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UA Museum of the North

The idea first started with a collection, an extensive antique firearm collection, which University of Alaska museum officials wanted to display in coordination with the their annual summer exhibit. The result is a comprehensive community-driven exhibit that shares an authentic element of Alaska history.

The UA Museum of the North’s summer “Hunting and Trapping” exhibit is a tribute to the Interior’s traditional dependence on subsistence, which spans a 14,000-year scale of evolution. Angela Linn, the collections manager of Ethnology and History, said while a key component of the exhibit is the connection made between tools and artifacts used 14,000 years ago and those relied upon for modern hunting and trapping, the driving force behind the experience is the personal stories brought to life.

“We really focused on the last 100 to 150 years. We’ve relied on resources already available to help tell these real stories about real people of Interior Alaska,” she said.

The hunting and trapping exhibit is far more than “a typical summer exhibit,” Linn said, and not only because its May 17 to Nov. 30 display time is longer than normal. What largely sets this effort apart from others is the community support and involvement. Linn said various organizations within the Fairbanks area, such as the Alaska Trappers Association, helped identify individuals in the community that could offer insight into the subsistence lifestyle. A community advisory team was formed and the collaboration began, with serious work beginning in August 2007.

“What has really made this possible (to plan thoroughly in a relatively short period of time) was the commitment and strong community support,” Linn said.

Museum spokeswoman Kerynn Fisher said another element museum officials are proud to embrace is the exhibit’s diverse appeal. A major goal, which organizers believe was achieved, was to create a display that interests both out-of-area visitors and Fairbanks residents. The exhibit focuses on an area of Alaska’s history that visitors may already have a specific mindset about, Fisher said, but it also appeals to locals who have a more direct connection to the topic.

“This is one of few exhibits that crosses both audiences and has equal appeal to both,” she said.

The extensive community involvement, along with efforts that have turned the exhibit into an interactive display that engages patrons, is part of what made the exhibit so wonderful, Linn said. The hunting and trapping lifestyle “crosses so many boundaries,” she said, reaching so many Interior Alaska residents, and that is a message she believes exhibit visitors will walk away with.

“You never know who hunts and traps, who embraces this lifestyle. It could be your dentist, your bus driver, the grocery store cashier. It really defies classification and that is what is so unique about Interior Alaska,” she said.

Refining the scope of the display was important, Fisher said, due in part to the limited 950 square feet of space available. Community members and museum officials worked together to narrow the scope, while multi-media interviews with community members will help boost the interactive appeal, she added.

Bringing together a variety of disciplines — anthropology, geology, history, natural resources— expands the educational value, and is something Linn and others hope will help it to “whet the appetite” of those who may want to learn more. Connecting history with modern techniques is also a unique element, as the exhibit parallels a modern high-tech expedition parka and mushroom mittens with a traditional Athabascan muskrat parka and gauntlet mittens, and modern titanium snowshoes with traditional wood and leather strap snowshoes.

“We want people to see also these are not just functional tools but beautiful artifacts,” she said.