Half of our time in Alaska has
passed.
It was an early Sunday morning compared
to our usual weekend schedule since we wanted to be at the Alaska Native
Heritage Center before the afternoon rush.
The museum has both indoor and outdoor exhibits. Inside, we were able to listen to
performances of Native Alaskan music and traditional dance as well as presentations
on geography, canoes, and storytelling. Other
indoor exhibits on Native culture and values as well as a Mother’s Day craft
station. With a little convincing, students
were able to pass as “kids” and let their inner artists shine. No spoilers to all the mothers out
there. You’ll have to wait to see what
everyone made. Outside, a Native Alaskan village was established around a
lake. We could walk around the lake to
different structures and replicas of artifacts including totem poles and a
fishing wheel. Upon entering a Native
building, you could listen to a presentation about the structure and its
cultural significance to the Native people.
At one end of the village, there were tents housing Native
artisans. Visitors could purchase Native
art, clothing, and other items. A couple
students took advantage of the tents for some souvenir shopping. We left the museum at noon and had the rest
of the day to ourselves. Being Mother’s
day, students worked on art projects and called their mothers to catch up and
talk about their experiences on the trip so far. It wasn’t until the late afternoon that the
group reconvened to plan the evening activities. It was decided that we would
split into three sections sections. One
group went to the local mall to shop and ice skate. The other group traveled over to the Flat Top
trail head to climb the mountain. For
those who didn’t want to participate in either activity, they could stay at the
house to read, watch television, or nap.
Whether they were practicing their triple jumps on ice skates or
watching the sun set of Anchorage from Flat Top Mountain, everyone made the
most of their time for our last weekend in Anchorage.
Photo courtesy of Karla Rubio
(C) 2014. All photos below are the
property of Benjamin Bogard. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment