Alaska\u2019s got stories to tell. Some of them are in objects like mammoth tusks, wooden fishing boats or a tiny pair of handcuffs and some are located in books or archived as blueprints. On June 6, the new Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum Building will open to the public, and those stories will be told together.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a division \u2014 libraries, archives and museums \u2014 we\u2019re moving into a new era where we\u2019re all together and we\u2019re going to be able to work together \u2014 not just our own little disciplines in our own little buildings,\u201d said Library, Archives and Museums Director Linda Thibodeau. \u201cOur professions are all really connected to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
The museum might have an object \u2014 for example, the 18-ton mining locomotive on display in the exhibit hall. The archives \u201chave blueprints of how the thing was built, and then in the library, we have photographs of that exact locomotive in use in the mines. So together we can be much richer than any of us are individually or singly,\u201d Thibodeau said.<\/p>\n
The Alaska Gallery and exhibit spaces are bigger than previously, allowing curators to highlight things they hadn\u2019t previously been able to, and to acquire new objects as well.<\/p>\n
With more space, there is \u201cmore opportunity \u2026 to drive a narrative,\u201d said deputy director Bob Banghart.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe overriding feature of the exhibits \u2014 the theme that runs through the entire thing \u2014 is creative adaptability. You\u2019re creating solutions with the materials at hand. That\u2019s what indigenous populations did successfully for thousands and thousands of years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some of the new exhibits include one on the bombing of Angoon and a display on World War II, complete with 37 mm gun and a Japanese flag covered in writing and names. Many soldiers brought those flags, signed by their families and friends, for good luck. There\u2019s a locomotive from the Alaska Gastineau Mining Company, complete with its original sign, which was once buried under layers of paint. There\u2019s a piece of scrapped pipe from the Alaska Pipeline. There\u2019s a wooden Bristol Bay boat, used to fish until motors were allowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went and looked at what stories we wanted to tell,\u201d Banghart said.<\/p>\n
Some of the objects that were displayed in the past are now displayed differently \u2014 like the old Fresnel lens at the Cape Spencer Lighthouse. During its years of service, it rotated on a bed of mercury. Now it\u2019s displayed on a pillar, both a piece of history and a work of art.<\/p>\n
Traditional art is placed next to contemporary art \u2014 for example, a pair of tiny handcuffs entitled \u201cIndian Children\u2019s Bracelets,\u201d made by Tlingit and Unangan artist Nick Galanin, is set near a display of woven baskets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just how we wanted to mix it all up. There really is no beginning and there is no ending,\u201d Banghart said.<\/p>\n
The new building also includes popular aspects of the previous one. A new and improved Eagle Tree towers over the stairs in the atrium; a 46-seat room for Science on a Sphere (called, in shorthand, SOS); the Discovery Ship, which kids can play on. There will also be a place in the kids\u2019 area where they can paint and then \u201cexhibit\u201d their paintings immediately.<\/p>\n
Ninety-eight percent of the museum\u2019s objects are in the archives, Banghart said; in terms of the numbers of objects, probably two to three percent are on display.<\/p>\n
No one is allowed to take photos of the exhibit area until the opening on June 6, the better to keep it a surprise.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Outside the exhibit hall<\/strong><\/p>\n The main atrium features a map of Alaska on the floor. In the future, Banghart hopes each school district can have a student competition to design an emblem for their region. The winning emblem will be cast and placed on that map\u2019s location.<\/p>\n Twilight Caf\u00e9 will be operating the caf\u00e9 in the main atrium; the SLAM is currently looking for someone to operate the museum store.<\/p>\n Three artists\u2019 work beautify the building. Walter Gordinier constructed \u201cGlacier Pond,\u201d the 15-foot diameter glasswork on display in the atrium, (the steel around it is 22-by-22 feet) as well as colored glass \u201cstorybars\u201d inset into glass guardrails above the first floor. (The landings on the second and third floors have exhibit spaces themselves and look out over the atrium.) Martin Shelton created benches out of Pacific yew, and Evon Zerbetz created a 80-by-10 foot art glass and wood panel called \u201cWe are Written in the Layers of the Earth\u201d for the library.<\/p>\n The 120-seat, two-screen theatre has fiber-optic cable running to KTOO, enabling live TV broadcasts from the room. Its first event will be the Haida language summit during Celebration.<\/p>\n The division is continuing to put more of its documents and photographs online for those who don\u2019t live in or have easy access to the building, Thibodeau said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is to be located statewide,\u201d she said. Exhibits will be posted online and people can also go to Alaska\u2019s digital archives, where the division posts in conjunction with the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, she said.<\/p>\n The new building has allowed physical paper records to be move on-site, as opposed to stored in off-site warehouses.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll better allow them \u201cto keep them safe \u2014 to keep them secure for future generations. That\u2019s what we\u2019re all about, is saving things for the future,\u201d Thibodeau said.<\/p>\n The museum\u2019s old building was 24,000 square feet, Banghart said, while the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff building is 120,000, not including the parking garage. Taking into account the library and archives, which are now housed in the same building, the total has probably doubled in size, said Thibodeau.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an underground parking area for visitors and staff; 40 of the 60 spaces are for the general public, Banghart said.<\/p>\n The project should also come in under its $139.5 million budget, Banghart said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Opening day<\/strong><\/p>\n The dedication for the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives and Museum Building is set for 1-4 p.m. on Monday, June 6. If it\u2019s nice out, the dedication will take place outside; if not, it will take place inside. Thibodeau said several people will speak and they\u2019re trying to keep the total speech time to 30 minutes.<\/p>\n The following, Banghart wrote in an email, is \u201can incomplete list of important people from the early days of the project.\u201d<\/p>\n Bea Shepard is \u201ca longtime volunteer and supporter of the museum and elemental in acquiring the property;\u201d Clark Gruening is a \u201clongtime advisor and advocate that guided the institution through legislative processes;\u201d Bruce Kato is \u201cFormer Chief Curator that had the vision for the expansion and worked alongside of Bea and Clark in starting things up;\u201d Former State Rep. Andrea Doll \u201cput forward the first funding bill to acquire the land for the expansion;\u201d and statewide advocates \u201creinforced the message of the need for the new facility throughout the state from their local perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n After time allotted for speeches, visitors will be able to walk through the building for the first time, for free.<\/p>\n On normal days, it will cost $12 to get into the museum, or $25 for a year-round pass.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just really looking forward to being open and welcoming the community and just starting anew and keeping on going for our next 116 years,\u201d Thibodeau said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Check out the first look at the building in January of this year. http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/art\/2016-01-20\/first-look-inside-slam-building.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n State Archives Library and Museum Trivia from Bob Banghart:<\/p>\n The building has<\/p>\n \u2022 11,740 cubic yards of concrete<\/p>\n \u2022 1,978,000 pounds of rebar<\/p>\n \u2022 More than 2,000 individual object mounts<\/p>\n \u2022 74 mannequins made<\/p>\n <\/p>\n LAM staff have relocated<\/p>\n \u2022 32,000 artifacts from the museum<\/p>\n \u2022 30,000 cubic feet of documents from archives<\/p>\n \u2022 10,000 cubic feet of collections and 100,000 books from the Historical Library<\/p>\n \u2022 60,000 books from Information Services Library<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Total work hours<\/p>\n \u2022 More than 500,000 worker hours<\/p>\n \u2022 Peak manpower of 111 workers<\/p>\n \u2022 0 \u201clost time incidents\u201d (accidents that made work stop \u2014 Banghart said the worst thing that happened was someone pricking their finger with a wire)<\/p>\n \u2022 91 percent \u201cof the trade worker hours were performed by Alaskan residents.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 20 feet, five inches of rain since construction began<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that Walter Gordinier’s ground-floor art piece is called \u201cGlacier Pond,” not “Frozen Pond.” Also, Gordinier is from Oregon, not Alaska. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alaska\u2019s got stories to tell. 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