Estonian Polar Club

History
The Polar Club was founded on 1 December 1984 at the Estonian Maritime Museum. The date was chosen according to the date of signing the Antarctic Treaty (1 December 1959). The treaty stopped arguments over the ownership of the Antarctic and declared it to be a continent of peace and science open to all humans.

The incentive to found the club was a series of exhibitions introducing oceans that was organised at the museum in the 1980s. All persons from Estonia who had participated in expeditions to this cold and distant continent were mapped during the preparations for the Antarctic exhibition.

Members
The club has over thirty members in Estonia and three foreign members in other countries. Most of the members of the club have a background in research, have taken part in many expeditions and research trips. The members are from different fields: climatology, physics, geography, geology, history, lake studies, meteorology, cinematography, architecture, ethnology, medicine, journalism, philology, law, etc. New members are accepted if they have the recommendation of two existing members.

The Presidents of the Polar Club have been academician Jüri Martin (1984–1991), Dr Enn Kaup (1991–2003), and Vello Park (2003–2014). As of 2015, the President of the Club is Dr Andres Tarand.