The Common
The Collection
“We can shoot this arrow up in the air. I wonder how far it will go? That’s the future. That’s what we were here for – future generations need to know our cultures.”
The museum's extensive collection of mostly 20th century pieces will be significantly diversified with the addition of more than 600 19th century Alaska Native pieces on long-term loan from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The Arctic Studies Center, established in 1988, is the only U. S. government program to have a special focus on northern cultural research and education.
These new pieces, along with those in the permanent collection, will be re-interpreted in new exhibits that highlight the museum's expanded mission to include the sciences.
The expansion will also help safeguard these precious pieces by improving storage areas and climate controls. A new laboratory for preservation work also will be added.
Young Learner’s Discovery Gallery
A place where everything can be touched and children and parents can explore art, history and science through play.
The Smithsonians’s Arctic Studies Center
A centerpiece of the expansion housing an exhibition of rare Alaska Native heritage objects from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of the American Indian with an interactive database of the items on exhibit. Click here to learn more about the 100-foot-long 3D Listening Space along the Window Walk of the new Arctic Studies Center in the Anchorage Museum.