Museum of the North and World Championship Ice Sculpture

We woke up Saturday to about eight inches of new snow, still coming down, so we decided to spend the day in the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. http://www.uaf.edu/museum/ The museum is beautiful, has great architecture which lends itself well to black and white -- especially on a black and white kind of day.





The first floor is full of all kinds of cool displays, natural history and people history, artifacts from the various Native groups, things from the Russian era, the gold rush, Pipeline, historical photos from World War II, a mummified steppe bison from the Ice Age, the largest display of gold nuggets and flakes in Alaska (probably worth a bundle at today's prices). There was just so much stuff to look at, but the lighting was pretty dim, so my photos don't meet my standards. :)

At the top of the stairway on the second floor is "The Place Where You Go To Listen." I can't describe it, so here's the link http://www.uaf.edu/news/a_news/20060317102648.html . It's so amazing to sit there in silence and listen to all the sounds and watch the changing lights. All I could think was "music of the spheres." I could have sat in there for hours.

The upper floor is a gallery of Alaska artists, with some really great stuff. The lighting was better there, so here are a few shots.







Saturday night we went to the ice park. http://www.icealaska.com/ Only the first competition had been completed -- the single block category -- but there were some beautiful pieces already. Here are a couple examples.

This is the entrance to the park. You go through the door under the BP symbol.

of photos you get mailed to by people who OOh and AAh over them. What a treat to see YOUR actual experience. The architecture by the way is phenomenal,the stairway pictures are a lot like the Getty Museum in Santa Monica, and I can't chose in the photos of the ice sculptures, the pink is all but blending into the country side, and the gold looks rich and solid and gorgeous.
Thanks again !
Great pictures to get up to.