Stayed a few extra days in Anchorage during our July 2018 Collette 2 week tour of Alaska and Yukon, and visited this place, largest museum in Alaska. A very large museum with at least four different sections: historical section, modern arts section, dinosaur section, and children's section. Needless to say we skipped the children's section, as we come on vacation to avoid other people's children. The historical section was the most memorable with large displays of both pictures of early Alaska in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the whaling boats, the gold rush steamers, and the early explorers. Lots of exhibits of the indigenous population's clothing and culture. The modern arts section that I remember most is the exhibit of paintings of the nuclear holocaust, along with the dozens of World War 2 submarines models. The dinosaur exhibit had a tyranosaurus head busting through the wall. This was toward the end of the day, and we needed no more pushing to head on home within walking distance of our hotel. Wife would not turn 65 until three weeks later. She's exceptionally honest, and would have paid the full $18 adult admission, except that I steered her away from the admission booth, and paid for the two senior (65+) tickets at $12 apiece. Another case of how opposites attract. read more

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Love the museum! We had three kids with us aged 5, 3 and 18 months. They had a BLAST in the discovery area. They have included hands on exhibits with topics like earthquakes, volcanoes, topography, bubbles and a touch thank. The big hit was the kitchen area at the back. The kids played back there happily for a couple of hours. Honestly, the kids liked the exhibits but all of the adults had a blast too! It is obvious the designers know what kids like and how to keep them entertained. We also saw the traditional art exhibits and I particularly liked the one called The Place I Call Home by Jovell Rennie. I grew up coming to this museum and am happy to share it with my daughter now. read more

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This a damn good Museum and well worth the trip, even if indoor exhibits aren't your thing. It's 4 floors (start from the top) of Alaska-related gender, race, native, and other cultural topic, that are well laid out and displayed. I found the Smithsonian-partnership area on Native peoples, the Black Lives in Alaska, Artist Ron Senungetuk, and the Women of the North displays particularly impressive. An unexpected bonus was a small feature on Iceland waterfalls that were destroyed by a dam project. Great gift shop too! read more

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Awesome museum- a must visit when in Anchorage! Exhibits were fascinating and there's was an Alaskan native exhibit on loan from the Smithsonian. That was the best! We spent at least a hour in that wing alone. Not only that, there was a cool exhibit of lit globes depicting world info. It's a wonderful experience where you can totally spend half a day there. There's a cafe to get food to replenish your energy to continue exploring. For us it was 3 hours of pure wonderment! read more

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I love this museum. Love! So well put together and the interactive kids part is fun for adults too. Gorgeous photos and art in every room. Sculptures in the outside garden by indigenous artists are beautiful. The part of the museum, maybe the third floor, was beautiful and had descriptions of the different cultures and tribes that share the beautiful state. I usually have so much to say but all I can say about this museum is that it's a must. I'll be visiting next June when I return. read more

Anchorage Museum - Museums Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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Truly contains a category for everyone! The museum is large, but well organized into the East and West wing. From art to science, history, Alaska culture and even music, we enjoyed it all. They do have interactive areas for curious kids focused on science and local geography, and even an area about music. We spent just over a couple of hours in the museum, and this activity could have gone all-day if we didn't have other places to go. At $20/person (deals throughout the year, and for kids/seniors/military/etc.) it's an affordable place to visit. read more

The Anchorage Museum is a cultural institution in downtown Anchorage, featuring exhibits on Alaskan history, art, science, and indigenous cultures. The museum is aimed at a broad audience, including tourists, students, and locals interested in learning about Alaska's culture, history, and natural environment. Its exhibits are suitable for all ages, but may be particularly useful for those with a general interest in science, history, and art. It is a museum building with various galleries, including science, history, art, and a planetarium. The mission of the Anchorage Museum is to "inspire curiosity about Alaska's past, present, and future." While the museum provides a good general overview of Alaska's heritage and environment, its exhibits can feel surface-level, and some visitors may find them less engaging if they are looking for deeper content or specialized experiences. Despite this, it successfully educates and informs visitors about the state's broad cultural and natural history. The museum's layout is clear and easy to navigate, though it lacks interactivity compared to other institutions. Every time I have been I opted for a self guided tour. The museum provides a general overview of Alaska but I think it lacks depth and interactivity for visitors seeking more specialized experiences. I do, however, enjoy the rotation of exabits as I feel provides an appropriate circulation of art, history, and culture. read more

Beautiful museum with lots of beautiful art and stories about Alaska. I left with a deeper understanding of the state. The art is expressive, rich, and deep. Plan to spend a lot of time here. read more

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The museum is pretty big. It will take several hours to go through all the exhibits. The show was cool but I was falling asleep because I was tired from traveling to AK that morning. I the bear exhibit. Took some fun selfies with the bears. read more

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Cool museum with a range of exhibits. Everything from modern art to native clothing. Lots to see and lots to learn. Some permanent and some rotating collections. Perfect for a long rainy day. read more

What are delightful afternoon! Great place for kids and family, and the planetarium never disappoints. If you can't see Northern lights anywhere else, you can definitely see them here in a great movie. read more

Love this place! It has a thing for anyone. If you like classic art, go to second floor East wing, they got many an oil paintings, depicting splendid scenery, wild animals and local people. If you like modern art, definitely visit the first floor on East wing and second floor on West wing. They get a variety of arts ranging from oil painting to ink coloring, to digital collage to wood cuts. There are also different themes: Japanese invasion, feminism, etc. There's also the gigantic display of the colorful bears that are very hard to miss. If you like to learn the culture through local tribes daily life, you'd check out second floor on East wing on clothing, decoration and tools. You'd find close connection between the luxury items on sale today and what has been discovered by local tribes here. It appears that the "fashion" from the tribes are always leading the non tribe worlds' aesthetic development. If you have kids, they got a huge interaction section for science lovers. And don't forget to check out on 3rd floor yellow section, East wing, you can stand in the spotlight and do karaoke, and you can also try out morph's code or hear each other through the pipe. If you have babies, they have by the Planetorium a kids play area, equipped with large soft blocks for little kids to crawl. And of course there's the Planetorium. It has 5 shows on the day I went. From 12:30-4:30 every hour. I watched River of Bears and it's quite lovely. You need to get your tickets early on ad the Planetorium is quite small (can hold probably 40 ppl) and the best seats are front ones. read more

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Learned so much here about Alaskan and Native American culture. If you are low on time, the one exhibit I would highly recommend is the Powerful Women exhibit on the 3rd floor. This is accessible only through the stairs on the side of the museum (ask someone about it if you can't find it) The planetarium is also intriguing and engaging for children and will keep them occupied for an hour at a minimum read more

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On the first Friday is each month, admission fees are waived & these folks throw a party! Live music, cultural foods coinciding next to exhibitions on that culture & lots of great exhibits! It's very Alaska-centric ( duh, see the name) but the exhibits were well done and told a rich story about our 49th state. It's a beautiful building, has well-tended & interesting grounds & does its patrons proud. I was awed by how many kids who were there enjoying all the special events the museum was providing just for them. This museum is doing a GREAT job and is well worth a few hours of your time & attention! read more

A gorgeous space to learn about the history and culture of Anchorage and Alaska. Trying to decide what museum to check out? This museum has a large span of art, artifacts, filmography, and hands-on learning that helps you understand what it is to be in Alaska. I was moved by the Ron Senungetuk gallery and the Smithsonian exhibits learned so much about Alaska. The interactive Discovery section was definitely geared towards children, but this 27 year old had a blast learning about the northern lights and volcanoes. Tickets were not very expensive. They don't have paper copies of the map, so take a picture with your phone. There is a cafe but several of the exhibits do not allow food and drink. read more

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Loved the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center! I took a free guided tour. Highly recommended! read more

Anchorage Museum - Puffin-bill gloves for ceremonial dancing - Museums Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

I am without words for this museum. I was expecting it to be like the ones back home. Nope I was so wrong. It's 5times bigger I could have spent a few days here. Every exhibit was touching and so well done. I loved every single one. While we were visiting they had the Death in Ice exhibit. That was really cool to see and learn about. And how only recently most of it was discovered. I wish I spent more time in the art galleries. You go into one area to find the most amazing art to hen be whisked always into another area with even more amazing art. It was breathtaking. If you do go expect to spend at least 4 hours here. I wish I had more time to visit. Everything was amazing. read more

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Underwhelming. Most of the artwork was from 2020 and newer. Very few sections of older pieces. Barely any historical artifacts here. "Planetarium" was disappointing. Waste of time, but nothing else to do here. read more

I'm surprised how beautiful and how big this museum is. Before I went there, I didn't expect I would spend almost 4 hours in this museum. It was pretty amazing. There're 4 floors and the front desk suggests us to visit from top floor to the lobby floor. We did that. It worked well. This museum curated a lot of different art varieties which is quite nice. I also learnt a lot of Alaskan art culture, women culture and arts made from local artists. This is definitely a must go place if you visit Anchorage and if you like art. read more

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The museum staff works hard to make your experience fun and unique !! A true gem amongst museums that rises above the rest !! I highly recommend the Anchorage Museum for a great Alaska cultural experience!! read more

This museum is WAY overrated! It's pricey to get into and sparse. We even stoped in their cafe for an over priced snack that was stale. I do not recommend and would never go back. The only thing that was decent was the Smithsonian Display. It was not worth the money. read more

don't know what to say but my experiences here were perfect, i could recommend this to people who are new to anchorage or are visiting

The prices here were very steep and it did not feel worth it. The building is poorly designed so it felt like you were going through a maze; you could have easily missed a gallery or two if you weren't paying attention. The coolest areas were the Native American permanent exhibit, the temporary salmon exhibit, and the paintings from the early 1900s. The museum is highly ideologically driven, which is pretty off putting to some guests. read more

Part of this is no doubt my fault but this museum should be named Anchorage ART Museum. We came prepared to learn more about Anchorage history and see exhibits of both pioneers and indigenous peoples. Instead, we saw pictures and paintings of various nations in the north. We were very disappointed. read more

You wouldn't think a museum in Anchorage would be this grand. It's beautiful! The architecture is really impressive. I wanted to get a sense of indigenous culture and found a great amount of content and information here. I spent hours here walking through, reading, and observing. I loved the I AM INUIT exhibit and the history of the Alaskan purchase and ongoing political conflict with Russia. read more

Anchorage Museum - Museums Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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Absolutely beautiful space! I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. And to think the building was only the backdrop for the collections. There's a bit of something for everybody - sculptures, paintings, photographs, etc. The Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center exhibit is a spectacular was to learn a bit about the many native people from the area. There's also a fantastic kids area to do some hands on learning about culture and science. Staff are incredibly helpful and welcome. So glad I stopped in on my visit to Anchorage. read more

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The Museum is certainly one of our gems . This evening they hosted the Ecosono environmental Music and Sound Art Festival . It was an outdoor rush hour concert and it featured musicians from all over the world , Alaska and nature . The festival continues for at least 2 more evenings elsewhere . You can check them out online . The museum has special events throughout the year and you have to pay attention to what's happening or you might miss something really cool . The exhibits at the museum are wonderful and you will enjoy coming back time after time . read more

Anchorage Museum - Outdoor seating for the Museum's restaurant . - Museums Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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When you walk up to the museum there are bright blue pianos outside which is so nice. There was a slight breeze blowing a someone was playing one of the pianos. It was a great introduction to the museum. The museum itself is huge with lots of interesting things to see. There are lots of native ceremonial clothes and displays to see. There is four floors of historical artifacts and science displays. The displays are beautifully arranged and are stunning. They have a very nice cafe and a beautiful gift shop to browse in. It was very enjoyable. read more

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I was so excited to come and visit this museum on a recent vacation. I was delighted to learn that they were featuring an exhibit by Matthew Desmond. The first floor of this museum was a science center for children and it was very well done. Even us grownups had a fun time. The next level had the special exhibit around homelessness and eviction in our country. I greatly admired the work and the facts that were presented. The next floor had amazing artifacts and treasures of native people in this area. It was beautifully laid out and I learned so much about how they do not let anything go to waste. The last floor had such a marvelous artwork by natives in locals. It was one of my favorite parts of the museum. I find it hard to express how fully I enjoyed this museum. It was well worth the price. read more

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A little late but better than never . We was here for our honeymoon from FL and this is by far one of the best museum in history and culture . If you in a rush is this is not the place for you because to really enjoy everything at least take like three or more ours and we are not a museum people but this one have a lot of interesting stuff 4 floors think one of them was close but in overall is fantastic , have also an area for kiddos and a cafe at the end . Very impress and recommended read more

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My wife and I went to this museum to learn the history of the area. This museum had a good explanation of the history of the Alaskan Rail Road, and very fun hands-on exhibits about scientific aspects of the region. But I just could not stand all the bashing of "colonialism". And numerous exhibits bashing capitalism by artists SELLING their wares in the gift shop. And a whole exhibit of how we are destroying the planet while they are selling statues made from walrus ivory in the gift shop. If this museum really hates capitalism, they shouldn't charge an entrance fee, sell coffee & snacks, and have a big gift shop. And if you're going to be capitalistic, then own it and drop the self-loathing and virtue signaling. It really is insulting. read more

Nice exhibits and well work the entrance fee . A lot to learn , observe and interact with. Loved the blacks in Alaska history . read more

Anchorage Museum - Museums Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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Great overview with info and artifacts on many of the cultures of the area. I loved the way some of the oral histories were woven in to the displays giving more life and presence to the exhibits. Beautiful photography. This was an important stop for me because I don't know much about the Alaskan Natives and I appreciate knowing the people and the land. It helped me better understand Alaska. The other parts of the museum were well pulled together and showed off other aspects of Alaska's history, talents, progress, hopes for the future.... It helped me find my connection with Alaska. There was a young man with a skink who shared his plans about his career in education. Chatting with him was inspiring, too, because I value educators and he seems to want to build a great future for kids to learn. read more

Not only was I lucky enough to be able to visit the Anchorage Museum during my recent trip to Alaska, but I was able to do so with two former Alaskan high school teachers. You can't get a better learning experience. I was very impressed with the overall presentation of Alaskan history from a number of different perspectives, all the way up until the present day. I could have spent all day in the indigenous migration segment of the museum. They do an excellent job of covering history through the eyes of all Alaskan peoples throughout the years. I could have spent hours here, but I was trying to keep on schedule. I am literally that person who was still poking about the British Museum on my last trip, while my parents sat on a bench outside ready to take a nap. Suffice it to say, I'm a huge nerd, and this was just the place for me. Multiple long floors hold different surprises, so make sure you visit all of them. Don't forget to stop by the store for their excellent non-fiction book selection, or the café if you're famished and need a kickstarter to finish your tour. Both are located on the first floor. Parking is located across the street. Most convenient. read more

Anchorage Museum - Museum from the parking lot across the street - Museums Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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A great way to spend time learning. This is a beautiful museum in the heart of town and a great place to start when exploring the city. read more

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I don't often go to museums, and I don't really know why. I really enjoy them! I am, by no means, a connoisseur of them though. I've been to the Anchorage Museum twice and I was impressed both times. The Alaska Native exhibit is incredible. Great artifacts, engaging video, and informative info-graphics. They almost always have something fun going on here for First Friday as well. Check 'em out! read more

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The first thing you will notice is how clean this place is. It was crazy clean and kids were running around everywhere. The staff was really nice and they also offer free guided tours. Just listen, as they announce when one is starting over the intercom. The kids are is great! I must have been the biggest kid in there. They have really cool hands on examples of how stuff works and why it works. They have some other art areas, where I did not go. There are multiples floors and each floor has different themes. The top floor felt empty. So much room with so little things to see. Most of the displays were multimedia they have lots and lots of projectors displaying on walls. They have modern art type of displays as well. There is one floor that has a HUGE Smithsonian display of all the different tribes that are from Alaska and some of their history. Pretty cool stuff! Check them out, staff was all very friendly. read more

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Best museum ever! Forgive the hyperbole. I've been to a lot of museums in lots of different cities and countries. This is the first one I felt a need to review because it was so unexpectedly good. It was on par with any other cultural history museum. The exhibits are varied and creatively presented. There are the typical display cases showing, for example, canoes and other conveyances. In addition, there are things like tourist binoculars with digital screens that tell different stories about the region. I also enjoyed the large cases with artifacts from the major people groups. The one thing I didn't thoroughly enjoy was the planetarium show about bears. The material was interesting but I didn't think they fully took advantage of the planetarium screen. All-in-all, this was a well-done museum. I only got to spend a few hours there but I enjoyed almost every minute of it. I would definitely go back. read more

Calling this a museum is quite misleading. There were very very few historical exhibits. Most of the displays were interactive kids educational exhibits, art exhibits, and depictions of local people's achievements. Very disappointing. read more

An outstanding collection of First Nations items. I believe it's on loan from the Smithsonian. There is also an Alaska gallery that's very good showing various players in the history of the area. The contemporary Alaskan artist gallery is worth spending time in as well. If you're in Anchorage, plan to spend at least half a day here. There's a cafe for lunch. read more