The Kon-Tiki Museum houses the balsa raft of Norway’s most famous 20th century explorer, Thor Heyerdahl. Used in 1947, Thor and a multi-national crew traveled from Peru to Polynesia, 4300 miles in 101 days. Through this expedition, Heyerdahl added weight to his theory that the first Polynesians originally came from Peru.

Also in the museum is the RA II, which sailed from Morocco to the Caribbean (3270 miles), in 57 days during 1970. A museum film shows highlights of the original RA 54-day voyage and its capsizing just a short distance before reaching its goal.

The Fram Museum, next door to the Kon-Tiki Museum, is home to the Scottish-Norwegian built polar ship of 1892. The first Fram expedition, led by Fridtjof Nansen, crossed the ice around the North Pole. The most famous Fram voyage carried Roald Amundsen to Antarctica.