Mapping Antarctica: 500 years of discovery
For centuries, maps have helped people understand places they have never seen. This fall, UTA Libraries will explore one of the world's last great frontiers through a remarkable collection of historic maps dating from 1548 to 2002. Together, these maps trace the evolving story of Antarctica's exploration, discovery and scientific research.
UTA Libraries Special Collections will host the 15th Biennial Virginia Garrett Lectures on the History of Cartography, titled "Frozen Frontiers: 500 Years of Mapping Antarctica," on Thursday, Oct. 1, and Friday, Oct. 2, at the Central Library.
The two-day event will bring together scholars, educators, collectors and map enthusiasts to examine how Antarctica has been imagined, explored and mapped over the past five centuries. The lecture series will feature presentations from leading experts, faculty panel discussions, student research and special events highlighting the historical and cultural significance of Antarctic cartography.
The lecture series also marks the opening of a new Special Collections exhibit, "Frozen Frontiers: 500 Years of Mapping Antarctica," which showcases Antarctic maps, books, and prints donated to UTA Libraries by former NBC 5 Senior Meteorologist David Finfrock.
Finfrock, whose growing collection has helped establish UTA Libraries as an important resource for Antarctic cartographic research, will be in attendance to guide visitors through the event. Since 2023, he has donated hundreds of maps and related materials that document the history of Antarctic exploration and mapping.
"David's generosity has transformed our Antarctic holdings into a remarkable research collection," said Madeline Lowry, Garrett Family Cartographic Archivist for UTA Libraries. "This lecture series allows us to share these materials with the public while bringing together experts from a variety of disciplines to explore how maps help us better understand history, science, exploration and the world around us."
Finfrock's lifelong fascination with Antarctica began as a teenager after reading about legendary explorers such as Captain James Cook and Ernest Shackleton. That passion eventually led him to build an extensive collection documenting centuries of Antarctic exploration and cartography, much of which now resides in UTA Libraries' Special Collections.
During the opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 1, Finfrock will sign commemorative exhibit posters for attendees.
In addition to presentations from nationally recognized scholars, the Virginia Garrett Lectures will feature faculty discussions on the use of Antarctic maps in teaching and research, student research posters and opportunities to engage with one of the University's distinctive Special Collections.
Established through the generosity of Virginia Garrett, whose personal collection of maps, atlases and geography textbooks was donated to UTA Libraries in 1997, the biennial lecture series celebrates the history of cartography while encouraging new scholarship and public engagement with historical maps.
The event is free and open to the public.
Additional information about the lecture schedule, featured speakers and registration is available on the Virginia Garrett Lectures registration website.
As visitors walk through the exhibit and attend the lectures, they'll see more than maps of an icy continent. They'll experience how generations of explorers, scientists and mapmakers helped transform one of Earth's greatest unknowns into a place of discovery, research and inspiration, reminding us that every map tells a story waiting to be shared.
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 190 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 300,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.