.png)
State museum celebrates 10 years in Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building
- Laurie Craig
- 15 hours ago
- 6 min read
‘APK’ named for Russian Orthodox priest who was first curator of original museum established in 1900; gathering Saturday highlights range of current-day activities
By Laurie Craig
Juneau Independent
It appeared as though Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff watched over festivities in the expansive atrium of his namesake building on Saturday as Juneau families celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museums on Willoughby Avenue.
Although the Russian Orthodox priest died in 1940, a life-size cardboard cutout of Father Andrew was the centerpiece at a selfie station at the Family Fun Fair. Two of the museum’s key leaders — Amy Phillips-Chan and Addison Field — shared the limelight by standing beside the famous man who initiated the territory of Alaska’s historical collection that formed the foundation of the state museum.
Phillips-Chan is the museum’s director, while Field is the chief curator. Amid the bustling sounds of families learning about Alaska’s wildlife and culture, Phillips-Chan took a few moments to tell the Juneau Independent about the building.
“With this beautiful building we want to make sure that folks feel like it is their state libraries, archives and museums,” Phillips-Chan said, “through educational programming, opportunities for visitors to come in and see the collections, do hands-on research, or working with archival materials or historical photos or publications.”
As families filled the atrium, she said she doesn’t want the building to be seen as a storehouse. “It’s an active center of educational learning. It’s here for the community.”
“So our role is to connect community members, visitors, artists, researchers and traditional knowledge experts with the resources that are here for them,” the museum director added.
Field was on site during the four-year construction from 2012 to 2016. He wore a commemorative T-shirt with those years printed on the back. Other staff wore new gray T-shirts with a colorful 10th anniversary graphic design logo emblazoned on the back.
Greeted by Kaye Roldan, the 2026 Family Fun Fair coordinator, children were encouraged to use a map to locate the different activity tables, engage with the project leaders and get a stamp on their "passports" to earn stickers as awards for completing the full round of events.
Jemaica Bernaldo and her cousin Jay Batac leaned in as their children listened to Kimberly Naylor, who with Roldan, led the Children’s Exploration Center, a future exhibit area of the museum. The center is under construction with plans to open in the former museum gift shop in autumn.
Clint Farr, APK (Father Andrew’s initials) operations manager, stepped out of his normal role ensuring the building’s sophisticated mechanical systems function smoothly, to twist balloons into creatures as the children watched, entranced. Farr was one of many staff members Phillips-Chan praised for their compassion, dedication and commitment.
Museum conservator Ellen Carrlee worked in a very familiar role Saturday, helping youngsters and adults thread tiny fish bones and detipped porcupine quills onto yarn strands to make bracelets with history woven in.
“The children are actually better at this than the grown-ups,” Carrlee said of the delicate beading process. She is excited about the arrival in August of two Yupik beaders from northern Alaska who will show others their traditional skills.
Other organization representatives encouraged participants to identify animal skulls, learn about the stars inside an inflated bubble-style version of the Marie Drake Planetarium, and engage in hands-on games and lessons. Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s wildlife technician Barb Lake, partnering with NOAA’s Auke Bay Lab, invited guests to stroke the dense fur of a sea otter pelt and examine the tight plates of baleen from a whale.
Several additional community partners made the Saturday fair interesting and educational. Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Girl Scouts of America, Juneau Woolies, Home Depot, the Talking Book Center, Alaska Department of Health, Juneau School District, Southeast Childhood Collective, NOAA Auke Bay Labs, as well as museum, archives and libraries staff hosted tables.
Cindy Smith, president of the Friends of the Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museums (Sitka’s Sheldon Jackson Museum is included) handled the most popular table when a large cake arrived to add a tasty contribution to the 10th anniversary celebration. Little squares of frosted cake disappeared quickly. (Photo cake and five women)
Smith’s organization has 300 members statewide. She emphasizes the Friends group serves all of Alaska, as does the museum. The group has funded publications and internships, broadcasted lectures, sponsored Sketching at the Museum, hosted First Friday events and supported traveling exhibits.
The Friends helped bring a special item to the current summer exhibit in the main museum gallery, which is a display of 40 exquisite Native fashions in a retrospective by Dorothy Grant. The Friends (known as FoSLAM) funded transport and exhibition of Grant’s “Raven Takes the World” Haida Wedding Dress on loan from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
The wedding dress was created from hand-tanned white deerskin, mother-of-pearl, glass beads, dentalium shells, paint and silk-screened artwork. It is dedicated to Grant’s mother Eleanor Morrison Grant Eikemo, with a special explanation included on a sign beside the dress. The exhibit will be in place until Oct. 17, although the 10th anniversary commemoration continues through all of 2026.
Also observing the festivities were several no-longer-alive bald eagles perched on branches of a two-story-tall, museum-safe nest tree (insect-free). It is an upgraded version of the popular exhibit established in the 1967 Alaska centennial state museum building. The new museum was constructed on the footprint of the former museum.
New buildings have adjustments as they age. Asked how the 10-year-old roof held up during the past winter’s record 17-foot snowfall, Phillips-Chan said it was highly rated for structural integrity and didn't require shoveling. But the front entry plaza and wide steps needed “massive shoveling.”
“You could hardly see Nimbus because there was snow all around him,” she said of the teal-colored modern sculpture by Robert Murray. Nimbus was very controversial when it was first installed in the 1970s near the Dimond Courthouse on 4th Street. After much public opposition, it was removed to an obscure location for a few years until it reappeared on the APK plaza.
“It’s a shared commitment between Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) along with state Department of Transportation (DOT) facilities management to make sure this building stays in really good condition,” said director Phillips-Chan before hustling away to welcome new families to the Fun Fair.
Summer hours, excluding holidays, for the Alaska State Museum are Tuesday-Sunday from 9 a.m-4:30 p.m. and Monday 1-4:30 p.m. Admission is $14 for adults, $13 for seniors over 65 years, free for youth 18 years and under. The State Library and Archives Research Center is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. More information is available at lam.alaska.gov.
• Contact Laurie Craig at lauriec@juneauindependent.com.
(2)_edited.jpg)
