Museum Magic

 

above: A thermal “family portrait”

Museums are cool.  And, the one in Anchorage was especially cool. From the children’s area called the Imaginarium to the art museum to the  Smithsonian exhibit on native Alaskan tribes,  we were able to keep ourselves entertained for hours on our rainy first day in Anchorage.

 

 

The “bubble room” was great fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right: “Bubble boy”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Imaginarium is a very well done science oriented area of the museum which is as much fun for the kids as it is for adults. The exhibits are  hands-on, most demonstrate principles of physics and there was even a turtle and a couple of alligators  (not hands on) for fun.

 

 

 

 

left: The Big Dude “magically” suspends the ball in the air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

right: The Lil’ Dude “shoots a rocket”

 

 

 

 

 

 

left: The Dudes create an ice crystal.

 

 

 

 

right: The Big Dude creates an animated film.

 

 

 

 

left: The Big Dude creates a volcano…..

 

 

 

 

then, makes it explode.

 

 

 

 

There is a section of the museum which follows the history of the people of Alaska from the native tribes up to the present. I was once again struck by the ingenuity and resourcefulness that the natives tribes showed in not only surviving but thriving in a harsh environment. The museum has an extensive collection of artifacts and displays of native dwellings and the Smithsonian research exhibit focuses on the different tribes; Inupiat,  Yupik, Aleut, Inuit, Tlinget, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabascan cultures.

 

 

left: a selection of beautifully handcrafted items made from seal skins and gut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the native tribe’s abilities to make beautiful water proof parkas out of seal gut to the ability to see the differing temperatures of a person’s body with a camera, it all seemed quite magical to me.

 

“The Universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” Eden Philpotts