Anchorage Museum

To be a museum for people, place, planet, and potential, in service of a sustainable and equitable North, with creativity and imagination for what is possible. Its vision is to be a place of ideas and transformation, where narratives and perspectives meet to build resilient and relevant communities.

The Museum’s board and staff share a commitment to building a better future for Northern people, communities, and the planet. The Museum places communities at the heart of its practice, fostering reciprocal, trusting, and long-term relationships. It works collaboratively to care for and share the stories, cultures, and voices that define this place. Through these efforts, the Museum serves the people of Anchorage and Alaska while connecting the North to global conversations.

Established by the Municipality of Anchorage, the Museum opened its doors in 1968 with an inaugural exhibition of borrowed paintings and objects from the local historical society. In 1992, it became home to the first regional office of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History Arctic Studies Center, a partnership that has since expanded to include the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Today, the Anchorage Museum is recognized as a leading center for scholarship, engagement, and exploration of Alaska and the circumpolar North. Its hosts, learning spaces, the Arctic Studies Center, art galleries, the Alaska exhibition, the Discovery Center with interactive science experiences, and the Thomas Planetarium, along with expansive galleries for rotating national and international exhibitions. The Museum also operates Seed Lab, a satellite location. Together, these spaces welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and extend access globally through digital programs, artist residencies, and partnerships. Each year, the Museum presents hundreds of public programs and produces annual events such as Design Week. 

The Anchorage Museum’s collections include tens of thousands of objects ranging from early historical materials to contemporary artworks, reflecting the depth and diversity of life in the North. Its expansive library and archives contain more than a million historic photographs along with extensive holdings of books, maps, and other research materials that support both academic research and experimental inquiry into the cultures, histories, and landscapes of the region.

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