Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
2/23/11

The University of Alaska Museum of the North will hold a Fish Family Day Saturday, February 26th from noon to 5 p.m.

Make your own fish prints. See fish from the museum’s collection and watch dissections. Play the salmon game and be a salmon survivor. Curator Andres Lopez [ahn-DRAYZ LOW-pez] will also be available to answer questions.

Activities are included with regular museum admission. For more information, call 907-474-7505.

MEDIA CONTACT: Theresa Bakker, museum communication manager, at 907-474-6941 or via e-mail at [email protected].

ON THE WEB: www.uaf.edu/museum

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Stevie Seibert
907-474-5229
2/17/11

Each year, humpback whales migrate from the cool waters of Alaska to the warmth of Hawaii or Mexico. But while most animals and people might prefer to spend the mild winters in Hawaii and summers in Alaska, some humpbacks remain in the north during fall and winter.

On Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., Jan Straley will present recent research of humpback whales throughout the North Pacific with particular attention to those in Alaska waters. Straley, assistant professor of marine biology at the University of Alaska Southeast, will present “Whale Tales: A Thirty-Year Perspective on Humpback Whales in Alaska Waters” in the Westmark Gold Room. The lecture is the sixth and final installment in the Fairbanks portion of 2011 Science for Alaska Lecture Series.

Science for Alaska is sponsored by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the UAF Geophysical Institute and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The series runs on Tuesdays through Feb. 22, 2011 and is free to the public.

Hands-on activities for all ages begin at 6 p.m. inside the Gold Room. Families are welcome.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Jan Straley, assistant professor of marine biology, UAS, 907-747-7779, or [email protected]. Marmian Grimes, UAF public information officer, at 907-474-7902 or via e-mail at [email protected].

ON THE WEB: http://www.scienceforalaska.com

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Stevie Seibert
907-474-5229
2/9/11

In early August 2008, Kasatochi Volcano in the Aleutians violently erupted. The green and lush island, formerly the home of hundreds of thousands of seabirds, became a sterile mountain of mud and ash. Scientists thought all life was wiped out on Kasatochi, but researchers found a few unlikely survivors on the island during a visit one year after the eruption.

On Feb. 15 at 7 p.m., Derek Sikes will reveal the identities of the Kasatochi survivors and discuss his research of the pre- and post-eruption ecosystems of the island. Sikes, assistant professor of entomology and curator of insects at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, will present “Survivor Kasatochi: Insects After the Volcanic Eruption” in the Westmark Gold Room. The lecture is the fifth installment in the Fairbanks portion of 2011 Science for Alaska Lecture Series.

Science for Alaska is sponsored by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the UAF Geophysical Institute and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The series runs on Tuesdays through Feb. 22, 2011 and is free to the public.

Hands-on activities for all ages begin at 6 p.m. inside the Gold Room. Families are welcome.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Derek Sikes, assistant professor of entomology and curator of insects at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, 907-474-6278, or [email protected]. Marmian Grimes, UAF public information officer, at 907-474-7902 or via e-mail at [email protected].

ON THE WEB: http://www.scienceforalaska.com

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Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
1/24/11

The University of Alaska Museum of the North will hold a Marmot Family Day on Saturday, Jan. 29 from noon to 5 p.m.

Learn about weather-predicting groundhogs and take home a shadow of your own. Make marmot masks and play a life-sized marmot game. See marmots from the museum’s collection and ask questions of marmot expert Aren Gunderson.

Activities are included with regular museum admission. For more information, call 907-474-7505.

MEDIA CONTACT: Theresa Bakker, museum communication manager, at 907-474-6941 or via e-mail at [email protected].

ON THE WEB: www.uaf.edu/museum

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Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
1/12/11

More than a thousand years have passed since people started drinking a brew made from the beans of the coffee tree. Today, people all over the world start their day that way. Even in subarctic Fairbanks, we expect coffee in our cup when we want it, often without considering how far it has traveled to get there. A new exhibit at the University of Alaska Museum of the North explores the web of stories connected to every cup of coffee we drink.

“Coffee: The World in Your Cup” is a traveling exhibit created by the Burke Museum in Seattle to explore one of the world’s most widely traded commodities. It opens Jan. 22, 2011. The exhibit uncovers the environmental and social effects of the coffee industry and recommends ways for consumers to make responsible coffee purchases. It also investigates the effects of caffeine, the world’s most commonly used drug; reveals coffee’s early controversial reputation as a revolutionary drink; and examines the culture that surrounds coffee in the 21st century. Photos, maps, artifacts and hands-on demonstrations help visitors explore the fascinating world behind the coffee we drink.

“Coffee: The World in Your Cup” was organized by the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Wash. Major sponsorship was provided by the Boeing Company, Microsoft Corporation, Starbucks Coffee Company, and the University of Washington. Just like the efforts to bring coffee to every major city around the globe, the Museum of the North had help from local sponsors, including Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, Alaska Coffee Roasting Co., Raven’s Brew, Fountainhead Hotels, local dentist Dr. W. Lee Payne and North Pole Coffee Roasting Co.

ON THE WEB: museum.uaf.edu

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[/caption]Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
1/4/11

Barry McWayne was an artist who worked tirelessly to promote the work of others. When he died in the summer of 2010, just a few years after retiring from his position as fine art curator at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, he left behind a treasure trove of photographs. Some of those photos are now featured in the museum’s Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery.

“Barry McWayne photographed many things during the 42 years he lived in Fairbanks, but a favorite subject was the Alaska landscape in black-and-white,” said Charles Mason, University of Alaska Fairbanks journalism professor and a consultant to the museum.

Many of the photographs in the museum installation reflect that passion. Whether McWayne used large format film and darkroom prints or digital cameras and ink jet printing, Mason said he always employed the best possible techniques. “Barry sought to depict the beauty of Alaska in his work. He looked for the grand view and the simple, elegant detail.”

McWayne spent 37 years at the museum, first making photographs for the institution’s research collections, exhibitions and publications, then originating and curating the permanent collection of fine art photography. For the final 15 years of his tenure, he served as curator for the entire fine art collection. His artistic production only increased after retiring in 2007.

“Barry simply loved being out there, looking for and realizing his wonderful vision of our great state,” said Mason.

The photographs, located in the “Art as Process” section of the Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery, will remain on display for the rest of the year.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Charles Mason, UAF journalism professor, 907-474-6217, [email protected].

ON THE WEB: museum.uaf.edu

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Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
12/21/10

The Butterfly Pavilion at the University of Alaska Museum of the North will be open through the end of the year. Hours are weekdays from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Christmas Day.

There’s still time to see a variety of North American butterflies, make an origami butterfly and pose for photos wearing a handmade butterfly costume.

The cost is free with regular museum admission or $2 to visit just the Butterfly Pavilion.

For more information, call 907-474-7505.

ON THE WEB: www.uaf.edu/museum

Theresa Bakker

907-474-6941

12/15/10

The University of Alaska Museum of the North will host a Dinos and Fossils Family Day Saturday, Dec. 18 from noon to 5 p.m.

Children can dig for fossils and make one of their own. Earth sciences curator Patrick Druckenmiller will give a hands-on dinosaur track demonstration at 2 p.m. and a film about a new theropod discovery will play in the auditorium.

Activities are free with regular museum admission. For more information, call 907-474-7505.

MEDIA CONTACT: Theresa Bakker, museum information officer, 907-474-6941, [email protected].

ON THE WEB: www.uaf.edu/museum

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Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
12/14/10

Until last summer, recent discoveries of dinosaur bones and tracks in Alaska have been restricted to the Cretaceous Period.

That changed when a team including University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists documented fossilized tracks in Southwest Alaska that appear to date from the Jurassic Period, which stretches from 150 to 200 million years ago.

“In one fell swoop we pushed the record of dinosaurs in Alaska back about 50 million years,” said Patrick Druckenmiller, earth sciences curator at the University of Alaska Museum of the North and assistant professor in the UAF geology and geophysics department.

In 1975, geologists mapping the rocks near Chignik Bay discovered what appeared to be three-toed dinosaur tracks on a sandstone cliff. The group photographed the site but did not collect any other data. Thirty-five years later, Druckenmiller and a team of scientists set out to find the location in that photo and fully document the site. The team included Kevin May from the museum, UAF geologists Sarah Fowell and Paul McCarthy, and invertebrate paleontologist Robert Blodgett of Anchorage.

Planning the expedition presented logistical challenges. The field area is in remote and mountainous terrain famous for its high density of coastal brown bears. The precise location of the tracks was also uncertain, so Druckenmiller received permission to work on both Chignik Lagoon Native Corporation land and in the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge. The work was based out of Chignik Bay, Alaska.

“It was great to land in a community that was very receptive and accommodating to the field work we had to do,” said Druckenmiller.

Supported by helicopter pilot Sam Egli of King Salmon, the team established a remote field camp and set to work. May said they found the site after only two days of searching. “After staring at the 1975 photograph for so long, it was a real thrill to finally see it in real life.”

The layer of tracks was tilted nearly vertically and could only be reached with the use of climbing equipment. Once they reached the site, Druckenmiller and May made replicas of each track for study and exhibit back at the museum.

Druckenmiller said the trip netted a surprising amount of information.

“Based on their size and shape we can tell that the tracks were made by a human-sized, meat-eating (theropod) dinosaur,” he said. “We could even see impressions from tips of their claws. That makes these tracks especially rare.”

The rest of the team examined the rocks for additional clues and were able to establish that these dinosaurs walked on sand in a beach-type environment during the Late Jurassic Period, long before modern Alaska took shape.

Druckenmiller said the findings provide an entirely new chapter in the story of the life that once existed in Alaska and he hopes to return to the site in the near future. “We are pretty sure there are other surprises waiting for us out there.”

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Patrick Druckenmiller, museum earth sciences curator, 907-474-6954, [email protected].

ON THE WEB: museum.uaf.edu

NOTE TO EDITORS: Images of the dinosaur tracks and the fieldwork team are available for download at www.uafnews.com.

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Marmian Grimes
907-474-7902
11/29/10

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will host holiday sales, open houses and concerts in the coming weeks. Following is a list of events scheduled in December:

University of Alaska Museum of the North holiday sale

Nov. 26 through Dec. 24, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m, Monday – Saturday, UA Museum of the North

Holiday sale prices include 20 percent off Alaska Native baskets, whalebone sculptures and masks; and 10 percent off all other museum store merchandise, including ivory carvings, beadwork, children’s books and toys. Call 474-1595 for more information.

Alaska Sea Grant, Marketing and Communications and UA Press open house, sale

Dec. 2, 2 – 6 p.m., Wells Fargo Building, second floor, Geist Road and University Ave.

The event will include free refreshments, door prizes, book signings, free gift wrapping and 25 percent off all Alaska Sea Grant and UA Press items. The UAF shuttle is available for service between campus and the Wells Fargo Building by calling 474-7433. Call 474-6707 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

Georgeson Botanical Garden holiday sale

Friday, Dec. 3, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Wood Center

This sale will feature handmade items, Alaska-made items and much more. The Knanook Knitters Club will also be selling gifts for the holidays. Hosted by the Georgeson Botanical Garden.

Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra – Alaska Holiday Concert

Sunday, Dec. 5, 4 p.m., Charles W. Davis Concert Hall

This annual holiday concert will feature the Fairbanks Symphony with the Choir of the North, University Chorus and Northland Youth Choir. For tickets and information, call 474-5733.

Georgeson Botanical Garden holiday sale

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Irving I Building, IAB Lobby

This sale will feature T-shirts, sweatshirts, jewelry, cards, games, puppets, books, Alaska-made items and lots more. Hosted by the Georgeson Botanical Garden.

UAF Holiday Concert, Wind Symphony and Jazz Band l

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 8 p.m., Charles W. Davis Concert Hall, UAF campus

This concert will feature two of UAF’s performing ensembles playing music for the holiday and other selections, including Permont’s “Hillulah,” and Nowak’s “A Christmas Portrait.” The concert will include the Jazz Band I, featuring Austin Somaduroff and Hannah Johnston on vocals, and Stan Kenton’s version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Tickets are available at the door: $10 for adults, $5 for students, seniors and military; children under 12 attend free. Call 474-7555 for further information.

UAF art department semiannual sale of student artwork

Friday, Dec. 10, noon – 6 p.m., Fine Arts Building, studios 415 and 405

Ceramics, printmaking and sculpture works will be for sale. Contact Carol Hoefler, UAF art department, at 474-7530 for more information.

University Chorus holiday concert

Saturday, Dec. 11, 8 p.m., Charles W. Davis Concert Hall

The University Chorus presents “A Candlelight Christmas,” featuring the works of John Rutter. Tickets are $5 for students, seniors and military; $10 for adults; and children 12 and under attend free. Call 474-7555 for more information.

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