The collections comprise of a variety of gear that has been in use during polarexpeditions. The museum has among other items also material from the John Phipps expedition to Svalbard around 1770. 
The expedition was accompanied by the young Horatio Nelson . Our visitors can also get aquainted with items from the failed voyage of the Swede Andrées who attempted to cross the North Pole in an hydrogen balloon in 1897. The collections also have various items and documents that refer to the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen .
There is also a lot of hunting equipment and gear from Arctic cultures in our collections. These items come from various locations in Greenland, Canada and Northern Scandinavia.
Nanoq has a large First Nations art collection in soapstone as well as contemporary art of Arctic motif.
Prof. Wladimir Goichmans art is well represented in the museum with 111 individual canvas paintings.
The Library at Nanoq includes a variety of books and documents that all have an Arctic theme as well as a film-archive. The museum has developed in to an Arctic culture research center.
