I LOVE the Anchorage Museum. Yes compared to other large…read morecity museums it's on the smaller scale, but it's still fantastic. The Smithsonian Alaska exhibit is truly amazing, and such a great piece of history. Honestly my favorite part about the Anchorage Museum is the classes offered, the after hour events, the seed lab, the lending museum, (which is part of the seed lab) and the perks of buying a membership. There are so many cool classes offered for kids and adults and I feel like not that many people know about them. I'd encourage everyone to look up the events calendar on the website and see what they have coming up. Movie screenings, silent discos, Pink Floyd at the planetarium and then there are the member perks. They offer really cool behind the scenes tours and great discounts on classes and entry fees for members. They also offer free entrance days maybe once a month, so the price CAN be accessible to everyone.

The Museum is located in Downtown Anchorage, across from the Anchorage Mall, with an attractive…read morearchitectural design fronted by a lovely grove of birch trees. I found it odd that the Museum's underground parking is only available to patrons at night and on weekends. Given the temps and homelessness, pushing patrons onto the street/area surface lots seemed counterintuitive. While many of the Museum's galleries offer strong, sometimes dated, points of view (i.e. on COVID vaccination rates and opinions from 2020), the Museum has a loan from the Smithsonian collection showing Alaska native cultural heritage pieces on the 2nd floor. This history alone is worth a studious and extended visit. The "dog" gallery is equally captivating, and the cafe was both welcoming and refreshing. Areas designed for children, while mostly holding our 5 & 7 year olds' interests, were fairly rudimentary without consistently clear learning goals for the well-travelled. At $25/ea for a regular adult, it's a good one-time experience.

I highly recommend stopping in at the Palmer Museum and Visitor Center. If you are visiting Palmer…read moreor just passing through you won't want to miss this place. Friendly and knowledgeable staff, great exhibits and art displays, and the garden is truly one of a kind.

Wow, the history here is awesome and overwhelming. It will take you some time to get through…read moreEVERYTHING! We just glanced through it and went out to look at all the pretty flowers and trees and stuff in the garden! Staff was very friendly, they had things to buy but we just walked on. Outside, we saw vegetables, berries, trees, flowers, and more grown right there at the Visitor Center. If in town, take the time to stop by and check it out.

Just like we just happened to arrive in Alaska hours before the summer solstice, we also happened…read moreto visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center on the day of the grand reopening of their Hall of Cultures. Although it was already special learning about the different dwellings around the property for each region of Alaska on their included tour and seeing demos of native dances on the stage, it was made even more special with the addition of the murals from different cultural regions and a gift for all guests that day in honor of that grand reopening day as a reflection of their culture. Quyana.

If you are interested in the native people of this area, you can't miss this. Most of the artifacts…read moreare modern creations from native artists, but each piece tells a story of the past and present. If you take the walk behind the main building, you can see how the different tribes lived. If you have an open mind and open heart, you will be touched. We were.

Finally got the chance to visit the Alaska Aviation Museum after passing by it numerous times over…read morethe years. This is a OK museum; if you are not an airplane enthusiast, you may find it a bit small and boring, but otherwise, it's a neat experience for those who are into aviation. There's a lot of different planes to look at here, from old airliners and single engine piston planes to military aircraft. The Alaska 737 and the mockup of a tower cab were both particularly interesting. There's a small kid's area that would probably keep younger kids entertained for 30 minutes or so. The admission price of $18 is a bit steep for what you get; I would prefer more like $14-$15 based on the size of the museum.

If you have some interest in Aviation history or want to see the planes land on water, this is…read moreworth checking out. We watched the planes land and take off which made for an interesting afternoon.?

So I can't give a review based on going through the museum but what I can write on is the small…read moregift shop area and customer service while in there. We stopped by with a family member wanting to get a gift for her husband, who collects law enforcement trinkets. The AL Trooper Museum didn't disappoint. Plenty of items to choose from, t-shirts, sweatshirts, pins & mugs. I'm sure he'll be pleased with what was purchased. The young man at the counter was very courteous and helped her out and we were on our way. As for what I could see in the museum from the front, it looked pretty cool in there, jam packed with anything and everything related to Trooper law enforcement, complete with an actual car used.

I didn't expect to find this when I was exploring Anchorage, but I'm so glad I did! It was cool to…read morelearn about how law enforcement got started there. They have patches from other places, so bring one to make sure they have yours!

This museum is dedicated to the Alaskan State Police and predates them becoming a state. It does…read morenot have a designated parking area, but there is metered street parking and a commercial garage available within a reasonable walking distance. I don't mind paying to enter and they do offer military and law enforcement discounts, but many similar places that I have visited have been free. The museum has a small gift shop in front of the counter 5 exhibit areas. The gift store is small and sells hats, t-shirts, sweatshirt, patches and a variety of law enforcement books. The museum is very small, but they pack a lot in there. The main exhibit floor has the different uniforms worn by troopers, some of the weapons and equipment such as radios they used, a shout out to the US Marshals, and features a 1952 patrol car. The exhibit area behind the main one is dedicated to CSI and has equipment used in solving cases such as a breathalyzer, polygraph machines a squirrel machine (a machine used to get fingerprints off of plastic bags, a simulated crime scene, and a bust of George Taft, father of Alaskan forensics. Off to the side of the main gallery is 3 rooms. One features the women in Alaska Law Enforcement exhibit, another, called the Patch Room, which has a bunch of patches from different police department and agencies on the wall, and the last room is the Shoot, Don't Shoot Room, where they are playing a 55-minute movie on loop. This is a change of pace from your typical Anchorage attractions and is an indoor attraction that could be used to fill an itinerary on bad weather days. I enjoyed my visit here. They have a ton of artifacts and pictures to go through. If you skip the movie like I did, you can spend an hour or two here. Which is not a lot of time. It is still neat to see though and could be coupled with visits to the Anchorage Firefighters Museum, the Alaska Firefighters' Memorial, the Alaskan Public Land Center and other nearby attractions.

Perfect place to spend a couple hours! I've lived in Alaska my whole life and learned a lot about…read morelaw enforcement predating the Alaska state troopers & other police departments, the 1964 earthquake, and butcher baker. The "line of duty" wall is emotional, but it's wonderful to see our fallen troopers displayed in such a beautiful way. Admission and merchandise are fairly priced. And all proceeds go to a wonderful cause.

The best place to be is in the way to know the aim of the place. In the side of the museum. All…read moreinside is the way of the history of the battle in Alaska.

There are a lot of museums that my wife and I see, and there are some museums which only one of us…read moreis interested in. In those cases only one of us goes in, while the other waits outside. This is one museum which I alone was interested in seeing. Located right in downtown Anchorage. More of a World War II and post war military museum. I go in the front door and am greeted by the host, a millennial, the son of the museum curator. Right in front of me in a display case is a diorama of the a WW2 landing ship tank, with it's bow doors open and ramp down, for vehicles driving right onto the beach. There are also Higgins boats or LCVP carrying assault troops for landing on the beaches. Hanging from the ceiling are various WW2 aircraft models, including the B29 Superfortress, B24 Liberator, and the Lockheed Lightning. There is a display area with a small shore gun from the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska, along with a battle flag of the rising sun, and various hand weaponry, including a rifle, pistol and a prized samurai sword! Another area has weaponry and pictures from the Vietnam War, and of the cold war, as fought in the waters off of Alaska. Highlight of the museum has to be the 1/72 scale of the WW2 Essex class fleet aircraft carrier, complete with Corsairs, Hellcats, Avengers and Helldivers. This model is over 10' long, and must have taken months to complete. $3 admission fee, takes me back in time, when I built model military airplanes and ships in 1960s Berkeley, during the height of the Vietnam War protests 15 minutes later my handler and wife antsy at the front entrance, starts pulling on my leash, wanting to go. You know who wears the pants in the house!

I ordered a cherry pie for my husbands birthday. The pie was amazing!! I can't wait to trade in my…read moreempty pie pan for another pie!!

The coolest little shop. We had been driving all Day…read moresightseeing and I wanted some Good Chocolate. They had all kinds of imported chocolate and candies and also handmade truffles. A wide variety of flavored olive oils, loose tea, native Jams and pear butter etc. a nice variety of gift items too. Just a cute shop and friendly service.