State museum makes Family Fun Fair part of 125th birthday celebration
- Laurie Craig
- Jul 11, 2025
- 3 min read
Cake, salmon bones, porcupine quills and rubber replicas of animal droppings give residents and visitors a fair afternoon out of the rain
Rainy ringlets of wet hair and drippy raincoats did not dampen the spirits of participants at the Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museums on Friday as youngsters and their elders gathered for a Family Fun Fair. Festivities included educational, art and science activities for all ages in the main floor atrium which is anchored at one end by a three-story eagle nest tree exhibit.
Welcoming visitors at the museum entrance was Addison Field, chief curator of the “SLAM,” nicknamed for the facility’s initials. Nearby Freya Anderson, librarian at the second floor state historical library and archives, offered paper orientation “passports” for guests to get stamped at each of the 14 activity tables. For those who got all activities stamped a librarian embossed their passport cards with the historical Alaska Territorial seal.
The state library and museum is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, and staff and members of the SLAM Friends group hosted the Family Fun Fair. All the celebratory cake slices had been enjoyed within an hour of the party opening at the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building.
Rainy weather made the Whittier Street museum a draw for both residents and visitors. The underground parking garage was full of vehicles belonging to residents who drove from Douglas and the Mendenhall Valley, and among the crowd were plenty of cruise ship passengers who may have found unplanned free time when tours were canceled due to the weather.
Kristen Simar brought her family ashore from the Disney Wonder while it was docked in the harbor. She said she is on her first cruise and among a party of 18 Girl Scouts and adults from her California troop. Her son Daniel played a guessing game with Alaska Department of Fish and Game educator Abby McAllister, matching rubber track and scat replicas with animal illustrations to discover “Who Left This Behind?”
At a table for bracelet making, museum conservator Ellen Carrlee instructed adults and youth on how to guide glass beads onto fishing line. Her supplies included salmon bones and porcupine quills that people could select to create their own designs. Strands of merino wool colored with natural dyes were laid on the table to add a textile touch to bracelets. Carrlee is currently working on a museum project focused on traditional beading techniques and materials. Visitors can observe trays of historical glass beads through a window into her laboratory on the museum’s main floor.
At another table, museum curator Mary Irvine offered lessons in a Japanese technique that creates fiber-wrapped rocks with an adornment of shell. Soaking in a bowl were long strands of spruce roots to be carefully tied onto wave-worn rocks collected from a North Douglas beach.
The state museum is open in summer Tuesday-Sunday 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Monday 1 p.m.-4:30 p.m. with a general admission fee of $14, seniors (65 years and up) $13, military and family with ID free, youth (18 and under) free. An annual pass is $40. The second-floor historical library and archives are free, and open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Laurie Craig is a former naturalist and interpreter at the U.S. Forest Service’s Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, artist and historical writer.
