reindeer, arctic fox, polar bear, ptarmigan, a large variety of migratory birds, marine mammals and fish.

Longyearbyen is the administrative centre of Svalbard and the location of the offices of the Governor of Svalbard, the Norwegian government’s highest-ranking representative in the archipelago. The town has around 2400 inhabitants, around 2/3 of whom are from the Norwegian mainland. The town has a school, bank, post office, supermarket, library, cinema, several museums and numerous hotels, restaurants, cafes and bars. Tourism is a large and growing industry, while the traditional industry of coal mining is decreasing. There is no indigenous population in Svalbard.

Longyearbyen has an airport which is the main transport hub for the whole archipelago. Commercial flights from Oslo arrive most days in the summer and several days a week in the winter. Commercial flights from Tromsø are less frequent. A local flight service operates between Longyearbyen and the settlements of Ny-Ålesund and Svea. The settlements of Barentsburg and Hornsund may be reached by helicopter, boat and snowmobile (depending on the season). Longyearbyen port is the main hub for commercial ship traffic, including cargo. The port is accessible all year for cargo and research ships, but tourism vessels are restricted to the summer season.