Anchorage Museum

A celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month was held Sunday at the Anchorage Museum. The museum partners with the Hispanic Affairs Council of Alaska each year for the event. Many people visited to enjoy traditional Hispanic food, music and dancing. The celebration is a way for the Hispanic community to share its history, traditions and values with others. One organizer says Alaska is unique because so many Hispanic cultures are represented in the state. “I hope that they come and share some of our culture and really learn about some of the traditions and values that we have,” said the council’s Angelina Burney.

A new exhibit at the Anchorage Museum features artifacts and memorabilia of Alaska's past and present Olympic athletes. The exhibit, "Inspiring Generations: The Olympic Legacy of the Last Frontier," will be at the museum through Sept. 3. Email Abby Hancock

by Channel 2 News staff Tuesday, May 4, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Anchorage Museum unveiled its brand new Imaginarium Discovery Center Tuesday. The 9,000 square foot exhibition center features more than 83 new exhibits, many of them with an Alaskan theme. Besides an earthquake shake table, a volcano simulator and the world's largest indoor tsunami tank, the Imaginarium also features alligators and snapping turtles. The new addition brings more science to the museum as well as more attractions for the younger crowd.

Rare historic portraits of the parents of an early Russian Alaska governor, Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel, are on display at the Anchorage Museum. In 1829, the Russian government appointed Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel to chief manager of Russian-America, now known as Alaska, making him one of the state's first governors after Alexander Andreyevich Baranov, who died in 1819. Von Wrangel is best known for his contribution to developing natural resources in Alaska. The portraits of his parents, Peter and Dorthea Wrangel, were said to be painted in 1807.

by Ashton Goodell Friday, April 23, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Smithsonian Institution is loaning hundreds of priceless Alaska artifacts to the Anchorage Museum. Some of the artwork is more than 150 years old, with pieces representing all areas of Alaska. The collection will be on display for at least the next seven years. Bringing the artwork home will allow Alaska Native elders, artists and scholars to study the art firsthand. "Another very interesting aspect of this is that everything that is on display here, all 600 objects, are designed as a collection for continuing learning and study," said the Smithsonian's Alaska director, Aron Croswell.

Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary says his artwork, now on display at the Anchorage Museum, is heavily influenced by his heritage. His pieces are filled with bright colors and precise etchings, with a nod to both ancient stories and modern art. Singletary points to a "fourth dimension" in his work when he talks about how the light reacts on his art. Small pieces took up to 50 hours to create while larger ones took hundreds of hours....

George Albert looked up over thick-rimmed glasses to study the threading pattern William McCarty IV was using to create the webbing of a traditional Athabascan snowshoe. "Yeah, he's doing good," Albert said. "Yesterday he didn't hardly know nothing about this. Today I don't really have to instruct him at all. " Albert, of Ruby, along with master artists Trimble Gilbert, of Arctic Village and George "Butch" Yaska Sr., of Huslia, gave a three-day master artists' workshop on snowshoe buliding hosted by the Anchorage Museum May 3-6. McCarty, 18, of Ruby, Daniel Tritt, 26, of Anchorage, and Al Yatlin Sr., 60, of Huslia, served as apprentices under the master crafsmen, carrying on a proud tradition producing one of Alaska's most vitally important survival tools.

In June 1942, troops from the Empire of Japan landed on the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska, marking the first enemy occupation of American soil since the War of 1812. In August 1943, the Allies prepared for what they expected to be a bloody reprisal of the Battle of Attu Island -- but when they landed on Kiska, the Japanese had evacuated. Now, almost 70 years later, the island of Kiska remains a unique testament to World War II: an untouched battlefield, facing only the relentless enemies of time and the elements.

by Christine Kim Sunday, April 25, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- If you're near 6th Avenue downtown, you'll find a new addition outside the Anchorage Museum -- and it's pretty hard to miss. The sculpture "Habitat" was created as part of the city's 1 Percent for Art program. The 24-foot-tall piece took two and a half years to complete, and Sunday morning both the public and the artist had the chance to see it all come together. It's not often that people get to see 37,000 pounds of stainless steel ride along 6th Avenue.

The late Steve Jobs was famous for his ability to combine beauty and function in devices like Apple's iPhone, but this isn't unique to the computer age.   All you have to do is take a look at the Aleut bentwood visor, which is the focus of a weeklong workshop at the Anchorage Museum.    Hundreds of years ago, hunters ventured out into the ocean in the Aleutian islands in qayaks, wearing wooden hats, called the “chagudux.” ...