Information provided below is subject to change. To confirm details and dates, call the Marketing and Public Relations Department at (907) 929-9231.

Tickets on sale for Anchorage Museum’s fall fundraiser

Lights Out

8 p.m. to midnight Friday, Nov. 8

Winter is coming. But when the sun goes down, there’s no reason you have to go down with it. Revel in winter like a true Northerner at Lights Out, the museum’s late-night creative blowout. The evening includes glow-in-the-dark art projects for grown ups, films, illuminated performance art, dancing, museum tours led by local artists, live music, planetarium shows and more. Don’t get left in the dark: Buy tickets today. Tickets are $30. This event is for ages 21 and older. Learn more and purchase tickets at anchoragemuseum.org.

Love science? Become a volunteer!

Conduct fizzy science experiments, give eye-opening animal demonstrations and more as a volunteer in the Imaginarium Discovery Center. The Anchorage Museum needs science guides to help educate visitors about science, as well as assist with day-to-day operations. Teens and adults who have experience in, or enthusiasm for, science and education are welcome, but experience is not necessary. Training begins Sept. 8 for adults and Sept. 21 for teens, so get your application in now! Download a volunteer application and learn more at anchoragemuseum.org. Questions? Call 929-9277.

Winter hours in effect starting Oct. 1

On Oct. 1 the Anchorage Museum returns to its winter schedule, which is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday. Winter hours are in effect through April 30. Oct. 1 also marks the start of the fall planetarium schedule, including the new show Life: A Cosmic Story about the beginnings of life on Earth.

SEPTEMBER EVENTS

Imaginarium Science Demonstration

4 p.m. daily

Watch fizzy, foamy science experiments, pet reptiles, stargaze in the planetarium and more during live science demonstrations. Different demonstrations offered each day. Included with admission

Literary Event

Surviving the Story

7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4

What do you do when a story takes on a life of its own? Join author and University of California-Irvine English professor Ron Carlson (“Return to Oakpine,” “The Signal”) and Alaska author Don Rearden (“The Raven’s Gift”) for a stimulating onstage conversation about the fiction writing discovery process. A Q&A and book signing follow. This event is a collaboration with 49 Writers. Free

Smithsonian Spotlight

Native Oral Traditions

7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5

Ethnographer and historian Craig Mishler talks about his new book, “The Blind Man and the Loon: The Story of a Tale,” a Native folktale told from Greenland to Alaska and into the Great Basin and Great Plains. A book signing follows. Free

Art on the Green

1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6

Find your inner gnome! Create a beard, don a pointy red hat, pose on a toadstool, and make garden statuary come to life in this whimsical foray into portraiture and performance art. Free

First Friday

6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 6

Enjoy the opening of Annette Bellamy’s solo art exhibition, “Floating,” live jazz by Melissa Bledsoe Fischer in Muse and free admission to the museum’s galleries. Free

Teen Studio

Annette Bellamy

6:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6

Calling all teens! Have you ever wanted to meet an artist? Tour Annette Bellamy’s “Floating” exhibition and ask the artist about her work. Bellamy’s new solo exhibition features site-specific sculpture and large-scale clay installations suspended from the ceiling. They suggest nautical forms, but speak to the fine balance of life — the things that make us float and sink and how we navigate the journey. Free

Artist on the Floor

Annette Bellamy

7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6

Annette Bellamy answers your questions at the debut of her solo exhibition, “Floating,” which features site-specific sculpture and large-scale clay installations suspended from the ceiling. They suggest nautical forms but speak to the fine balance of life — the things that make us float and sink and how we navigate the journey. Free

Sunday Fun Day

All About History

2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8

Hone your investigative skills and draw conclusions about the past by studying historical photographs. Learn what life was like for children during different times in Alaska’s history. Enjoy a dramatic Alaska History Gallery tour with performances of “Once Upon a Time in Alaska” at 2:15 and 3:15 p.m. Included with admission

Literary Event

Nicolas O’Connell: The Storms of Denali

7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12

Denali is the highest and coldest summit in North America, and one of the most coveted mountaineering prizes on the planet. Renowned climber and writer Nicolas O’Connell discusses the firsthand experience that brings his novel “The Storms of Denali” to life. A book signing follows. Free

Now It’s For Winter: An Exploration of Dena’ina History and Culture

9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14

A one-day symposium on Dena’ina history and culture. This event is held in conjunction with “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living,” the first major exhibition ever presented about the Dena’ina Athabascan people. Lunch included. Register online by Sept 10. $25

Opening Celebration

Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way Of Living

1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15

Enjoy Dena’ina dance performances, hands-on family activities, a traditional welcome and more to celebrate the opening of the first comprehensive Dena’ina culture and history exhibition. “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living” features film, life-size re-creations, archival images and more than 160 artifacts on loan from museums across Europe and North America. Included with admission

Brown Bag Film Series

Ye’uh Qa Ts’dalts’iyi: Living Dena’ina

Noon Wednesday, Sept. 18

A prophecy passed on by Dena’ina Elders spoke of a time when the traditional knowledge of living from the land was going to be needed for survival. This is the story of how Grandma Helen and her family live off the land through Alaska’s diverse seasons and prepare for the day when the prophecy comes to pass. This brown bag lunch film series is held monthly in conjunction with Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi, the first major exhibition presented about the Dena’ina Athabascan people. (16 minutes) Included with admission

Toddler Time

Bubbles

10:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21

Treat your toddler to dancing, singing, creating and learning through guided activities. This month, investigate the world of bubbles. Learn what is needed to make a bubble, then try making a big bubble and touchable bubbles. Included with admission

Smithsonian Curator’s Tour

Noon Friday, Sept. 20

Join Smithsonian anthropologist Aron Crowell for a curator’s tour of the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center. Gain a better understanding of Alaska’s nine indigenous cultures through 600 Alaska Native artifacts. Learn about traditional lifeways in Alaska’s diverse regions through clothing, tools, ceremonial objects and more. Included with admission

Performance Art

Light Brigade

9:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21

The museum’s glass façade transforms into a stage under the influence of the Light Brigade, a group of artists exploring how light and its absence affect Northerners. This site-specific, multi-media art performance includes aerialists suspended from the museum’s roof, as well as music, lights and film projections. This event is held outdoors. A part of the museum’s Northern Initiative. Free

Lecture

Earth, Fire And Fibre XXIX

7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24

“Earth, Fire and Fibre XXIX” juror Andrew Glasgow of Asheville, N.C., speaks about his selections for this year’s craft exhibition. Glasgow’s resume includes the American Craft Council, Southern Highland Craft Guild and Birmingham (Ala.) Museum of Art. “Earth, Fire and Fibre XXIX” is on view Oct. 6 through Jan. 5, 2014. Free

Bus Tour

Dena’ina Destination

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28

Join “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living” curator Aaron Leggett on a tour of important Dena’ina sites in the Anchorage Bowl. Stops include the Eklutna Cemetery and Eklutna Lake, where he discusses these sites’ significance to his people, the Eklutna Dena’ina. Boxed lunch included. Register online. $35

Literary Event

Jonathan Waterman: Northern Exposures

7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29

Ducking avalanches near the Gulf of Alaska. Following aerial wolf poachers in the Interior. Kayaking across the Arctic. Journalist/photographer Jonathan Waterman shares wild adventure stories from his latest book, “Northern Exposures.” A book signing follows. Free

PLEASE NOTE: Fees still apply for premium exhibitions and planetarium shows during free events.

OCTOBER EVENTS

Imaginarium Science Demonstration

4 p.m. daily

Watch fizzy, foamy science experiments, pet reptiles, stargaze in the planetarium and more during live science demonstrations. Different demonstrations offered each day. Included with admission

Smithsonian Spotlight

Dena’ina Songs

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3

Join ethnomusicologist, composer and music instructor Craig Coray for a discussion about Dena’ina music, including the first recording of Dena’ina songs made in 1954 by his father. Free

First Friday

6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 4

Enjoy crafts for grown ups, the opening of the watercolor society’s annual juried exhibition, live music by Blaze and Eric in Muse and free admission to the museum’s galleries. Free

Elevator Music

Super Saturated Sugar Strings

6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4

We’re redefining elevator music: What was once bland, recorded background noise is now an upbeat, live concert experience. Board the museum’s oversize elevator and enjoy the local sounds of the Super Saturated Sugar Strings. Classical whimsies meet raucous folk and glockenspiel for a sweet, foot-stomping symphony. Free

Open Craft

Masks and Stamps

6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4

Unleash your creativity! Craft autumnal and Halloween décor inspired by the season. Carve your own potato stamp with a seasonal theme, be it skull or leaf. Create a scary, pretty or silly mask for holiday parties or decoration. Free

Literary Event

Lowell Thomas Jr.: Flight to Adventure

5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6

In 1939, Lowell Thomas Jr.’s first great adventure was as a cameraman aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer. He was just 15. Since then, he has lived a life Ernest Hemingway would envy, including climbing mountains with Bradford Washburn and meeting the 14-year-old Dalai Lama in Tibet. Celebrate the former lieutenant governor’s 90th birthday with this first look at his new biography, co-authored by Lew Freedman. A book signing and reception follow. Free

Wells Fargo Free Day

Hispanic Heritage Month

2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13

Celebrate Anchorage’s Hispanic cultures with live music by Mariachi Agave Azul and a dance performance by Xochiquetzal-Tiqun. Create a colorful friendship bracelet in the style of Central American handicrafts, practice Spanish by identifying Hispanic-influenced cowboy gear, and compete in Latin American geography trivia. Museum general admission is free all day thanks to Wells Fargo. Free

Brown Bag Film Series

We’re Still Here

Noon Wednesday, Oct. 16

This documentary follows Kenaitze Tribe members to the U.S. Supreme Court as they struggle to revive a traditional fishing site along the Kenai River. An inspirational story of renewed pride and identity. This brown bag lunch film series is held monthly in conjunction with “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living,” the first major exhibition presented about the Dena’ina Athabascan people. Included with admission (16 minutes)

Toddler Time

Dia De Los Muertos

10:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19

Treat your toddler to dancing, signing, creating and learning through guided activities. October’s event centers around the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos. Learn about this cultural day while coloring vibrant paper skulls, dancing to music and more. Included with admission

Art Event

Bead Arts Gala

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20

Meet more than 50 bead artists from across Alaska and shop their exquisite artwork at the state’s premier bead show. Activities include bead-making demonstrations and a make-it, take-it table. This year’s Alaska Bead Society event features Loey Stayden of Alaska Rocks. Free

PLEASE NOTE: Fees still apply for premium exhibitions and planetarium shows during free events.

THOMAS PLANETARIUM

The following schedule is valid through Sept. 30 unless otherwise noted. Prices vary from $4 to $10 and do not include museum general admission. Find an October schedule and buy tickets at www.anchoragemuseum.org.

Dinosaur Passage To Pangaea

12:15 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

This animated adventure explains one of the greatest geological events in Earth’s history: The separation of the supercontinent Pangaea. When two children embark on a geology field trip back in time, they are thrown into a fantastic voyage where they witness incredible geological wonders and learn about the mysterious process that created present-day continents.

Experience the Aurora

1 p.m. daily

Marvel as the Northern Lights shimmer and glisten overhead through time-lapse footage captured in the Arctic Circle. This immersive show is the next best thing to being under Alaska’s winter night sky. Unearth the science behind auroras, and learn about mankind’s quest to find and understand this incredible phenomenon.

Astronomy Alive

6:30 p.m. First Friday

2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Join a science educator on a narrated tour through the night sky. Shows vary based on night sky occurrences.

Led Zeppelin Cosmic Light Show

7:30 p.m. First Friday

4:30 p.m. Saturday

Be transported by mood-altering art and 3-D graphics choreographed to some of Led Zeppelin’s biggest hits, including “Whole Lotta Love,” “Immigrant Song” and “Ramble On.” This immersive rock ‘n’ roll experience plays out on the museum’s full-dome planetarium screen and features a state-of-the-art sound system. Audience advisory: Adult subject matter.

Pink Floyd

Dark Side of the Moon

4:30 p.m. Sunday

Pink Floyd’s rock ‘n’ roll masterpiece comes to life in this full-dome music and light show that interprets this classic album through mesmerizing HD graphics. This is not a laser light show, but the next generation of computer generated imagery. Audience advisory: Adult subject matter.

Into the Deep

3:30 p.m. daily

Dive alongside deep-sea research pioneers to learn about marine biology, underwater geology and the history of deep-sea exploration. Traveling in famous historic submersibles, come face-to-face with fascinating underwater creatures such as vampire squid and pelican eels. Discover how diving vessels make these underwater encounters possible for humans.

Wonders of the Universe

4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Peer deep into space through the eyes of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and travel back billions of years to witness the birth of the universe. On this immersive excursion through the sky, witness the formation of galaxies and explore some of the most wondrous nebulae and astronomical structures yet discovered.

Alaska Spirit of the Wild

12:15 p.m. Monday through Friday

This planetarium show is an Academy Award-nominated adventure into untamed Alaska. Charlton Heston narrates as glaciers calve, caribou stampede and a wolf pack hunts.

Supervolcanoes

1:45 p.m. daily

Travel back in time and experience the massive volcanic eruptions that shaped the Earth and solar system. Journey to Yellowstone National Park, Neptune’s moon, Triton, and Jupiter’s moon, Io, to witness historic eruptions. Could a supervolcano erupt in our era? Scientists weigh in.

CLASSES

The Anchorage Museum offers a variety of art classes. Find complete class listings and registration information at www.anchoragemuseum.org/learn.

Graphic Novel

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays, Sept. 23-Oct. 28

Calling fans of “Maus,” “Watchmen” and “Persepolis”: Find out what it takes to design a compelling graphic novel. Learn about character design, visual storytelling, camera angle and more. Experiment with traditional inking materials and techniques, as well as the latest digital processes. Taught by artist Shanley McCauley. $190

Digital Photo Boot Camp

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays, Sept. 23-Oct. 28

Take your digital photography skills to the next level and discover how to operate every function, button and setting on your digital camera. Students consider aperture, shutter, ISO, light and composition to capture dynamic pictures. Taught by artist Carl Battreall. $190

Screen Printing

1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 26-Nov. 16

Learn at-home and professional screen-printing methods. Students use stencil, screen filler and liquid emulsion to create original screen-printed designs and artwork. Taught by artist Craig Updegrove. $230

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

All exhibitions are included with museum admission unless otherwise noted. Dates are subject to change: Please call (907) 929-9231 to confirm dates.

Floating: Annette Bellamy Solo Exhibition

On view Sept. 6, 2013 through Nov. 10, 2013

Annette Bellamy’s latest artwork suggests nautical forms, but speaks to the fine balance of life — the things that make us float and sink and how we navigate the journey. In her solo exhibition, Floating, the Halibut Cove artist debuts work inspired by her 38 years as a commercial salmon and halibut fisher, including large-scale clay installations suspended from the ceiling. In 2006, Bellamy won the Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award. This is her first solo exhibition at the Anchorage Museum. The highly competitive Patricia B. Wolf Solo Exhibition Series is one of many ways the Anchorage Museum supports Alaska artists and encourages the creation of new art.

Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living

On view Sept.15, 2013 through Jan. 12, 2014

About half of Alaska’s residents live in traditional Dena’ina territory but most have little general knowledge about the indigenous people who have called Southcentral Alaska home for more than 1,000 years. The Anchorage Museum has set out to change that with the first major exhibition ever presented about the Dena’ina Athabascan people: “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living.” Meet the Dena’ina through film, life-size re-creations, archival images and more than 160 artifacts on loan from museums across Europe and North America. Rare objects include a caribou antler war club, waterproof bear gut parka, and dall sheep horn bowl collected by Captain Cook’s 1778 expedition.

Footnotes: Shoes with Stories to Tell

On view Oct. 4, 2013 through Feb. 16, 2014

From XtraTufs to ice skates to sealskin boots, this exhibition showcases life in Alaska from the ground up. Each pair of footwear chosen from the museum’s collection serves as a launching point for a story unique to Alaska’s history. Discover how one Mrs. Alaska paid homage to her state with custom-made high-heeled Xtratufs and how the military — originally ill-equipped for conditions in Alaska — adopted shoe technology from Alaska Native designs. Highlights include the sneaker Binky the polar bear snatched from an Alaska Zoo visitor in 1994.

Annual Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition

On view Oct. 4, 2014 through Feb. 16, 2014

This exhibition showcases the best work by Alaska’s watercolor painters. This exhibition delivers a wide variety of styles and subjects, from representational to abstract and from traditional still lifes to contemporary portraits. Exhibition juror Donna Zagotta has won several awards from the National Watercolor Society and American Watercolor Society. She has been a professional watercolorist for more than 20 years.

Earth, Fire and Fibre XXIX

On view Oct. 6, 2013 through Jan. 5, 2014

The Anchorage Museum’s biennial juried craft exhibition is one of the state’s longest running juried exhibitions. This popular statewide exhibition showcases Alaska artists working with clay, glass, metal, wood, fibre, skin, bone or stone. Selected artworks often challenge the usual preconceptions, blurring the lines between art and craft. This year’s juror is Andrew Glasgow of Asheville, N.C., whose resume includes the American Craft Council, Southern Highland Craft Guild and Birmingham (Ala.) Museum of Art.

Qanga: Drawing the Past

On view Nov. 17, 2013 through Jan. 12, 2014

The pre-history of the Inuit people comes to life in this graphic novel-style exhibition. Music, comic art, storytelling and archaeology combine to explain the first human migrations from Canada to Greenland. Learn about the Inuit people’s technology and culture, as well as their social incentives for migration. A collaboration between artist Nuka K. Godtfredsen, composers Kristian Bjerre Harting and Lill Rastad Bjørst, and archaeologists from the National Museum of Denmark.

Wonderland of Toys

On view Dec. 3, 2013 through Jan. 12, 2014

In this beloved holiday tradition, the museum’s atrium is transformed into a dazzling tableau of toys, some which date back as far as the 1800s. Against a backdrop of twinkling lights and holiday decor, find carousel horses, World War I toy soldiers and an evergreen tree decorated with more than 100 dolls dressed in costumes from around the world.

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

All exhibitions are included with museum admission unless otherwise noted.

Portrait Alaska: Clark James Mishler

On view through Sept. 28

Alaskans are eclectic and proud of it. Anyone who doubts this will be swayed by “Portrait Alaska: Clark James Mishler,” which features more than 200 portraits of Alaskans taken during the past 20 years. Much like “The Family of Man” — a groundbreaking Museum of Modern Art photography exhibition in 1955 — this project demonstrates the independence and character of Alaskans, while also emphasizing the ties that connect residents across the largest state. Mishler’s work is represented in the Anchorage Museum collection and has appeared in hundreds of books and periodicals including National Geographic and Time.

Re/Marks

On view through April 13, 2014

Alaska Native artists present traditional stories and aesthetics in innovative, contemporary ways in this new exhibition curated from the Anchorage Museum collection. The 31 artworks in “Re/Marks” span the 1970s until the present, following the development of contemporary Alaska Native art from early prints and paintings to recent photography and sculpture. Featured artists include John Hoover, Ron Senungetuk, Susie Silook, Sonya Kelliher-Combs and Perry Eaton. These artists reinterpret images, reinvent methods and remark upon the intersections of history and identity, both personal and cultural. Their work transcends ethnographic and anthropological interpretations, and challenges preconceived notions of indigenous art, demonstrating that Native art is vital and varied.

PARTNER PROGRAMS

Cook Inlet Historical Society

Recent Developments in Dena’ina Recognition in Southcentral Alaska

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19

Speakers: James A. Fall, Division of Subsistence, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and
Aaron Leggett, Anchorage Museum

An overview of recent efforts to increase the visibility of the Dena’ina people in Southcentral Alaska, including the “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living” exhibition at the Anchorage Museum. This event is part of the Cook Inlet Historical Society’s monthly lecture series. For more information contact Jim Barnett at jbarnett@alaska.com.

The Importance of Salmon for the Dena’ina

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17

Speaker: Alan Boraas, Kenai Peninsula College

Dena’ina historian Alan Boraas discusses the important role that salmon fisheries play in Dena’ina life, currently and historically. This event is part of the Cook Inlet Historical Society’s monthly lecture series. For more information contact Jim Barnett at jbarnett@alaska.com.

VISITOR INFORMATION AND MUSEUM HOURS

The Anchorage Museum’s mission is to share and connect Alaska with the world through art, history and science.

WINTER HOURS

Oct. 1 through April 30

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday

Closed Monday

SUMMER HOURS

May 1 through Sept. 30

9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

GENERAL ADMISSION

Free for museum members, $15 adults (18-64), $12 Alaska resident adults (18-64), $10 military/senior citizens/students, $7 ages 3 to 12, free ages 2 and younger. Visitors can find general museum information at (907) 929-9200 or www.anchoragemuseum.org.

Visitors with disabilities who need special assistance, please call (907) 929-9254.

Parking is available for $1 per hour in the underground garage on evenings and weekends.