Museum exhibit celebrates 200th anniversary of NOAA predecessor

Submitted by Kerynn Fisher
Phone: (907) 474-6941
06/20/07

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A new exhibit at the University of Alaska Museum of the North celebrates the 200th anniversary exhibit of Survey of the Coast, a predecessor to today’s National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. The museum is one of two Alaska venues and one of 200 venues nationwide to present the "From Sea to Shining Sea: 200 Years of Charting America’s Coasts." Organized by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Service, the exhibit is installed in the Museum Caf̩ and will run through the end of the year.

In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson created the Survey of the Coast to provide nautical charts for safe passage into American ports and along our extensive coastline. The nation’s first federally funded science agency, the Survey of the Coast laid the groundwork for a legacy of products to enhance the safe and efficient navigation of our nation’s waterways. Over the past 200 years, the Survey of the Coast and its descendants have mapped nearly 95,000 miles of coastline, produced more than 20,000 nautical charts and maps, set out more than 700,000 permanent survey markers and installed more than 6,000 tide stations, for example. Today, the Office of the Coast Survey is housed under the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

"From Sea to Shining Sea" features 20 colorful posters that highlight the history, accomplishments and scientific contributions of the Coast Survey. The posters in the exhibit are illustrated with photos, charts and archives from the survey’s archives. Several of the posters make reference to the survey’s presence in Alaska.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Service has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and resources with millions of people around the nation for more than 50 years. More information on the Coast Survey’s 200th anniversary is available online at celebrating200years.noaa.gov/.

Museum admission is not charged for visitors to the Museum Caf̩. Museum general admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for youth 7-17 and free for children 6 and under. Museum members and UAF students (with valid ID) also receive free admission. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily in summer. Information on the museum’s programs and exhibits is available at (907) 474-7505 and online at www.uaf.edu/museum.

CONTACT: Kerynn Fisher, communications coordinator, University of Alaska Museum of the North, at (907) 474-6941, (907) 378-2559 or k.fisher@uaf.edu.

Note to editors: Images are available on request.