Museum, library partner for Fairbanks families

Submitted by Kerynn Fisher
Phone: 907-474-6941
06/23/09

The University of Alaska Museum of the North and Fairbanks North Star Borough public libraries are partnering to make the museum’s exhibits more accessible to Fairbanks families.

Beginning July 1, borough residents with current library cards can check out a museum pass from the Noel Wien and North Pole branch libraries as well from the library bookmobile. The pass admits two adults and up to four children to the museum free of charge. Passes can be checked out for two weeks and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. They cannot be reserved, renewed or requested through inter-library loan and must be turned in to the museum to gain admission or returned to the library if they are not used.

"We heard about similar museum-library partnerships in the lower 48 and thought the program would work well here in Fairbanks," says museum education director Laura Conner.

The museum pass includes admission to the special exhibits gallery, but not the museum’s auditorium shows or audio guide, which are available for an additional charge. Family activity sheets for the museum’s Gallery of Alaska and Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery are available at the museum admission desk at no charge.

In summer, the museum is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily through Sept. 15. In winter, the museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays. More information about the museum’s exhibits and upcoming programs is available online at www.uaf.edu/museum.