What's New at the University of Alaska Museum of the North
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 a 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 for archives
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 on different 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.
Museum exhibit explores art in the making
MAY 2012 - This exhibit follows five Fairbanks artists as they take their work from concept to completion. Art in the Making offers visitors an opportunity to become part of the art-making process by juxtaposing a finished work of art, video of its creation, the tools used, and the voice of the artist, transforming the process from a single moment into a deeper appreciation.
Journey of the seal stone an archaeological tale
MARCH 2012 - The seal stone was most likely found during World War II by soldiers stationed on a remote Aleutian Island transformed by a military looking to protect its frontier. But objects found on federal land belong to the federal government, which is how the artifact joined the archaeology collection at the UA Museum of the North.
