Exploring Anchorage:
The Alaska Native Heritage Center & the Anchorage Museum
Tour Includes: Roundtrip Narrative Transfers, Admission Fee to the Alaska Native Heritage Center and the Anchorage Museum, Lunch, Snacks and Refreshments and Logistics Staff Coordination. There will be a 20 Person Minimum Requirement to Operate This Tour. The Maximum Availability for This Tour is 40.
Departure From Alyeska Resort: 9:00am and Return to Alyeska Resort at 5:00pm.
You will depart Alyeska Resort for a 1-hour drive traveling along the breathtaking Turnagain Arm; famous for it’s unusual bore tide. This drive has been voted one of the Top Ten Most Scenic Drives in America by Conde Nast Magazine. Be sure to watch for eagles, Dall sheep, moose and perhaps some Beluga Whales feeding on Hooligan.
Your first stop will be the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Step into the “Welcoming House” and find yourself immersed in the culture of Alaska’s First People. Interpretive exhibits, dance performances, films and galleries give you a glimpse into the life and times of native groups from the Athabaskan and Inupiaq tribes to the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Peoples.
Just minutes from downtown Anchorage, the 26-acre Heritage Center is nestled on a lake and provides a walking trail through the recreated villages of five different native cultures, introducing you to their traditional crafts and lifestyle. Meeting Native Tradition Bearers, artists and performers, touring the five historic village exhibits, enjoying dance performances, demonstrations and indoor and outdoor exhibits, viewing the special film presentation, or simply delighting in the beautiful natural setting makes a visit to the Center an unforgettable experience!
Then it’s off to the Anchorage Museum for a light lunch and the chance to enjoy a self-guided tour. The museum presents over twenty exhibitions throughout the year ranging in scale from international exhibitions to solo exhibits by prominent artists, covering contemporary to circumpolar subjects.
On the first floor the Museum’s collection of historical and contemporary Alaskan art is arranged chronologically from the days of the early explorers to the very newest artworks. The Collections includes favorite masters such as Sydney Laurence, Thomas Hill and Rockwell Kent. The 15,000 square foot gallery devoted to Alaska’s history is located on the second floor. The Alaska Gallery displays more than one thousand objects and is the finest presentation of Alaskan history and ethnology in the state.
Full scale and miniature dioramas provide a look at the early lifestyles of Alaska’s Aleuts, Eskimos and Indians. The changing material culture of Alaska’s native people is also depicted, as are topics including exploration and settlement by the Russians, the gold rush era, World War II and statehood.
After you leave the Museum, enjoy an hour or two of shopping in downtown Anchorage.