Anchorage, Alaska City Guide
For over 20 years, Pamela Lanier's Anchorage, Alaska Travel Guide has been your connection to Anchorage's tourism community with invaluable details on local attractions, restaurants, shopping, museums, history, outdoor recreation and more.
Anchorage Museums
 The Anchorage Museum of History and Art is one of the 10 most visited attractions in Alaska, a great place for first-timers to Alaska, and features an extensive exhibit on Alaskan history. The highlight of the museum is the Alaska gallery, featuring works by native artists, and other galleries feature various traveling exhibits from around the country and the world. During the months of June through August, educational evening programs are offered at 7pm. An expansion to be completed in 2009 will feature a children's museum and a selection of the Smithsonian’s collection of Alaska Native art.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center provides a unique opportunity to experience Alaska's many diverse Native cultures and traditions all in one location. The Welcome House offers interpretive displays, exhibits, presentations and performances, as well as formal classes throughout the seasons teaching language, arts, and history. Outside of the Welcome House, five different authentic Native structures stand around the Tiulana Lake. Tour the structures to see how different Native groups live off of the land in Alaska’s extreme climate. The staff of the museum is its greatest treasure: Alaska Native volunteers immerse visitors in living history through stories and hands-on activities. A shuttle runs between the downtown’s Log Cabin and the Heritage Center.
Downtown’s Imaginarium is a hands-on exploration center for kids, a living science laboratory where you can stand inside a bubble, ponder the magnitude of the universe in a planetarium, discover ocean life in a marine touch tank, observe and touch exotic reptiles, or learn the principles of physics by playing with toys. A great family-friendly spot for tour-weary kids, especially during wet weather, the Imaginarium has something to engage visitors of all ages.
The Alaska Museum of Natural History has the largest exhibits of rocks, minerals and exciting rare fossils in the state, including North America's oldest duckbill dinosaur, found in the local Talkeetna Mountains, and other major dinosaur discoveries of the 1990s. Informative dioramas display large mammals and birds, illustrating Alaska’s unique ecology. The museum also showcases native artifacts dating back 11,000 years.
Without airplanes, Anchorage would not be the vibrant city it is today. Exhibits at the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum include the Aleutian Campaign during WWII; Wiley Post and Will Rogers; the search for Carl Ben Eielson; historic polar flights and much more. A selection of historic aviation videos, featuring pioneer pilots and their achievements, is shown in the theater. The museum’s gift shop sells models, pins, clothing, stuffed animals, postcards, jewelry and other items relating to aviation. A ride in a flight simulator is included in the cost of admission.
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