Page 74 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

72  ALASK A AREA B Y AREA

1 Anchorage Museum

Covering 170,000 square feet, including 2 acres (1 ha) of
landscaped public space, Alaska’s largest museum reopened
in 2009 following a $106-million expansion. The museum
houses exhibits on Alaskan history, science, and Native
culture, along with some of the state’s finest art. The
Imaginarium Discovery Center is a highlight, as are the
planetarium and artifacts from Alaskan Native cultures.
Additionally, the museum hosts approximately 20 visiting The slick, modern facade of the
exhibits annually from around the world. Anchorage Museum

The Smithsonian Arctic
Studies Center houses a
remarkable collection of
Native artifacts on loan from
the Smithsonian.

Fourth floor

Third floor
. Mount McKinley by Sydney Laurence
Considered one of Alaska’s most popular painters, Sydney
Laurence (1865–1940) is perhaps best known for his
series of paintings of Denali (formerly known as Mount
McKinley), including this iconic depiction of the moun­
tain in enigmatic Alaskan light. Several of Laurence’s
atmospheric landscapes are on display at the museum.

Gallery Guide
The Imaginarium Discovery Center covers much
of the first floor, which also houses the Alaska
Resource Center (open for public research) and
the Art of the North gallery, which features a
broad scope of Alaskan and Circumpolar North
art through the ages. The second-level galleries Main
exhibit native and contemporary art, and explore entrance
10,000 years of Alaskan history. Changing exhibits
are displayed on level three, which also gives
access to the fourth floor gallery and expansive
views of the Chugach Mountains. First floor
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p242 and pp250–51

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