Exhibit and Education Films

Museum Movies

The museum has produced several feature films over the last decade. Some of these are available for purchase in the Museum Store:

Dynamic Aurora takes visitors on a journey from the sun to the stories of those who see the northern lights year after year. The show explains how the aurora borealis is created and showcases some of the best time-lapse photography of the lights seen anywhere.

You are Here takes you on a trip through museum collections and exhibits, a journey that spans millions of years through every season. The UA Museum of the North is Alaska in microcosm. Explore Alaska through the eyes of a museum of natural and cultural history.

Online Videos

Museum videos created for exhibits and educational programming are often made available online. Look for the UA Museum of the North on our YouTube channel and on iTunes. Some of our favorites include:

Frozen Wood Frogs:  Wood frogs are the only amphibian that live in Interior Alaska. That means they must adapt to the severe conditions of winter here. When the frost line goes down, they freeze. Their blood becomes ice, their heart stops, their eyes become solid. They stay that way for six months. In the spring, as the soil begins to melt around them, they thaw and hop away. Watch it here.

Bird Specimen Preparation:  A series of six videos featuring University of Alaska Museum of the North Ornithology Curator Kevin Winker preparing a Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) specimen. Watch the videos here.

Thalattosaur: racing the tide:  A walk along the beach in the Spring of 2011 led to the discovery of what might be a new species of ancient marine reptile. That May, the earth sciences team from the University of Alaska Museum of the North excavated the thalattosaur and brought it back to the museum to study. This is the story of that adventure and the quest to learn more about the fossil. Watch the video here.