For immediate release
February 2, 2010

The University of Alaska Museum of the North’s open house only comes once a year, but it’s well worth the wait for the opportunity to explore the museum behind the scenes. This year’s event will be Saturday, Feb. 6 from noon to 4 p.m.  Admission is free.

During the event, community members can visit the museum’s research labs on a self-guided tour. Curators, collection managers and students will have objects on display to highlight the scope of each collection and current research at the museum. Visitors can step in to the collection range, where the museum houses its 1.4 million artifacts and specimens. The specimen preparation labs and exhibit design suite will also be open during the event.

“Part of our responsibility as a museum is to be a caretaker for Alaska’s collections. This event gives the community a chance to see that aspect of our work up close,” says museum director Carol Diebel. “We want the community to understand that this museum is much more than the exhibits.”

As a preview for a temporary butterfly pavilion the museum plans to install this fall, children will help build a butterfly display with origami butterflies that they color and fold. Families will also enjoy craft activities in the Education Center and new gallery activities, both designed to complement the behind-the-scenes experience.

Saturday also marks the opening of the special exhibit “Gathering of Gifts: Relationships That Build the Museum’s Collections.” The special exhibit highlights some of the donors, the partnerships and the field work that helped the museum acquire an Asian elephant, a passenger pigeon, new works by contemporary Alaskan artists and other recent additions to the museum’s collections.

For more information on the museum’s spring events and exhibits, call 474-7505 or visit the museum online at http://museum.uaf.edu.

CONTACT: Kerynn Fisher, University of Alaska Museum of the North communications coordinator, at 907-474-6941, 907-378-2559 or klfisher@alaska.edu.