Museum exhibit wins statewide award
October 16, 2014
907-474-6941
10/16/14
The University of Alaska Museum of the North received the 2014 Award for Excellence in the Museum Field from Museums Alaska for "Denali Legacy: 100 Years on the Mountain." The exhibit was on display from May 2013 through April 2014.
The installation told the story of the four men who were the first to set foot upon the peak of North America’s highest mountain on June 7, 1913. Walter Harper, Harry Karstens, Hudson Stuck and Robert Tatum spent nearly 90 minutes at the summit of the 20,237-foot high mountain known by Koyukon Athabascans as Denali, or “the high one.”
This multimedia exhibition was created in partnership with Denali National Park and Preserve.
Guest Curator Angela Linn tracked down the original diaries kept by the climbers so the artifacts could be displayed together for the first time in a century. Entries from the journals formed the narrative text for the exhibition.
The exhibit’s central interactive element was a model of Denali, which served as a screen for a projected video illustrating the various ascent attempts during the past 100 years, based on data supplied by the National Park Service. The exhibit also featured a 17-minute film that explored the impact the men had on their families and those who have come in contact with their story.
More than 90,000 people visited the museum, explored the exhibit or took part in a guided school tour during the time "Denali Legacy" was on display. Museum professionals also shared their experiences through social media and a dedicated blog, expanding the story’s reach to thousands more readers and viewers. Through this exhibit, the museum focused wholeheartedly on a single event in time in an attempt to understand the people, the context and the long-term implications of a monumental moment in Alaska's history.
Museums Alaska is a statewide association of individuals and organizations dedicated to improving museums and cultural centers in Alaska and enhancing public understanding of these institutions.