University of Alaska Museum of the North - Fairbanks, Alaska

University of Alaska Museum of the North - Fairbanks, Alaska

The museum holds a collection of over 1.4 million artifacts and specimens showcasing the history of thousands of years of cultural traditions in the North.  There are 10 disciplines represented.  These consist of archaeology, birds, documentary film, earth sciences, ethnology/history, fine arts, fishes/marine invertebrates, insects, mammals, and plants.  To be able to see them and research them enables researchers to study things such as climate change, genetics, contaminants and other issues facing Alaska and the circumpolar North.  The museum is also the premier repository for artifacts and specimens collected on public lands in Alaska.

One of the exhibits highlights a 2,000 year spectrum of Alaska art, from ancient ivory carvings to contemporary paintings and sculpture.  There is also the state’s largest public display of gold and Blue Babe, a 36,000 year old mummified steppe bison.  There are many exhibits to keep you interested in learning about the history and culture of the state.

In the Gallery of Alaska, the main exhibition area, you will be exposed to the 5 regional galleries representing the major ecological regions of Alaska.  It is thought that the most impressive and popular exhibit is the 8 foot 9 inch brown bear which greets everyone that comes to the museum. 

In the Southeast Gallery holds a series of plate tectonic maps to show the reconstruction of Alaska’s geologic history.  You will also be able to see the king salmon display showing the typical life cycle, from fertilized egg to spawning adult, for all salmon species found in Alaska.  The Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people harvest salmon as well as marine and land animals such as seals, whales, halibut, black bears, ducks, and geese.

There is a display of social and ceremonial clothing worn by the Southeast people which are decorated with trade beads or buttons sewn into clan designs, such as ravens, bears, orca whales, or other animals.  These beautiful pieces of clothing will show you how proud the people were of their heritage and clans.

The Southcentral Gallery shows the history of the Alaska Pipeline as it traverses high coastal mountain ranges on its way fro Prudhoe Bay south to Valdez.  You will be able to see the museum’s 1/3 scale model of the pipeline’s above-ground supports demonstrating the engineering involved in keeping soils frozen when the pipeline and its warm oil crosses the frozen ground.

You will also see the Birds of the Wetlands exhibit which highlights the Copper River Delta.  This are is an important resting and feeding area for several million migratory shorebirds and waterfowl.  Some of these birds are eiders, geese, swans, jaegers, and dunlins.

The Russian influence on Alaska is not ignored at the museum.  There is a display showing the brick tea, samovars, padlocks and brass bells of the Russian-American Company’s early history in Alaska, with their extensive network of trading posts.  The Russian Orthodox missionaries traveled to these outlying areas and established churches and schools.  Today some of these buildings are still the centers of the village life.

Going to the Interior Gallery you will be able to view the video and discover the science, history, and beauty of the northern lights.  This is a wonderful experience to share or just sit and absorb the beauty of this phenomenon.

The Athabaskans are the native people of the Interior of Alaska.  The displays will show you how animals were the primary source of food, clothing, and tools for these people.  You will also see how some of the forest products were used to make many of the useful household utensils.

You probably know that Fairbanks began as a gold-mining town.  There is a display to show small to fist-sized nuggets recovered from streams, as well as gold worked into artistic objects.  This is the largest display of gold nuggets in the state.

The Alaska Highway was built during WWII.  There is a display showing how the 97th Army Corps of Engineers, an all Black regiment, built the Richardson Highway, Tok Cutoff, and the Alcan Highway from Delta to the Canadian border.

In the Western & Arctic Coast Gallery you will see nine species of marine mammals, including polar bears, seals, walrus, and bowhead whales, inhabit this coastal sea-ice environment. Seals were probably the most useful animals in providing many of the day-to-day needs of the coastal Eskimos. The Eskimos have created spectacular ivory carvings since 500 B.C. Prehistoric artworks often had engraved decorative lines and drilled pits inlayed with jet, baleen, or wood.
 
In this gallery, video clips produced by the Alaska Native Heritage Film Center enhance understanding of the exhibit themes by showing whale hunting, dancing and storytelling.

The Dinosaurs of Alaska exhibit emphasizes the Museum’s pioneering techniques used to collect plants and animals that lived on Alaska’s North Slope during the Cretaceous era, 65 million years ago. This Museum now has the largest collection of high-latitude dinosaurs and related vertebrates in the world, including many early mammal and reptilian species.

Enter the Southwest Gallery and you will be brought into the world which includes the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Pribilof Islands, and the Aleutian Islands extending more than 1,000 miles across the North Pacific Ocean. Seabirds by the tens of thousands use the Aleutian Archipelago for nesting in the summer as shown in this exhibit area.

The Southwest gallery shows a splendid collection of some of the world’s finest basketry, which flourished among the Aleuts until about 1919. Despite a decline in the number of Aleut basket makers over the last 40 years, there is now a growing interest in reviving this craft.

The museum has so much to offer that you will want to spend more than a few hours here exploring the history and life of the Alaskan people.  There are educational programs available for you pleasure and knowledge as well as the short and long term exhibits for you to enjoy when you return to the museum.

Location: 907 Yukon Drive
Fairbanks, AK 99775

tel. 907.474.7505
fax. 907.474.5469

Museum Hours
NEW Winter+Spring Hours
Through May 14, 2009
Monday-Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM
Closed Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Extended Summer Hours
May 15 - September 15, 2009
Daily 9 AM - 9 PM

Admission
$10 general admission
$9 senior (60+)                         
$5 youth (7-17)
Free for museum members, UA students with ID and children under 7

How To Get There
The museum is located on the UAF campus in Fairbanks. Follow the signs from any campus entrance to get to the museum. The museum is also accessible by borough bus and taxi. Some hotels may provide shuttle service.

Visitor parking for cars and recreational vehicles is available adjacent to the museum.