Visitors' guide
2024 tours and attractions
Where do you go from here? Take a hike, or a tour or a class. With 2,250 acres to explore on our Fairbanks campus, there’s always something going on. So find an activity that suits you. The highlights below are a good place to start, and you’ll find lots of other events on our calendar.
Tours subject to change. Call ahead to confirm dates and times. All tours free except where otherwise indicated.
Campus shuttle for self-guided tours
Stops every 20 minutes at tour sites and the north Wood Center station. See shuttle symbols below for tour stops.
FREE TO RIDE
- Hours: May 20-Aug. 30, Weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Stops:
- Georgeson Botanical Garden
- Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station
- UA Museum of the North
Georgeson Botanical Garden
Explore over 10 acres of plant displays and demonstration gardens. Don’t miss the popular children’s garden, boasting one of the largest hedge mazes in the country. Donation requested.
- Hours: Memorial Day through Labor Day, daily, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Self-guided tour: daily
- Web: Georgeson Botanical Garden website
UAF Planet Walk
Journey through scaled representations of each celestial body, from Mercury to Neptune, and uncover intriguing facts about our cosmic neighbors along the way. One mile long: start at the west end of Yukon Drive. Download our 10-question scavenger hunt before you get started.
- Web: Planet Walk info
Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station
Get up close and personal with reindeer and muskoxen, survivors from the ice age.
Gift shop on site with items by Alaska artists. Admission fee.
- Hours: May 21-Sept. 1, daily, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- Tours: 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., daily
- Phone: 907-474-5724
- Web: Large Animal Research Station website
UA Museum of the North
Discover millions of years of biodiversity and thousands of years of cultural traditions at one of Alaska’s premier visitor attractions. Admission fee.
- Hours:
- May-15-Sept. 15, daily, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
- Sept. 16-May 14, daily, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
- Phone: 907-474-7505
- Web: UA Museum of the North website
Geophysical Institute
Learn about our giant satellite dishes and how world-class researchers study everything from the center of the Earth to the center of the sun.
- Guided tours: Memorial Day through Labor Day, Wednesdays, 1 p.m. Elvey Building
- Self-guided indoor or outdoor tours: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Web: GI Visitor information and tours
Science For Alaska Summer Series
Learn about Alaska aurora, climate, earthquake, volcanoes, beavers and more! UAF Geophysical Institute experts partner with Explore Fairbanks to share science stories and answer your questions about natural phenomena in Alaska.
- Dates: June 5, June 12, June 19, June 26, July 10, July 17, July 24, July 31, Aug. 7, Aug. 14 Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor Center
- Web: Science for Alaska outreach events
International Arctic Research Center
Explore our lobby for a glimpse of climate change research, see our giant display of warming Arctic temperatures on the 4th floor, or take an outdoor self-guided wildfire and climate change walk.
- Hours: Weekdays 9 a.m.-4 p.m. except major holidays.
- Web: International Arctic Research website
- Email: UAF-IARC@alaska.edu
- Phone: 907-474-1544
Poker Flat Research Range
Tour the largest land-based rocket range in the world and the only high-latitude
range in the U.S. Two-hour walking tours start at 2 p.m. Free; no reservations required
- Tours:
- May 15 & 30
- June 13 & 27
- July 11 & 25
- Aug. 1, 15, 17
- Web: Poker Flat Research Range website
UAF photo by Todd Paris
Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning events
Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning offers courses and hosts many events throughout the summer, including special guest lectures and concerts. For more information call 907-474-7021 or visit the Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning website.
Free summer parking for visitors
Free summer parking on the Troth Yeddha' campus in Fairbanks is available in the Nenana Lot (4D) for all non-affiliated community members. Please contact the Office of the Bursar for more information.
About the Fairbanks campus and area
The 2,250-acre Fairbanks campus, located near the center of Alaska, offers limitless opportunities for activity and recreation. Fairbanks, Alaska’s second largest city, sits on the banks of the Chena River in the heart of Alaska. Learn more about the Fairbanks area.