"Mounted in Alaska" Exhibition at Alaska State Museum: Current Status and Context

The **"Mounted in Alaska"** exhibition at the **Alaska State Museum** in Juneau remains **open and ongoing** as of 2024. There is no scheduled end date — it's a semi-permanent installation exploring Alaska's unique taxidermy tradition and human-wildlife relationships.

Exhibition Overview

• Theme: Taxidermy as art, science, and cultural practice in Alaska
• Curated by: Alaska State Museum staff + guest curators (including Indigenous advisors)
• Location: Alaska State Museum, 395 Whittier St, Juneau, AK 99801 (Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building)
• Hours: Summer (May-Sep): Daily 9 AM - 5 PM; Winter (Oct-Apr): Tue-Sat 10 AM - 4 PM
• Admission: $14 adults, $13 seniors, $7 youth (7-17), free ≤6; AK residents discount

Key Exhibition Sections

• Historical Taxidermy: Early 1900s commercial mounts (guides, hotels, fairs) — "trophy" aesthetic
• Scientific Preparation: Museum study skins, skeletal articulation, freeze-drying — research collections
• Indigenous Perspectives: Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Yup'ik, Iñupiaq relationships with animals — respect, utilization, spirituality
• Contemporary Artists: Alaskan artists using taxidermy forms — sculpture, installation, commentary
• DIY Culture: Homemade mounts, "garage taxidermy," subsistence processing
• Ethics & Conservation: CITES, MMPA, state regulations — legal frameworks, poaching, climate impacts

Featured Specimens

• Full-body brown bear (Kodiak) — "standing" pose
• Mountain goat on cliff replica
• Wolf pack diorama (family group)
• Steller sea lion pup
• Birds: Willow ptarmigan, bald eagle, raven, seabird colony
• Fish: King salmon (skin mount), halibut
• Small mammals: Arctic fox, marmot, porcupine

Alaska State Museum Context

• Part of: Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives & Museums (LAM)
• Building: Opened 2016 (Kashevaroff Building) — 52,000 sq ft, LEED Gold
• Collections: 32,000+ objects — Indigenous art, Russian America, natural history, statehood
• Research: Available by appointment — archives, photos, oral histories

Related Exhibitions (Current)

• "Decolonizing Alaska" — Contemporary Indigenous artists responding to colonization
• "Woven from the Land" — Basketry, textiles, fiber arts across cultures
• "Alaska's Dinosaurs" — North Slope fossils, polar dinosaurs

If you're in Juneau, "Mounted in Alaska" is worth 60-90 minutes — it's not just stuffed animals; it's a conversation about how Alaskans relate to the wild that sustains them.