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University of Alaska Museum of the North

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MilwVon
MilwVon
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4 out of 5
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1
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University of Alaska Museum of the North

  • March 20, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by MilwVon from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
University of Alaska Museum of the North

Located at the University of Alaska’s Fairbanks Campus, this was an outstanding way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon! I arrived at around 3pm, approximately two hours before their closing time. It was the perfect amount of time to take in the two floors exhibits. The museum consists of two primary areas--the Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery on the second floor and the Gallery of Alaska on the first.

I started upstairs and thoroughly enjoyed the artwork exhibits that included photographs, oils, sculptures and woodcarvings. There was also an old “antique outhouse” created from Alaskan artifacts. It was really “art” and not a functioning or past outhouse.

Downstairs, the Gallery of Alaska depicts how Alaska has evolved over centuries and represented the five geographic regions of the state... their people and animals native to each. This is the largest collection of animals native to Alaska. While I loved seeing all of the animals, large and small, my favorite were the individual displays of the beautiful articles of clothing, including handmade moose hyde coats and boots, often lined with the fur from rabbits and other animals hunted in the region.

I did lose time watching the short video that talked about the aurora borealis and the research being conducted by the University of Alaska – Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute. It was very informative and included beautiful video of the aurora from their Poker Flat rocket launching facility on the outskirts of town.

During my visit, there was also a special exhibit: The Nature and Art of Collections highlighting many of the museums collections and the curators that make up the museum’s research collections covering millions of years of biological evolution and the thousands of years of cultural development in Alaska. I was surprised to see some of the collections were on permanent loan from Iowa State University. The articles included the research papers and journals of an ISU professor from the early 1920s.

Admission prices are $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 7 to 17 and free for children under 7. There is also a discount for seniors.

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