Anchorage Museum & Alaska Native Heritage Center

About

Anchorage's two premier cultural destinations - the Anchorage Museum and the Alaska Native Heritage Center - together tell the story of Alaska's Indigenous peoples, its natural environment, and its place in the broader world. They're often visited as a pair, and a joint ticket makes that easy.

The Anchorage Museum sits in the heart of downtown, a striking modern building that houses galleries spanning Alaska Native art, Arctic studies, and contemporary works. The Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center inside the museum displays over 600 Alaska Native objects on long-term loan, offering one of the most significant collections of Indigenous artifacts in the state. Interactive science exhibits, rotating art shows, and a planetarium round out the experience. Plan for at least two hours here, though you could easily spend a full day.

About ten minutes from downtown, the Alaska Native Heritage Center brings culture to life on a 26-acre campus. The indoor Hall of Cultures features rotating exhibits and demonstrations by Native artists and storytellers. Outside, a paved trail loops around Lake Tiulana, connecting life-size replicas of traditional village sites representing Alaska's major cultural groups - Athabascan, Yup'ik and Cup'ik, Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Aleut and Alutiiq, and Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Native guides at each site share traditional knowledge and answer questions.

The Heritage Center hosts regular cultural performances in the Gathering Place, from traditional drumming and dancing to storytelling sessions. The on-site cafe serves dishes inspired by Native cuisine.

Both venues are open seasonally, with the Heritage Center typically operating from May through September and the museum open year-round. Visiting both gives you a deep, respectful window into the cultures that have called Alaska home for thousands of years. It's one of the most meaningful things you can do in Anchorage.

Accessibility

The Anchorage Museum meets Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements as outlined by the United States Access Board. Gallery exhibitions are designed to meet these accessibility standards. The building is a modern, single-level exhibition space with elevators connecting its multiple floors.

At the Alaska Native Heritage Center, the facility is wheelchair accessible. A limited number of wheelchairs are available to borrow on-site. The paved trail around Lake Tiulana and each of the traditional Village Sites along it are wheelchair accessible. However, the Healing Garden area is not accessible by wheelchair. A wheelchair ramp connects the admissions area to the Gathering Place performance stage, and another ramp is located on the outside deck.

Visitors entering the Heritage Center should proceed through the main entrance to the outdoor deck by Cafe Di'eshchin, then follow the building's exterior to reach the Village Sites and the Hall of Cultures through the outdoor entrance near the Mabel Pike Education Center.

Both facilities offer accessible parking. For specific details about sensory accommodations, assisted listening devices, service animal policies, or other accessibility needs, contact the Anchorage Museum at (907) 929-9200 and the Alaska Native Heritage Center at (907) 330-8000 before your visit. Staff at both venues can help plan a visit tailored to your access needs.

More accessible places in Alaska

• Alaska Aviation Museum (Anchorage)
• Alaska Botanical Garden (Anchorage)
• Anchorage (urban center) (Anchorage)
• Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria (Anchorage)
• Anchorage Trolley Tours (Anchorage)
• Alaska SeaLife Center (Seward)