What's New at the University of Alaska Museum of the North
Dinosaur discovery along the Yukon River
SEPTEMBER 2013 - UAMN researchers have found a major new site for dinosaur fossils in Alaska. Earth Sciences Curator Pat Druckenmiller says This is the kind of discovery you would have expected in the Lower 48 a hundred years ago.
UAF students making discoveries
AUGUST 2013 - As students return to schools and universities across the country, it's inspiring to realize how many UAF graduate students added to the museum's collections and outreach this summer. From new species to rare specimens, UAF students are inspiring discovery.
Museum researchers find new species
JULY 2013 - A strange insect collected by UAF graduate student Jill Stockbridge during her thesis research on Prince of Wales Island is a new species of snow scorpionfly. UA Museum of the North Curator of Insects Derek Sikes says it belongs to an enigmatic group that might help scientists understand the evolutionary origin of fleas.
A passion for plesiosaurs
JUNE 2013 - Danielle Serratos has two passions, Mesozoic marine reptiles and public education. She's found a fix for both in the museum's earth sciences collection, thanks to a rare plesiosaur specimen acquired by Curator Pat Druckenmiller.
Crowdfunding fuels amphibian survey work
MAY 2013 - A UAF doctoral student is raising money through a crowdfunding website to complete field work this summer that will enhance the herpetological collection at the University of Alaska Museum of the North and provide a better understanding of the amphibian population in the Stikine River watershed.
Ancient DNA determines treeshrew species
APRIL 2013 - Thanks to NSF funding, scientists at the UA Museum of the North are using ancient DNA from specimens housed at several U.S. museums to find out whether one particular species, Tupaia glis, is actually several different species.
Herbarium donation expands collection
MARCH 2013 - A recent donation from the Palmer Center for Sustainable Living, Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will give researchers a better understanding of the plants that grow along Interior Alaska's transportation corridors.
Ancient marine reptile fossil kept its head
FEBRUARY 2013 - A prized thalattosaur specimen is revealing fossilized treasure. Recent preparation work on the museum's rare ancient marine mammal fossil recovered from from a rocky underwater outcrop in Southeast Alaska revealed the prize of a preserved skull.
Museum director leaves to take new position
JANUARY 2012 - UA Museum of the North Director Carol Diebel has accepted a job at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii as the senior vice president of public programs. Former Director Aldona Jonaitis has returned to the museum.
Exhibit examines arctic animal winter survival
DECEMBER 2012 - This exhibit examines the survival strategies of Interior Alaska animals. It explores the ways animals stay warm when it gets very, very cold. Research into hibernation and other winter survival strategies may also help us improve medical treatments.
Celebrate the holidays at the museum
NOVEMBER 2012 - This year the museum is holiding a gift drive in addition to the traditional sale at the Museum Store. Visitors can leave them under our Christmas Tree, donated by the Alaska Feed Company.
Rare $5 bill has match in museum's collection
OCTOBER 2012 - A rare century-old $5 bill up for auction made national headlines when it fetched more than $200,000. A version of the same bill has been in storage at the University of Alaska Museum of the North since 2009.
More than 400 Otto photos collected
SEPTEMBER 2012 - Photos of Otto Bear poured into the museum over the summer from as far away as Italy and New Zealand, some of them decades old. The celebration of one of the musuem's oldest exhibitions will help promote our next special exhibit, Hibernation and the Science of Cold.
Birnirk fragments reveal oldest known umiak
AUGUST 2012 - The remains of an umiak discovered at the Birnirk archaeological site near Barrow have been dated at 1,000 years old, the oldest skin boat assembly in the Circumpolar North. The Birnirk collection was returned to Alaska last year and is now part of the museum's archaeological collections.
Installation explores change at many scales
JULY 2012 - Museums exist to collect, preserve, and research objects. These specimens help tell the story of a changing Alaska from vastly different perspectives, whether that is an ancient piece of fossilized wood that tracks the differences of millenia or a ptarmigan that changes seasonally.
Wanted! Otto photos for museum exhibit
JUNE 2012 - Each day, people stop to take a picture of one of the most recognizable objects in our collections. We asked visitors to share their photos of Otto, the 8' 9" brown bear in front of the Gallery of Alaska.
