PRATT MUSEUM

established in 1968

Pratt Museum Campus Increases

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Donation Allows Purchase of Land to Pioneer Avenue

Grounds trailmap 2016The Pratt Museum is pleased to announce that, thanks to a benevolent anonymous donor, its 9.8 acres of wooded property has increased to over 10 acres. A generous financial gift was presented to the museum in December 2015, and the property was purchased soon thereafter.

Situated between the Legislative Information Office and Hopped Up Espresso, this new addition connects the Pratt’s grounds directly to Pioneer Avenue. To honor Woodard Creek and extend its trail system, the Pratt will work to pull a crew together to build a trail extension down to Pioneer Avenue along the creek, which flows through the property.

If you’d like to sign up to help with trail work this spring, please email to office@prattmuseum.org, stop by the front desk, or call the Pratt Museum at 235-8635.

Capital Update – June 2015

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Just in: Updated Renderings of the Building Exterior, Floor Plan, and Site!

Over the past few months, Pratt project architects, engineers and staff have been developing the new building design and site plan.

One change to the previous schematic design includes the location of air handling systems, creating a new roof line. Tweaks have also been made to remove the need for pillars in the main gallery and gain more overhead space for the gray whale. To better account for existing slopes and handicapped access, the Phase 1 Site Plan has been modified.

Design Development will be completed in early August, and construction drawings will be completed in the fall. We will be shovel-ready by the end of the year!

Substantive planning work on aquaria and exhibit design is in the works and we’ll have some exciting drawings to show off very soon! Exhibit design will continue through 2016.

Fundraising also continues. We expect the State’s budget situation will delay the construction timeline. We are working on other sources of funding in lieu of the remaining piece of the State appropriation that was originally requested.

Gull Island Camera Installation

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On April 30, 2015, Pratt Museum staff and consultants made the annual trek to Gull Island to install the camera used to view nesting seabirds. Over the summer, visitors to the museum can remotely control the camera to view kittiwakes, common murres, puffins, guillemots, cormorants, sea otters and more. This year’s trip included replacing the solar array used to power the camera. We decided to document this entire process and create a time-lapse view of the work. Here is an abbreviated look at a couple of hours spent on the island.

cam cam_play

As of this post, May 6, the SeeBird Camera is online at the Pratt Museum. There are already numerous murres rafting offshore, and some kittiwakes on the island. Visit the Pratt Museum’s Marine Gallery to explore the island for yourself!

Faith Revell: Bird Dance

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April 3 – May 31, 2015
Opening reception: Friday, April 3, 5-7 p.m.
Artist’s Workshop: May 30, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. ($30)

Lesser Yellowlegs 24x24Bird Dance presents a confluence of birds in motion. Artist Faith Revell’s drawings and paintings exude a strong kinesthetic quality, are often gestural in nature, and focus on movement. These images will be paired with selected artifacts from the Pratt Museum’s natural history collection, as well as video and audio of birds in motion. Explore birds in motion through a variety of perspectives in Bird Dance.

Join Faith on May 30 for “Gesture and Form in Nature.” This workshop, geared toward adult and young adult artists, will start with a field session of outdoor observation and gestural drawing. After lunch, students will return to the museum for a gallery talk, additional drawing of mounted birds, and then move to a workshop space for final projects. Workshop space is limited. Please visit the link above for more information, and call the front desk to register and reserve your place.

This exhibit is supported in part by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, Alaska State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and City of Homer.