Large Animal Research Station hosts open house
May 11, 2010
Marie Gilbert
907-474-7412
5/11/10
Muskoxen will be meandering, caribou cantering, reindeer roaming and the young calves cavorting at the Institute of Arctic Biology’s Large Animal Research Station 2010 open house Saturday, May 22, from noon to 4 p.m.
The annual open house is an opportunity for the public to tour LARS for free before the official season begins May 24.
Naturalist guides will give presentations about the animals and tractor-pulled, narrated hayride tours will offer visitors an insider’s look at the station. Scientists will be available to answer questions about the animals and a special interactive display called “Attacked from Within: Leaf Miners and Alaska Trees” will have information about leaf mining insects and how plants defend themselves.
The LARS gift shop will have a sale on hats, hoodies and T-shirts for adults and kids. Experience the amazing warmth of qiviut, the muskox’s downy soft underwool. LARS has raw and roving qiviut, ready for the spindle or spinning wheel, as well as yarn and knitted accessories.
The station, established in 1979, maintains colonies of muskoxen, caribou and reindeer for research on ecology, physiology, nutrition, reproduction, growth and behavior. LARS currently has 40 muskoxen, 49 caribou and 49 reindeer, including 8 reindeer calves. Reindeer had their calves in March and April, muskoxen are having calves right now and caribou usually calve from mid-May to early June.
LARS is located at 2220 Yankovich Road between Ballaine and Miller Hill roads. Parking is limited and visitors are encouraged to use the University of Alaska Fairbanks shuttle bus, which will run from UAF’s Taku parking lot to LARS.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Lindsey Blaine, IAB-LARS tour coordinator, 907-474-5724 or via e-mail at lmblaine@alaska.edu.
ON THE WEB: lars.iab.uaf.edu/
MEG/05-11-10/223-10