University of Alaska Museum of the North

Informative and worth the cost of admission. So much to look at, learn, and so many interesting experiences to have. I highly recommend experiencing “The Place Where You Go To Listen”, if only for a couple of minutes. Additionally, if you catch it on the right day, you might also get a glimpse of Denali like we did. We didn’t know how lucky we were as we had just arrived in Alaska for the first time but there’s a fantastic vista very close to the parking lot. In addition to the natural history exhibits, there is a lot of art to see by Alaskan artists along with native exhibits and exploration artifacts and equipment. So much cool stuff to experience that really set the tone for our great Alaska adventure. Don’t miss it!

We really enjoyed our visit to the Museum of the North. Great place to learn about Alaskan history!! We spent about 2-2.5 hours here but could have spent way longer if we wanted to look at the exhibits even more in depth! One thing to note is that parking is not free, we didn’t know that before visiting but it was only $4.50 or so for 3 hours so it’s not expensive at all.

Museum itself is great, definitely worth the price of admission. I love the way the main exhibits are set out and how many topics are covered. If you're freaked out by taxidermy, be aware that there is a lot, but it's mostly well done and always tasteful. One star taken away because I had hoped to get lunch and had half a sandwich that was mid and overpriced even for your average museum cafe. But cafe aside, I had a great time here and especially loved all the pinniped carvings and masks 💖

This is a fascinating natural history museum. There is so much to see. There is a schedule of when videos are playing. They have an art museum as well. The gift shop is small but has unique items. They also have a little cafe that you can stop at. There is an elevator for those who cannot climb stairs. We spent a lot of time walking through the museum. They offer a veteran/military discount as well as a senior discount.

Great museum. I really enjoyed reading and learning the history of AK. Make sure you go upstairs to the music room. It is very nice. You have to pay for parking btw, but it isn’t expensive.

It's a beautifully and tastefully made Museum amidst scenic area. They also play few short movies on Dinosaur Research and Aurora Borealis of Alaska. Ticket charges are 22 USD for foreigners. Houses massive whale and other Animal fossils. A small ruck store is there though expensive. May other unique preserves and history on the walls. Theres a very interestingly constructed Quite Room where some earthy sounds are played. A must visit while in Fairbanks.

A must see! Now I know where James Mitchner got a lot of material for his book, Alaska. Beautiful campus, even had a view of Denali, and mountain ranges. Check out the gardens too.

This place deserves 5* and a MUST visit to truly understand Alaska fir those who are curious to know more than just enjoy the picturesque tranquility. Not a humongous place but the way it is curated is very viewer friendly. The writeups are descriptive and yet easy to read. The gift shop is ok and not many things stand out. Most are souvenirs like key chain, magnets, etc. Definitely worth the time.

What an amazing place to spend a few hours! They have a huge selection of amazing artifacts and Alaskan history to showcase; the entrance fee is worth the spend to see what this place has to offer. The lady we paid admission to, Sophie, was so incredibly nice and had great local suggestions for us! What a fantastic and kind person she was! Upstairs has an art museum, where downstairs has articles that showcase Alaskan history and perseverance. Very impressive. Their gold display was amazing as was their carved ivory collections. Hope you enjoy!

This place is absolutely amazing!! So much to see and learn. I can't wait for the bus142 exhibit.

Beautiful museum. The building itself is so artistic. The views are really nice. My kids and i enjoyed our time here

What an amazing museum. I've never been to a museum that has so many fossils. This museum collection includes more than 1,000 bones from at least 6 varieties of dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Period (65 to 72 million years ago). Pleistocene (10-thousand-year-old to 2-million-year-old) fossils include mammoths, saber tooth tigers, bison, mastodons, camels, and much other fauna. The ticket is only $16ish. If you are in town I highly recommend checking it out! It's not only to support their studies but also your mind would be blown by what they exhibit. Located behind the student recreation center. It's on a higher ground with a beautiful landscape view. Parking is plenty.

Art and history buffs will love this museum. It has beautiful displays of clothes, animals, history, etc about Alaska and the north.

A great museum with a variety of history, facts, fossils, and taxidermy to look at/interact with. We're from Florida and spent our last day checking out this place. We walked in without purchasing tickets before hand, but that's on a Monday at 3 PM, during the summer. I'm sure it's poppin on a nice weekend. I really enjoyed it, but came a little early to see bus 142. I wish the exhibit was complete and ready for viewing but progress for the exhibit seems a little inconsistent. Next time I'm in Fairbanks I will be coming back to see it! Free parking on weekends after 5 PM (I think)! Any other time/day, it's only $1.25/hr. Museum took us about 2.5 hours, granted we skimmed on some stuff.

Nice museum, very modern. Not a lot there, but very informative. It does not take long to walk through it.

The museum had a lot of information on early Alaskan culture and their prehistoric and modern animals. Had a great time walking around learning about all things Alaska. Favorite part was definitely watching their movies in the auditorium and listening to the aurora borealis!

Starting with the unique "whale" shape of the building, Gayle and I knew that we were in for a treat in visiting the Museum of the North on the University of Alaska Campus. A hourly shuttle will take you here from the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center and take you back Downtown. The Museum is awesome and small enough to get an excellent Alaska education before museum fatigue sets in. It's a great introduction to the Last Frontier starting with the Gallery of Alaska, which divides the State up in regions, and proceeds to cover cultural, ecological art, history, wildlife and other subjects. I even learned a thing or 2, such as the evacuation and internment of the Aleuts during WWII. After that marvelous exhibit, Gayle I took a break at the on-site coffee cafe, perused the very nice gift shop, and then headed upstairs to the Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery. There was lots of cool art and wandering around was light, easy, and fun. I almost forgot to mention that the building interior itself is a joy to explore. There's lots of nice light and a great view of lower Fairbanks. There's also plenty of space to sit, contemplate, and enjoy at your own pace.

Such an amazing museum to learn about Alaska. Work the stop just for the room where you listen where you can hear the Aurora. The views are also great.

Good films. I wish there was more on first people of alaska, use of land bridge from siberia, and larger exhibit on alaskan pipeline. Also not as many dino fossils as expected.

Wonderful Alaskan cultural and historical exhibit. Worth the trip and spend the time. Some very interesting, beautiful and unknown tragic indigenous peoples history

If you're in the area, this make for a fun outing. Neat to see things about Alaska that I was clueless about!

A 5 star museum is a must stop if your in Fairbanks there's a bus stop right out front or a big parking lot. Amazing exhibits and a $16 entry fee is a steal. Tons of history displayed here A must stop

Pretty nice smal museum with interesting cultural and scientific exhibits. A little pricey for a family of 4 even with military discounts as kids even if students are full price at $16. Military active duty 10 and veterans I think was $12.

*clap clap clap clap This was a great experience and educational beyond expectations. I learned so much about Alaska, it's people, the culture and the wildlife all in one place. The exhibits were well put together and clearly much thought went into the way they were presented. We were there when a art exhibit was showing artist from the area. Thought provoking art describing the challenges of the indigenous people and the life they share with people in Alaska. Great show. This is a must see when visiting Fairbanks.

Great place to visit. So much Alaskan history under one roof. The main floor is where most of the displays are. On the second floor is where you will find the art gallery. Overall its a very clean museum. Id visit again

So informative! Entry fee is $16 for each adult. Exhibits are very well made and maintained. The front desk let us know about a short film so we got to watch that as well. One could spend a couple of hours here with family. Souvenir shop is actually good! Make sure to visit the art gallery on the second floor.

A wonderful, informative, beautifully displayed museum! I could have spent several more hours immersing myself in the visual, tactile, and auditory experience. Bravo UAFMN!

This museum building itself is a work of art, all glass and angles and curves, inside and out. I recommend visiting The Place Where You Go to Listen, a surround-sound room on the 3rd floor where sounds of the earth play in real time, from tectonic rumbling vibrations, to the Aurora, and other environmental conditions, creating an eerie organic symphony accompanied by ever-changing light. 30-minute nature/science/educational movies are shown daily ($5 each) in rotation in the Arnold Espe Auditorium. I saw Dynamic Aurora, filmed in 2009, which was did not show as much of the Aurora Borealis itself as I'd hoped, and filming techniques were not as good they are now, so it was somewhat disappointing. But the second movie, Extreme Weather, a National Geographic film from 2016, was stunning! Incredible footage of Alaskan Glaciers "calving" (splitting apart and falling explosively into the water), wildfires blistering everything in their paths, being fought by brave firefighters, tornadoes barreling their way across the Midwest, with researchers dodging the violent winds while trying to embed measuring instruments, and other weather phenomena. It shows how the destructive forces of weather and nature are tied together. The first floor Gallery of Alaska captures the breadth and depth of Alaska's history, culture, wildlife, and geography, including a film, letters, photographs and first-person accounts of the inhumane internment of the state's Japanese residents after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. You'll come face-to-face with a black, polar, and grizzly bears, a musk ox, and the world's only mummified steppe bison! Stop by the Museum Store for everything from smoked salmon to native art and jewelry, to gorgeous Aurora photographs, to pencils that change color from the heat of your hand, to T-shirts!

Amazing place. If you have a chance to visit, plan to stay awhile. There are beautiful exhibits and lots of history.

Pretty neat museum located at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks. We had a bit of a layover after having taken a small flight from Bettles to Fairbanks on Wright Air Service so we decided to Uber to the museum until our flight from the main Fairbanks airport on Alaska Air back to Anchorage. I digress - a friend we met in Bettles suggested the museum and having nothing better to do for a couple of hours, we visited. It's a great museum with my absolute favorite part being how the exhibits are split up into various areas of Alaska (i.e., Interior Alaska, Southeast Alaska, etc.). Some of my favorite exhibits were the display on the Pipeline, information on Totem Poles, Russian Alaska, and all of the animals around Alaska. If you have a couple of hours to spare, stop at the Museum of the North. Really well done and great building, too!

Love this museum, although a little disappointed that my favorite exhibit which is a room of immersive Alaskan experience was closed. There is some great films you got opt into paying to see (totally worth it-I saw the Aurora experience and it was great). The gift shop was full of native made products and some really beautiful jewelry.

Everyone wore masks. Surfaces looked clean :) Tip: the cafe is still closed due to covid

This is a fairly small but very nice museum of Alaska history. It's organized in a way that doesn't appear to make a lot of sense, dinosaurs next to Russian cannons. In spite of that, it's a wonderful place to learn and spend some time.

Didn't have anything in our itinerary so we decided to stop over here since it was on the list of travelers guide to see. Location has wonderful scenic photography opportunity and the Museum was informative. I did only give it 3 stars because it felt small and we were done before you know it. For such a large architectural building, the Museum felt small in comparison. Perhaps it's more about the architecture? Not sure exactly but I don't like to discourage people from visiting so if you do decide to stop by, don't expect an all day event.

Great place for the family. Very nice people at the ticket desk. It was our second trip for three of us.

This is an awesome place to spend a few hours! I came out of here learning a lot about the geography, history, and culture of Alaska. One section of the museum is divided into the geographical regions of Alaska and has detailed displays so you can get a feel for what distinctions there are between different regions, including the climate and resulting wildlife present, population demographics, and industries. There are videos about perspectives from native people about how the US taking over Alaska affected their lifestyle, and stories about the impact of WWII including how Alaska was a key military base and how Japanese Americans were adversely affected. The museum takes COVID-19 seriously as staff and guests were all masked and practicing social distancing.

A good starting point to your trip to Fairbanks. There is a lot of interesting sections here about the natives and Alaskan wildlife to wars. Yes, there is a giant stuffed bear and some whale bones; however the most interesting items had to do with history and art. There is a lot to learn here. I for one never knew that Japanese Americans in Alaska were sent to Internment camps in Southeast Alaska during WWII. I used to teach English where I specifically brought up internment to Japanese students; and I never even knew about the Native Alaskans being part of it, so I appreciated the history lesson. Some said you can wander around here for 2 hours. I don't know about that. I guess it depends on how fast you read and what your attention span is, but I think at an hour is enough. If you have kids there is an auditorium and educational center that they might be interested in. Otherwise, check out the bookstore which has an amazing collection of books as well as handcrafted items made by native Alaskans including bone carving and mukluks. The young lady at the bookstore was the sweetest and full of knowledge. She told us all about the carvings and jewelry on display. I also liked that parking was FREE on weekends. I'll go to a museum on a Saturday!

Great museum and a must see in Fairbanks. Very informative displays and great views of the surrounding scenery. Nice gift shop. Good display on the relocation of the Aleuts and Japanese Americans in world war 2.

The exhibits were interesting and educational. The Alaska gallery was well defined into regions of Alaska. The art gallery was a diverse display of art mediums from Alaskan artists. Friendly and helpful staff.

You'll have a greater understanding of Alaska culture and history if you dedicate a day to visiting this gem of a museum. The most rewarding part of traveling to a different part of the world is to learn a little bit of how the place was shaped - this is the place for Alaska. We went thinking that we'd only be there a couple of hours, we ended up returning in the afternoon (they still honored our entry ticket) and spent a few more hours there. There is a wealth of interesting information about Alaska and its people here. There is also some original artwork, both historical and contemporary. Your trip won't be complete without including this museum on your itinerary. Beautiful and quiet while enjoying a nice cup of coffee. Awesome

Wonderful! Very interesting design of the building. Took so many pictures. Loved the Alaskan Native artistry in clothing, household tools, and outerwear. The beauty in such a difficult environment. The development of tools from ancient times to now was so educational. Was in awe if the animal displays. The small art gallery was nice.

Good amount of artifacts and information about Alaska. Really cool taxidermy on the bears and birds. However, the museum is really small for the price they charge

We were told by the Visitor Center that this was the "best museum in Alaska", can't say that I agree, but the exhibits - while small - were impressive. Seeing the Steppe Bison and the *PARTIAL* baby mammoth made the Alaska Resident admission worth it, however I think they built it up a little too much. We thought that the baby mammoth was fully intact, spoiler alert: it's not. It's a creepy face and one leg. Very disappointing, and again, creepy, but still interesting. There's a lot to look at on the main floor, there's not a real rhyme or reason to how they're set up. You wander around and it's not very cohesive in its organization. You learn about many women of the Yukon, animals... basically your typical liberal arts college type museum in that the women are heroines and all the men are slobs. Come on, guys, it's not that hard to give each gender its due. Upstairs is the art gallery. Again, thinking it was going to be more Alaska art - and old art at that - it was a little disappointing. Many seemed to be more just art projects from the University. So that means a lot of shock value type artwork. Not my cup of tea (and judging by the comments in the guest book, a lot of others were similarly disappointed). They do have a small gallery of Dinosaur fossils and casts, all of which were found in Alaska which I found VERY cool. Growing up one of my favorite children's books based in Alaska (written by Alaskans) was the book THUNDERFEET which was about Alaskan dinosaurs (and came with this awesome audio book with songs that I believe were written by Alaska's own Hobo Jim). Seeing this exhibit brought those happy memories to the forefront. I have a mind to go searching in my parents basement for the tape and book to relive it (even though the science and info is no doubt severely outdated). The dinosaur exhibit plus the prehistoric mammals in the main show room are definitely worth the $8 to get in (it's $12 I believe for non residents). We did not take in the other offerings (movies) as that cost extra. We paid for 2 hour parking, but we spent only about an hour in the building. Probably would take longer during busy times, plus we did not explore the grounds though it looked like they had some old buildings. You DO have to pay to park, but it's VERY cheap considering you are on University property (be aware that school is in session in the fall and winter months so you have to be aware when you're driving through campus as students walk EVERYwhere and some pop out into the street without a cross walk. Fantastic view of Fairbanks from the parking lot, btw.

Not a huge museum, but it gave us a great overview of Alaska as the first activity of our trip. Would recommend to those visiting Fairbanks.

Must visit when in Fairbanks. Covers all of Alaska. World class. Also great view of the Alaska range

One of my favorite museums ever. I would start my trip again in Fairbanks just so I could use this as my intro to Alaska. Admission is 14/adult. Don't forget to see the art exhibit upstairs with the outhouse you can sit in. The main room covers each region of Alaska in history, geography and industry. My favorite was the standing portraits of incredible women from the pioneer era in Alaska. Such incredible characters! This makes me wonder about all the stories like these that I've missed at other museums because they haven't gotten around to doing this yet. The exhibit on the Japanese and aleutian internment in ww2 was really well done and definitely prompted more research on my part.

The building is inviting and the exhibits are timely and well-developed. The movies, costing $5 each, were an added attraction and very well done. The gift shop has much to offer as well. I'd recommend this to any museum lover!

Surprise in Fairbanks: a great museum. Exceptionally Interesting Experience. Great Exhibits for a small fee. Architecturally significant building packed with interesting exhibits. Do not miss the Alaskan art exhibit and the gallery of Alaskan natural history. An added treat was the Vogel collection of 50 contemporary art works gifted to the people of Alaska - a bit of Seattle in the far north. This museum has fantastic displays chronicling the history of Alaska and some of its wildlife. The gold nugget exhibit was particularly interesting...some REALLY huge chunks of the metal that Native Americans once described as "The Metal That Makes White Men Go Crazy" ( or something close to that ). The Museum of the North is not super huge, but the amount of information and exhibits is really really well done. You can learn about any aspect of Alaska that you can think of. It is organized and curated very well. The topics range from the northern lights, Alaska Natives, history, wildlife, to prehistoric life in Alaska and more! For a small fee it's a fantastic deal. I highly recommend making this part of your visit to Fairbanks.

Tried going today at noon. They were closed yesterday due to a weather advisory but nowhere on their website did it say it was also closed today. There was no weather advisory today and the roads were plowed and drivable. I understand if they needed to close but the website should have been updated then so people don't waste their time driving out to a locked door.

Such a beautiful museum. And if you have littles, it's so much fun for them. I remember coming here my whole life and I have always enjoyed it. Both floors hold exhibits you can immerse yourself in. If you're in Fairbanks visiting, it's a MUST.

Sadly they do not offer student discount (only for the U of Alaska students). The building architecture was beautiful but the museum itself is small. Took us under one hour to explore. Unless, you have plenty of time, you can skip this place. The dinosaurs and dalton highway exhibits were there and very small. The cool thing about this museum is their Sound room on the 2nd floor! And of course, the gorgeous view of the city of Fairbanks.

The Gallery of Alaska takes up perhaps half of the display space at this museum, and that's fine because it's a wonderful showcase of the natural and human history of the state. A tour of the Gallery takes you through the Alaska's various regions with artifacts from many different time periods. Exhibits include everything from the mummified remains of a 36,000 year old bison to an area devoted to Japanese internment camps during WWII. So much history! Other areas of the museum include an art gallery and a movie theater (movies cost extra $ apparently; the theater was being used for a private function when I was there so I don't know what they're about or the length or anything). Admission to the museum is $10 and I was pretty satisfied with about a two hour visit-- thought I could have easily spent some more time here.

Great family place. The kids absolutely love coming for visits! They also have a monthly flyer with special activities for all ages. If you plan to go more than once it's best to get the season pass.

It was a great museum and a very nice store inside, we enjoyed it a lot, I am looking forward to come back to Alaska soon!

Amazing place! The building itself is an art piece. Most buildings in Fairbanks are boxy to help keep the heat in so seeing this building up on the hill is quite striking. They have an older alaska history display but still relevant and upstairs has a more modern look with new and older pieces on display including a large Sydney Lawerence painting, but they sadly put it in a spot where a wall is so if you step back to admire it a wall cuts it in half. The gift shop has some great employees that are knowledgeable, ask them to show you how the eskimo yoyos work! The store has a lot of different alaskan artists displayed and they can just ship your item back to you so you dont have to worry about traveling home with it!

To be honest, I don't think the exhibition inside wroth you to spend $15 to visit unless you are very interested in nature and the history (they have many cool animals models inside). The design of the museum is very cool outside, and they also have a good view to see the city

The museum isn't too big so it was perfect for one long afternoon. If you're here for a visit, this is a nice place to go to learn about Alaskan culture and more. The front desk staff is helpful in answering any questions. If you still have time leftover in the day, there are cross country ski trails nearby.