University of Alaska Museum of the North

Riddled with dead animals everywhere. Plenty of people will love this museum, just as reviews show, but I was shocked and disturbed nearly the entire time. First off, this museum is overpriced at $22 ($16 if you’re an Alaskan resident), plus $1.50 an hour for parking on weekdays. I’m a browser, but I only spent 1 hour here. But I could overlook the price tag if it didn’t so heavily glorify hunting and cover more than half of the museum in taxidermy, bloody hunting art, tools and clothing made of animal skin and fur, and have a big centerpiece of a murdered whale. I’m fully aware hunting and animal use is part of Alaskan culture, historically and presently, but it did not present it solely factually, and it overdoes it. It passionately presents it as the correct way to live, as shown in the whaling description, which was funded by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission. I understand there is cultural significance of hunting and whaling, especially for Alaska Natives still today, but it all left little room in the museum to showcase artwork and sculptures of living animals and the beauty of Alaska’s nature. For a museum to be so blatantly pro-hunting and even pro-whaling is disheartening and not family-friendly. However, I did very much enjoy the small Natural Wonders exhibit of photographer Michio Hoshino, and I wish there was more of his work and the like. This small museum did an excellent job with their displays and covered a lot of Alaskan history, but it was most certainly not for me, nor is it likely a good visit for other animal lovers either.

Informative and worth the cost of admission. So much to look at, learn, and so many interesting experiences to have. I highly recommend experiencing “The Place Where You Go To Listen”, if only for a couple of minutes. Additionally, if you catch it on the right day, you might also get a glimpse of Denali like we did. We didn’t know how lucky we were as we had just arrived in Alaska for the first time but there’s a fantastic vista very close to the parking lot. In addition to the natural history exhibits, there is a lot of art to see by Alaskan artists along with native exhibits and exploration artifacts and equipment. So much cool stuff to experience that really set the tone for our great Alaska adventure. Don’t miss it!