Anchorage Attractions

The Alaska Zoo is a 30 acre facility with a variety of native wildlife species including bears wolves, musk oxen, and reindeer to name a few of the favorites. The Alaska Zoo also has a small collection of exotic animals, including Siberian tigers, camels, and an elephant.

The Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center contains a broad range of art and historical items related to Alaska and the arctic. The permanent collection includes 17,500 objects and also maintains a large collection of historical photographs. In addition, the Anchorage Museum features numerous traveling exhibits from around the world each year.

The expanding collection has led to an expansion of the facility. The 80,000-square-foot expansion is planned is designed to be a LEED Green Building. New spaces created by the expansion include the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, the Imaginarium Discovery Center, the Thomas Planetarium, the The Brian E. Davies Chugach Gallery for temporary exhibits, and the ConocoPhillips Gallery which houses contemporary art, as well as a restaurant and gift shop.

Check the museum calendar to see about upcoming exhibits, events, and programs.

Rust's Flying Service has been in business since 1963 offering flightseeing sea plane tours to Mount McKinley, Denali National Park, and Knik and Columbia glaciers. It has become a bit of an institution in this part of the country, offering some of the most popular tours. The planes can also take visitors to remote Alaska fishing lodges or wildlife viewing to see bears.

For anyone harboring the romantic idea of flying around Alaska in a bush plane, this will surely fulfill that dream. The planes include Cessnas, Beavers, and Turbine Otter seaplanes on floats. These traditional planes of the north can take visitors to remote destinations and land on the water. The experience is as much about the flight as the sightseeing. Flightseeing tours can range anywhere from a half of an hour to three hours in length. There are also custom tours available.

The Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum in Anchorage restores and displays vintage aircraft, photographs, and other related memorabilia honoring the pioneers of Alaska aviation. There is also a video presentation on the history of aviation in Alaska. The aircraft on display are in various states of repair, with some being no more than a frame. However, this really only adds to the authentic feeling of the museum.

The Hall of Fame honors pilots who have made significant impacts or contributions to the history of aviation in Alaska. The museum adds one new inductee to the list each year. Interestingly, these pilots were typically born in various parts of the United States and eventually found their way to Alaska, where they formed or worked for air services of note.

The Alaska Experience Theater features the Safequake Theatre as well as the shows Journey to Alaska and Northern Lights Adventure.

There is also an earthquake exhibit on the 1964 earthquake which measured 9.2 on the Richter Scale.

Located in the National Bank of Alaska Building in Anchorage, the Alaska Heritage Library and Museum explores Alaska Native culture and displays over 900 Native art pieces and artifacts. The library houses more than 2,500 books on Alaska subjects.

A highlight of the exhibits is a scaled down stagecoach and presentation on Wells Fargo's role in the Alaskan Gold Rush.

The Alaska Museum of Natural History offers exhibits on Alaskan rock, minerals, and fossils, including information on dinosaurs, native artifacts, and dioramas of Alaskan wilderness and wildlife.

The humanities collection features sculpture, illustrations, original paintings and drawings, photos, maps and texts. There are 4 Alaskan wildlife dioramas, featuring numerous mounts of Alaskan birds and mammals, as well as skeletal remains of moose, man, skulls and birds.

The Alaska Public Lands Information Center in downtown Anchorage provides information and exhibits on Alaska's native culture and wildlife. Visitors can also obtain State Park permits, get assistance with trip planning as well as purchase books and maps.

The Alaska Trooper Museum highlights the history of law enforcement in Alaska through information and displays. The dedicated officers brought law and order to an unusual and distant jurisdiction.

Chugach State Park near Anchorage covers 700 square miles, making it the third largest state park in the United States. The terrain of mountains, rivers, lakes and glaciers is home to wolves, moose, bears, beavers, lynx, and other wildlife. It is a popular area for hiking, skiing, and camping.

Potter Point Section House, at mile 115 on the Seward Highway is the park office.

Wolf Song of Alaska has a museum and education center to educate the public about the wolf. There are dioramas to show wolves in their natural habitat along with other species that call Alaska home. Exhibits focus on interactions between wolves and their prey as well as wolves' behavior and the social structure of their packs.

Era Aviation offers helicopter tours which last from 50 minutes to 2 hours and include a flight over Anchorage and the Chugach Mountains. Also offered are flights in DC-3's over Mt. McKinley, Prince William Sound, and other nearby areas.

H2Oasis Indoor Waterpark in Anchorage is an indoor waterpark featuring a wave pool, a 575-foot long lazy river, a Pirate Ship-themed interactive children's play area, hot tubs, and a Master Blaster uphill water coaster. Swimming and kayak lessons are also available.

Located on the first floor of the Anchorage Museum, the Imaginarium Discovery Center offers hands-on science and technology displays. As Alaska's only hands-on Science Center, the Imaginarium allows visitors to learn and have fun with science. This is a great outing for families or anyone looking to entertain children for a day.

In recent years the Center has increased its space and number of exhibits. Some of the exhibits include simulated earthquakes and auroras, a unique bubbles exhibit, touch tanks, physics displays, a planetarium, and much more. The new facility offers 9,000 square feet of space. Many of the displays were designed specifically for the Imaginarium. The Center is targeted towards children and youth, and also has a gallery designed for infants to children aged five and under.

The National Archives in Anchorage maintains records retired from Federal agencies and courts in Alaska. Services available to the public include genealogy and historical research with documents, photographs, maps, and architectural drawings, dating from about 1867 to the present.

Built in 1915, this woodframed house has been restored and furnished in period with items from the Anderson family on display. Oscar Anderson proclaimed himself the 18th person to set foot in Anchorage. A guided tour provides information on the early history of Anchorage, the railroad boom, the pioneers and of course, Oscar Anderson.

The Musk Ox Farm is a non-profit organization located in Palmer. Visitors can view the animals and photograph one of the Arctic's oldest living species. Tours are available offering details on the history of the musk ox as well as how they have been domesticated.

The Musk Ox Project promotes the use of qiviut (the fine under-wool of the musk ox) in the Arctic native textile industry. Villages throughout Alaska create scarves, nachaqs (Eskimo smoke rings) and luxurious caps using traditional designs.

There are a number of towns and attractions in the Anchorage surrounding area which can be accessed by road or air.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport opened in 1953 and services a number of national and international destinations. The south terminal handles domestic flights and the north terminal services international flights.

The airport was named in honor of Ted Stevens, Alaska's Senior U.S. Senator, in 2000. In 2007, the Anchorage Rental Car Center opened featuring all airport car rental concessionaires in one building.

Named for the first elected governor of Alaska, the 45,000 square foot William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center offers a prime location for exhibits and meetings. The interior is decorated with native Alaskan art.

Check the convention center website for details on upcoming events.

Due to plans to evaluate upgrading the facilities, museum, education center and museum gift shop Wolf Song will be closed until further notice.

The Wolf Museum is designed to inform the public about the wolf and dispel myths which portray the animal in a negative image. Information on the natural behavior of the wolf, photographs, and dioramas are presented.