On Thursday morning, we flew down to Anchorage to visit family and just to escape from Fairbanks for a couple of days. We went to the
Anchorage Museum as we had never been there before. I am thinking that this may be the sculpture that the University of Alaska Fairbanks logo is based on.
There was a lot of art and sculpture at the museum though not all of the artists were from Alaska. I had thought that this was the entire museum but was surprised at the variety of displays and subjects. There were whole floors dealing with art, weapons and clothing from the different indigenous groups around Alaska as well as recent history such as the gold rush or the pipeline project.
The children's museum used to be located in another location but it was moved here. It is a "hands on" science museum kind of like a miniature version of the Exploratorium or OMSI. In addition the the normal science displays there were a few aquariums with some hands on areas with fish and king crab.
Most of the interactive displays that required museum staff were closed as they were getting ready for a "First Friday" event with live entertainment, food and some special exhibits.
There were some animals on display such as this musk ox and a grizzly bear but not really a natural history museum. I'm glad it was good as I had recommended it to some visitors at a Northern Tier meeting I had hosted about a year and a half ago. If you ever find yourself in Anchorage, it is definitely worth a visit.
This is the view to the east from the 7th level of the parking garage in downtown Anchorage. If it were clear, there would have been a great view of the mountains. Not so good today. It snowed lightly most of the time that we were there.
We had a nice visit with family and discovered a new place to stay called
Maria's Creekside B&B. It just opened last August and is in a beautiful location and very nice rooms.
And finally a post without a single weather or temperature reference!
Richard - what's a post without the weather;)
ReplyDeleteReally, a place in Alaska with the same (nearly) name as our local hangout in Battersea. Our Creekside owner was doing a B&B as well as the restaurant.
It seemed like just about every post has had some sort of comment about the weather. Folks in Alaska seem to get obsessed by it after a while...
DeleteThe B&B was discovered on the hotels.com app. I'd never heard about it before.
Richard:
ReplyDeletealways nice to get away and visit with family. It's been a long time since we have been to OMSI, too bad some of the staff were away to show you the exhibit. You'll have to go back
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
No real problem as I really wasn't too interested in petting sea life. The Exploratorium is all new these days in a new location. I haven't been to OMSI in several years.
DeleteI have been to Anchorage once ten years ago, but the summer had been too nice and warm to spend time inside this museum. Looks like I missed out on something…
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty good but given a choice between spending time outdoors during the summer or the museum, I think you made the right choice. Plus, I'm thinking that the museum is newer than 10 years....
DeleteSo, it sounds like the Anchorage museum is larger than UofAK's museum of the North?
ReplyDeleteThe UA museum doesn't have a permanent art exhibit and opts for art scattered throughout the campus. Otherwise, the actual regular exhibit space is about the same. We didn't visit the special exhibits on the upper floors of the museum and the UA children's museum is temporary. Only set up during the winter.
DeleteOn my trip to Alaska I never made it to Anchorage. I have a friend that lives there and he had invited me to stop by but I didn't want to deal with traffic. I feel it's just another big city. I went to Valdez and what a beautiful ride it was over the mountains and then pass the glacier and the fog as you ride into Valdez.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with your choice as, to me, Anchorage is just another big city to be avoided. You have to go through it (literally, no highways around) to get to the Kenai peninsula with Seward and Homer. Two extraordinarily scenic locations.
DeleteFunny how museums can breathe life into the present. Looks like an excellent museum.
ReplyDeleteYes it was. In the past I would've said that the UA museum is the best one in the state but now it's a toss up as to which one is better.
DeleteI always enjoy my museum time, thanks for taking me inside a new one.
ReplyDeleteI should have taken more pictures. I don't think of taking pictures very often.
DeleteGlad you could get away for a few days. You know, since you never travel, lol.
ReplyDeleteThe museum looked like a great place to spend a few hours.
You're right, I just don't get out very often. Maybe I need to start traveling more...
DeleteRichard, I love museums. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts had a very large Chihuly exhibit we had to see. For just a little bit more than the price of admission my wife and I got a 16 month VIP pass. That's turning out to be a really nice treat. On Sunday we stopped by the museum and just roamed around aimlessly looking at the various collections. It was very serene and left me with a fresh perspective, as art often does.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy wandering through museums but prefer the hands-on, play-with-the-exhibit kind of museums.
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