Libraries, Archives, Museums: Alaska Museums Surveys and Data: Facilities

The largest facility reporting was the Alaska Sealife Center with 115,000 sq. ft., followed by the Anchorage Museum of History and Art at 89,000 sq. ft. The smallest reporting museum was the Anvik Historical Society with 400 sq. ft.

Total square footage (N=39)
40,000 sq. ft. and above	3
20,000 - 30,000	3
10,000 - 20,000	5
5,000 - 10,000	10
1,000 - 5,000	15
Under 1,000	3

Facility size, exhibit space, office space, & collection storage of each Alaska museum.
Museum	Overall size	Exhibit space	Office space	Collection storage
Alaska Sealife Center	115000	17260	9855	7735
Anchorage Museum of History and Art	89000	34000	15000	6000
Univ of Alaska Fairbanks Museum	40000	9000	10000	10000
Alaska Native Heritage Center	26000	n/a	n/a	n/a
Alaska State Museum	24000	12000	3360	3600
Southeast Alaska Discovery Center	21000	n/a	n/a	n/a
Museum of Alaska Trans. & Industry	18000	6800	1500	7000
Eagle Historical Society and Museum	16720	14850	500	1370
Pratt Museum	11300	5100	1400	2300
Dorothy Page Museum	10112	7584	1228	1300
Kenai Bicentennial Visitors Center	10000	5000	2000	600
Museum of the Aleutians	9500	n/a	n/a	n/a
Totem Heritage Center	9200	5600	950	n/a
American Bald Eagle Foundation	7500	5100	550	120
Valdez Museum & Historical Archive	7500	4700	1000	1800
Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center	7000	2949	570	1123
Heritage Library & Museum	6750	5850	300	600
Juneau-Douglas City Museum	6000	3000	500	1500
Skagway Museum and Archives	5880	3000	200	2100
Tongass Historical Museum	5600	1820	975	1500
Circle Historical Museum	5100	3600	80	214
Baranov Museum / Kodiak Historical SocietyI	4978	1968	625	340
Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository	4800	2800	300	1600
Alaska State Trooper Museum	3800	2600	200	1000
Resurrection Bay Historical Society	3400	2880	40	120
Clausen Memorial Museum	2566	1566	1000	198
Alaska Museum of Natural History	2500	2000	400	100
Talkeetna Historical Society	2300	1900	200	200
Cordova Historical Museum	2300	1980	20	300
Carrie McLain Memorial Museum	2264	1720	136	408
Isabel Miller Museum	2200	900	n/a	n/a
Sullivan Roadhouse Historical Museum	1500	1200	n/a	300
Simon Paneak Memorial Museum	1300	1000	300	30
George Ashby Memorial Museum	1200	1175	12	12
Oscar Anderson House	1200	1100	n/a	n/a
Museum of Orthodox Church History	1020	900	n/a	120
Trapper Creek Museum	840	n/a	n/a	n/a
Delta Historical Society	480	n/a	n/a	120
Anvik Historical Society Museum	400	n/a	100	n/a

Museum facility construction: (N=48)

Construction materials of Alaska museums.
Wood frame	20
Steel beam	10
Log cabin	8
Concrete	6
Masonry/stone	2
Combinations	2

Fire suppression: (N=43)

Type of fire suppressors.
Halon/gas	15
Sprinklers	12
None	16

Environment & Disaster Plans

Forty-two (42) museums are "handicapped-accessible".

Thirty-one (31) museums monitor temperature and humidity.

Fourteen (14) museums have humidity controls.

Twenty-seven (27) museums have a disaster preparation plan.

Thirty-one (31) museums have a long-range plan.

Year established

The oldest museum in Alaska is the Sheldon Jackson Museum, established in 1887, followed by the Alaska State Museum in 1900. Four other museums pre-date statehood: the Sitka National Historic Park (1910), The Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center in Haines (1925), the University of Alaska Museum (1928), and the Isabel Miller Museum in Sitka (1957). The Tanana-Yukon Historical Society was established in 1959. Seven museums in the survey saw their beginning in 1967, the centennial of Alaska's purchase.

Types of museums (N=67)

Of the 67 museums in the database, half of them are primarily Alaska or local history museums.

The "Alaska or local history" category includes some specialized museums:

2 aviation museums,
1 transportation museum,
1 police museum,
1 church museum, and
1 dog-mushing museum.

Museum types in Alaska.
Alaska or local history	36
Natural history/wildlife	7
Cultural Centers	6
Historic Building	5
Ethnographic	4
General	4
Historical Park	4
Other (Science)	1