It snowed all day today. There was no accumulation but it was interesting to be in a snow storm on the Cinco de Mayo holiday. Fortunately our extreme weather gear was not required since we were inside the hotel in a conference room most of the day learning how to put together a webinar from the field and practicing how to make a blog.
In the afternoon, we went to the University of Alaska, Museum of the North. Not only was it a fantastic display of Alaska artifacts but we had a "back door" tour of the museum's artifacts and preparation areas that are typically not shown to the public. The exhibitions include five geographic areas of Alaska, the Rose Berry Art Gallery, an area devoted to an explanation of the Northern Lights and the history of the Alaska natives.
The most interesting aspects of the museum to me were the northern animals and the description of the internment camps of the Aleut Indians. I wanted to see the two animals that I will see on my Svalbard, Norway expedition; a polar bear and arctic fox. Both animals were smaller than I expected. The arctic fox was small enough to carry in a backpack and although I could not carry a polar bear in a backpack, it was much small than the grizzly that had at the entrance of the museum.
Grizzly bear displayed in University of Alaska Museum of the North
After the museum, we toured the school bookstore before taking our group photo.
Cheryl