PRATT MUSEUM

established in 1968

Pratt Museum Harbor Tours To Begin May 31

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Pratt Museum Harbor Tours to Begin May 31  

Homer, Alaska (May 24, 2024) – Pratt Museum

The Long-Running Pratt Museum Harbor Tours Will Begin for the Season on Friday, May 31 and Run Through August 31

The Pratt Museum is excited to announce that weekly Historic Walking Tours of the Homer Small Boat Harbor will begin for the season beginning Friday, May 31 through Saturday, August 31. Tours will occur every Friday & Saturday at 3pm, rain or shine. Tour goers will join a Pratt Museum Docent for a historic walking tour of the Homer Small Boat Harbor and learn about the Spit, the Harbor, historic buildings and different vessels.

About the Pratt Museum The mission of the Pratt Museum is to strengthen relationships between people and place through stories relevant to Kachemak Bay. It fulfills its mission by facilitating engagement between community members and strengthening understandings of our shared place. Through these activities, the unique relationship between the people and places of Kachemak Bay will be sustained far into the future. The Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11am to 4pm. Beginning May 5, 2024, the Museum will be open daily from 10am – 6pm. Visit the Pratt Museum at 379 Bartlett Street in Homer. Tel (907) 235-8635. More information is available at https://www.prattmuseum.org/.

Contact Whitney Harness, Visitor Services, Store and Communications Manager tel (907) 435-3328, email wharness@prattmuseum.org

Anyone interested in participating in the Harbor Tours may purchase a ticket for $10 and meet at the Boat House Pavilion near the top of Ramp Two at 3pm (click HERE for Google Map). Tickets may be purchased at the time of the Tour, or in advance at the Pratt Museum Admissions Desk and online using the secure registration form below.

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Pratt Museum Receives Strengthening Organizations Grant from the Alaska Community Foundation

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Pratt Museum Receives Strengthening Organizations Grant from the Alaska Community Foundation

Homer, Alaska (April 17, 2024) – Pratt Museum

The Pratt Museum, which is governed by The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., is the Recipient of an $8,000 Strengthening Organizations Grant from the Alaska Community Foundation

The Pratt Museum is incredibly grateful to be the recipient of an $8,000 Strengthening Organizations Grant from the Alaska Community Foundation to conduct a Strategic Planning Retreat. This will be a great opportunity to bring existing and new team members together to discuss a full range of opportunity and challenges. The retreat will assist Board and Staff members in understanding our strengths and weaknesses as an organization. Sustainability not only requires sufficient funds, but talented and dedicated individuals to carve a path forward.

In 2023, the Museum underwent a transformation after facing challenges such as closures and high staff turnover. The Board of Directors hired a new Executive Director with years of experience leading arts and museum organizations. The Museum’s top priority at this time is to get their house in order and take action with their new team. After investing in many of its foundational organizational elements, including by-laws and development structure(s), revisiting and revising its strategic plan to reflect the current realities and perspectives within the organization is a critical next step.

The Pratt Museum strategic plan will guide all aspects of the organization’s focus and activities, from its mission, education, collections, and exhibits, to fundraising, operations, and community engagement. As such, the plan needs to reflect the full wisdom of the organization. It also needs to be readily accessible and understandable to everyone. Strategic planning will take place in person in Homer, ideally in early summer 2024.

About the Pratt Museum The mission of the Pratt Museum is to strengthen relationships between people and place through stories relevant to Kachemak Bay. It fulfills its mission by facilitating engagement between community members and strengthening understandings of our shared place. Through these activities, the unique relationship between the people and places of Kachemak Bay will be sustained far into the future. The Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11am to 4pm. Beginning May 5, 2024, the Museum will be open daily from 10am – 6pm. Visit the Pratt Museum at 379 Bartlett Street in Homer. Tel (907) 235-8635. More information is available at https://www.prattmuseum.org/.

Contact Whitney Harness, Visitor Services, Store and Communications Manager tel (907) 435-3328, email wharness@prattmuseum.org

Download PDF of this press release here.

Pratt Museum to Host Book Release Event, Portraying the Wide, Open Spaces, with author Michael Engelhard

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Pratt Museum to Host Book Release Event, Portraying the Wide, Open Spaces, with author Michael Engelhard

Homer, Alaska (May 4, 2024) – Pratt Museum

On the First Friday of June, the Pratt Museum will Host Author Michael Engelhard as he Presents His New Release, “What the River Knows: Essays from the Heart of Alaska”

The Pratt Museum is proud to host Portraying the Wide, Open Spaces as a free First Friday event on June 7th. Longtime wilderness guide, anthropologist, and Fairbanks author Michael Engelhard will be presenting Arctic Travers: A Thousand-Mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range and What the River Knows: Essays from the Heart of Alaska, which is a new release. Readings and video clips will be followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing. Engelhard’s books will be available for purchase at the event, which begins at 4pm at the Pratt Museum.

Local artist and longtime Pratt Museum Patron Rika Mouw will also present some of her wilderness-centered artworks during the event.

About Michael Engelhard A cultural anthropologist and longtime outdoor instructor, Engelhard specialized in land use, subsistence, and symbolic aspects of landscapes. He is the recipient of several literary awards, including a Rasmuson Individual Artist Award and three Alaska Press Club Awards. His writing has been featured in Outside magazine, Alaska magazine, and Earth Island Journal.  He is the author of over six books, including No Walk in the Park, Ice Bear, and American Wild. More information and contact information is available at https://michaelengelhard.com.

About the Pratt Museum The mission of the Pratt Museum is to strengthen relationships between people and place through stories relevant to Kachemak Bay. It fulfills its mission by facilitating engagement between community members and strengthening understandings of our shared place. Through these activities, the unique relationship between the people and places of Kachemak Bay will be sustained far into the future. The Museum is open daily from 10am – 6pm during the summer months. Visit the Pratt Museum at 379 Bartlett Street in Homer. Tel (907) 235-8635. More information is available at https://www.prattmuseum.org/.

Contact Whitney Harness, Visitor Services, Store and Communications Manager tel (907) 435-3328, email wharness@prattmuseum.org

Download PDF of this press release here.

Pratt Museum Receives General Operations Grant from the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation

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Pratt Museum Receives General Operations Grant from The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation

Homer, Alaska (April 8, 2024)

The Pratt Museum, which is governed by The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., is the recipient of a $10,000 General Operating Grant from The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation

The Pratt Museum is extremely grateful to be the recipient of a $10,000 General Operations Grant from The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation. This contribution will allow the Pratt Museum to engage visitors with dynamic exhibits and programs in the arts, sciences, and humanities from the very beginning of each visitors experience at our facility. Operation expenses are a large part of our overall budget, and this contribution will bolster our ability to ensure customer satisfaction for continued support of program of work.

About The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation Founded in 1987, The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation is a family foundation that supports nonprofit organizations in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The Foundation is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of nature, including wildlife and their required habitats. It also supports the institutions that present nature and our rich cultural heritage to the public. More information is available at https://hughandjanefergusonfoundation.org/.

About the Pratt Museum The mission of the Pratt Museum is to strengthen relationships between people and place through stories relevant to Kachemak Bay. It fulfills its mission by facilitating engagement between community members and strengthening understandings of our shared place. Through these activities, the unique relationship between the people and places of Kachemak Bay will be sustained far into the future. The Museum is open daily from 10am-6pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day and Tuesday-Saturday from 11am-4pm the rest of the year. Visit the Pratt Museum at 3779 Bartlett Street in Homer. Tel (907) 235-8635. More information is available at http://www.prattmuseum.org/.

Contact Whitney Harness, Visitor Services, Store and Communications Manager, tel (907) 435-3328, email wharness@prattmuseum.org

Download PDF of this press release, here.