Visitors

Visitors

This episode is about a three week visit to the museum. It’s about working towards a museum exhibit. It’s about working with one of our collections and looking at specimens to find more specimens. It’s about why this research is important to all of us. Our visitors were biologist and University of Washington Associate Professor Chelsea Wood, Research Technologist and Lab Manager, Katie Leslie, and graduate student, Diana Perales-Macedo. And what exactly they came to UAMN to do, we’re going to get into – soon enough. The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.

Random Birds

Not long ago, we broadcast another episode with the museum’s Birds collection. There, Roger Topp spoke with five of the students about working with the collection, and he spoke with the Curator Kevin Winker and Collections Manager Jack Withrow about the dimensions of the collection. And during that conversation, when Roger asked them to pick their highlights from the collection, Jack challenged him to pick ten birds, by number, at random from the 60,000 specimens on hand, saying that they could tell a story about each and every one. We did that, and these are their stories. The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.

The Sick, with Kevin Carroll

In 2025, the museum held its first open call for artists and community curated shows in the Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery. The jury selected 6 shows to be exhibited, and Kevin Carroll’s The Sick, is the first in the series, opening April 11th, 2026. Kevin stopped by the museum in March to drop off the work for the show and to talk about the art, this project, and the parts of his life that led him to create 45 pieces from 45 stories of addiction in the Fairbanks community. As he wrote in the introduction to the show, “Each piece is a visual portrayal of one survey participant’s response – illustrating the impact of addiction and substance abuse on our fellow Alaskans, so that we may face this together.” This exhibition and this discussion explores complex and sensitive themes surrounding many forms of addiction and substance abuse. Please use your discretion. This content could be triggering for some listeners. The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.

We Can Move the Stars

The UA Museum of the North now has a planetarium, and as planetarian Omega Smith said when she first came to the museum in the fall of 2025, “We can move the stars.” In this episode we discuss the new facility with Omega Smith, Director of the new Walt and Marita Babula Planetarium, about coming on board, building partnerships, and designing programs. We speak with museum director, Pat Druckenmiller and Senior Director of Principle Gifts for the UA Foundation, Emily Drygas about fierce visions and big projects. We speak with the engineering team that have made the construction of the planetarium possible: Cameron Wohlford, Director of UAF’s Division of Design and Construction, Jakob Theurich, DDC Project Manager, and Paulette Hoffmann, DDC Senior Contracts Manager. We dream big, thank our partners, and enjoy the smell of the fresh paint. The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.

Ways of Interaction (with the Birds Collection)

Welcome to the museum’s Birds Collection. In this episode Curator Kevin Winker and Collections manager Jack Withrow discuss the dimensions of the collection, and the way it grows. We talk about Super Pato and remember the stories that come with interacting with specimens. We stop by the Birds preparation lab, where museum graduate students Laney Cardenas, Estephan Fortela, Sarah Le, Morgan Lynn, and Nick Ramsey are busy at work on some very different birds. The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.