Pratt Museum Receives Support for Collections Accessibility Project Through a Grant-In-Aid from the Alaska State Museum
Homer, Alaska (February 7, 2025)
The Pratt Museum, which is governed by The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., is the recipient of a $11,729.30 Grant-In-Aid from the Alaska State Museum for their “Improving Accessibility: Pratt Museum Collections Go Online” project
The Pratt Museum is embarking on an exciting new project, “Improving Accessibility: Pratt Museum Collections Go Online”, thanks to the generous support of a Grant-In-Aid from the Alaska State Museum. This project aims to make the Museum’s holdings more accessible and inclusive by bringing collections to a wider audience through efficient means.
“We’re so grateful to the Alaska State Museum for their generous funding through the Grant-In-Aid program. Moving our collections online will allow for greater accessibility for our community, for researchers, for students, and for those who are simply curious to see what we have,” said Pratt Museum Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Liv Wisnewski. “These collections are held in the public trust, and it’s so exciting to be able to increase access for those we serve.”
The project involves upgrading the Museum’s desktop collections management software to an online edition, and will provide professional development opportunities for a Museum Studies Graduate Student in an internship capacity. Memphis Despain, who attends the California State University, Long Beach and is in the final semester of their Art History M.A. program was chosen for the internship and arrived in Homer in early February.
“My professor was the one who sent me the opportunity, noting that I met the qualifications. I wanted to be here because the Pratt is a museum that is making an effort to serve its community. A museum as a cultural institution makes a promise to not only collect and preserve its collection, but to educate and offer it back to the public it serves,” said Despain. “The Pratt Museum is making an effort to be more accessible and I admire that; this is an exciting project and I’m glad I can be a part of it!”
About the Alaska State Museum Established in 1900 when an Act of Congress created the Historical Library and Museum for the District of Alaska, the Alaska State Museum seeks to identify, collect, care for, and exhibit Alaska’s material culture and natural history and provide public access to services and collections of the Museum. More information is available at https://museums.alaska.gov/asm/asmhome.html
About the Pratt Museum The mission of the Pratt Museum is to explore and preserve the culture, science, and art of the Kachemak Bay Region. 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 a printable PDF of this press release, here.
The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., Which Governs the Pratt Museum, Hosts Annual Business Meeting and Announces New Board Members
Homer, Alaska (February 5, 2025)
Former Board President Milli Martin and Pratt Museum Executive Director Patricia Relay Addressed Members, Expressed Gratitude for Successful Year
Linda Rowell and Kate McGregor to Join the Board of Directors
The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. hosted its Annual Business Meeting Tuesday and certified election results, successfully adding two new members to its Board of Directors. The meeting began with a presentation led by Board President Milli Martin and Pratt Museum Executive Director Patricia Relay.
The ballot counting committee presented election results, which were certified and made effective as of February 4, 2025 with the following appointments:
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Sue Fallon elected Board President
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Milli Martin elected Board Vice President
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Jennifer Bartolowits to continue as Board Treasurer
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Savanna Bradley to continue as Board Secretary
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Clark Fair re-elected director
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Tim Hatfield to continue as director
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Kate McGregor elected director
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Linda Rowell elected director
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Mel Strydom re-elected director
Learn more about The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. Board of Directors by visiting our website, https://www.prattmuseum.org/staff-board/.
About The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. Founded in 1955, The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. serves as the governing body for the Pratt museum, and provides vital advocacy and fundraising support for the Museum.
About the Pratt Museum The mission of the Pratt Museum is to explore and preserve the art, science, and culture of the Kachemak Bay Region. 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 Sue Fallon, HSNH Board President, email prattboard@prattmuseum.org
Bering Sea Storms: Past to Present Exhibition to Show at Pratt Museum
Bering Sea Storms: Past to Present Exhibition to Show at Pratt Museum
Homer, Alaska (December 17, 2024)
The Pratt Museum will host “Bering Sea Storms: Past to Present” Exhibition with Panels and Videos Featuring the Aleutian Environment, Indigenous culture, and Aleutian Island Storm History
The Pratt Museum’s first special exhibition of the year will open in the Main Gallery on January 10, 2025 and be on display through May 16, 2025. A First Friday opening reception will be held at the Museum on Friday, February 7, 2025 from 4-6pm.
In 2022, a group of scientists as well as local youth, elders, and stakeholders participated in a research trip transiting the Aleutian Islands to study Bering Sea storminess, gathering data to help further understand the historic record of extreme storm events. The goal of the project was to help communities plan for future storm scenarios that may result from rapid climate change. Bering Sea Storms: Past to Present highlights the research collected and the way that scientists and Indigenous Alaskans worked together.
The entire project, including the exhibition, was funded by the National Science Foundation. The month-long voyage was led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of North Carolina Wilmington. The Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska assisted with fieldwork planning and outreach, and two tribal Culture Bearers joined the cruise as well. The Museum of the Aleutians in Unalaska unveiled the exhibition, and it was mounted there through mid-September 2024.
Exhibit & Project Contact Dr. Chris Maio, Director Arctic Coastal Geoscience Lab, Associate Professor Coastal Geography, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, (907) 474-5651, cvmaio@alaska.edu, https://acgl.community.uaf.edu/
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
Pratt Museum Receives Charitable Grant from The Homer Foundation
Pratt Museum Receives Charitable Grant from The Homer Foundation
Homer, Alaska (December 5, 2024) – Pratt Museum
The Pratt Museum, which is governed by The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., is the Recipient of a $5,000 Homer Foundation Opportunity Fund and KLEPS Fund Grant
The Pratt Museum is incredibly grateful to be the recipient of a $5,000 Homer Foundation charitable grant from the Opportunity Fund and KLEPS Fund. This contribution will support Kachemak Bay: An Exploration of People & Place, a winter public program series. This programming is targeted to a diverse audience, ranging from children to lifelong learners, and is expertly developed to appeal to community members and visitors alike. The goal of these programs is to inspire a deeper interest in engaging with the natural environment in ways that reflect the artist, historian, and citizen scientist within each of us.
This series, Kachemak Bay: An Exploration of People & Place, is named after a permanent gallery in the Pratt Museum that is question-based, and uses science, art, and culture to explore the story of who we are and how that story is shaped by the place we live. We are inviting our community members and visitors to delve even deeper into this theme by offering workshops and lectures led by highly-qualified experts in fields that explain the place we call home, how we are informed by our place, and ultimately how we shape our place.
This grant will allow the Pratt Museum to provide honorariums to the experts who will draw upon their knowledge and experience to prepare for and present place-based lectures to Pratt Museum patrons. It would also allow us to upgrade our outdated technology assets, such as a laptop computer and smart lectern to facilitate the presentation of digital educational materials.
About The Homer Foundation Established in 1991, The Homer Foundation was the first community foundation of its kind in Alaska. The mission of The Homer Foundation is to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of the greater Homer area by promoting philanthropic and charitable activities. Learn more by visiting their website https://www.homerfoundation.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 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 a printable PDF of this press release, here.
Pratt Museum Receives Generous Grant from The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation
Pratt Museum Receives Generous Grant from The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation
Homer, Alaska (November 7, 2024)
The Pratt Museum, which is governed by The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., is the recipient of a $10,000 Award for General Operations 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. As a non-profit museum with limited funding, we struggle to cover our operating expenses, which make up a large part of our overall budget. While most of these costs go towards paying our staff to fulfill our mission, approximately 13% of our operating expenses are dedicated to utilities, repairs, maintenance, and facility costs (including janitorial services, grounds upkeep, and supplies). This contribution will bolster our ability to ensure customer satisfaction for continued support of our 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 a printable PDF of this press release, here.
Pratt Museum Receives Collections Management Fund Award for Updates to Gull Island Exhibit
Pratt Museum Receives Collections Management Fund Award for Updates to Gull Island Exhibit
Homer, Alaska (November 5, 2024) – Pratt Museum
The Pratt Museum, which is governed by The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., is the Recipient of a $15,827 Collections Management Fund Award from Museums Alaska, Supported by Rasmuson Foundation
The Pratt Museum is incredibly grateful to be the recipient of a $15,827.00 Museums Alaska grant from the Collections Management Fund supported by Rasmuson Foundation. This contribution will support upgrades to the Museum’s popular Gull Island Exhibit, with a new display case to better protect and display natural history specimens in the permanent collection, including feet, wings and eggs of various species of local shorebirds. Updated interpretation of the objects in the case as well as updated exhibit panels will accompany the new display case.
The project will also include improvements to the interactive technology used to power the Gull Cam, which allows visitors to the Museum to observe life on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, with a limitless view of glaucous-winged gulls, kittiwakes, cormorants, and more. Gull Island is owned and managed by Seldovia Native Association, Inc. The Pratt Museum is granted a conditional use permit to place camera equipment on the island for educational and scientific purposes.
About Museums Alaska In 1983, Museums Alaska became an official non-profit organization, after serving as a committee of the Alaska Historical Society since the 1970s. For over four decades, their commitment to strengthening museums and cultural centers in Alaska has grown, propelling them into a new era of growth and impact. More information is available at https://museumsalaska.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 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 a printable PDF of this press release, here.
Kodachrome Ritz Celebrates Vibrant Homer Community
Kodachrome Ritz Celebrates Vibrant Homer Community
Homer, Alaska (October 10, 2024)
The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. Hosts Signature Benefit Event at the Pratt Museum
On Saturday, October 5th, The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. Board of Directors and the Pratt Museum staff were proud to once again bring people together for Kodachrome RITZ. “As a community museum, this was a special opportunity to bring people together in support of our facility and our educational exhibits and programs,” said Pratt Museum Executive Director, Patricia Relay, who was thrilled to be part of this year’s event.
Each gallery in the Museum held something special for attendees to experience while they sipped their wine and enjoyed hearty hors d’oeuvres. The Main Gallery featured special exhibition Rarefied Light 2023, a series of award-winning photographs from across the state of Alaska, as well as enchanting piano pieces performed by local musician, Erica Ono Hasche. Online and Live Auction items were displayed in the Marine Gallery. A live-art demonstration featuring local artist Sharlene Cline was held in the Gallery Kachemak Bay: An Exploration of People and Place, culminating in the creation of Japanese Shikishi rice paper panels painted with delicate fireweed blooms.
The event was a tremendous success thanks to the widespread support from sponsors, from the 44 businesses and individuals who donated auction items, and from the 110 community members who participated in the event. This vibrant community celebration helped raise nearly $17,000 in support of the Museum’s critical efforts to explore and preserve the traditions, cultures, science, and art of Kachemak Bay.
About the Pratt Museum The mission of the Pratt Museum is to explore and preserve the culture, science, and art of the Kachemak Bay region. Our vision reflects our sense of place within our community; collaborative and inclusive. We strive to strengthen the interconnected relationships between people and place by sharing and preserving stories and materials relevant to the communities we serve. 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, Communications Manager, tel (907) 435-3328, email communications@prattmuseum.org
Download a printable PDF, here.
Pratt Museum Hosts Workshop Session as Part of Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center and Bristol Bay Foundation Project
Pratt Museum Hosts Workshop Session as Part of Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center and Bristol Bay Foundation Project
Homer, Alaska (September 27, 2024)
Pratt Museum Curator of Botanical Exhibits, Yarrow Hinnant, and Head Gardener and Ninilchik Tribal Member, Shawn Jackinsky, collaborated with the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center to participate in and facilitate multiple sessions of this project
Recently, Pratt Museum Curator of Botanical Exhibits, Yarrow Hinnant, and Head Gardener, Shawn Jackinsky, collaborated on the project Woven Together: Taperrnat Research and Art, organized by Dawn Biddison, Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in Alaska, in collaboration with the Bristol Bay Foundation and Alaska Native community members. The goal of this project is to support teaching and learning about Indigenous knowledge and techniques of harvesting and working with taperrnat (beach wildrye grass in the Yup’ik language) by connecting Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous students, and local learners.
In August, Emily Johnston, a Yup’ik knowledge keeper and weaver, accompanied learners on an outing to collect local beach wildrye. Emily (wearing a red jacket in photos above) led the group in identifying grass that is ideal for weaving, and taught them how to harvest it properly. She then instructed the group on how to braid and hang the grass for drying.
Ninilchik Tribal Member and Pratt Museum Head Gardener Shawn Jackinsky also collected wildrye grass (Leymus mollis) specimens that will go to herbarium collections, two for the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska and two for the U.S. National Herbarium at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Herbarium samples harvested from seven locations for the Woven Together project were collected and documented by Indigenous community members of these lands, which has not been the practice of herbariums and scientists generally in the past.
Shawn harvested the herbarium samples, under the guidance of Emily Johnston. With a goal of collecting samples with traits desired by Indigenous weavers, Emily showed him examples of good weaving grass. His description and notes on the samples will accompany the specimens to the herbariums, along with contextual photographs, where they will be part of the official scientific record.
In September, the Pratt Museum hosted a second workshop for the Woven Together project, on weaving taperrnat. Alutiiq and Iñupiaq weaver June Simeonoff Pardue led the workshop, sharing her knowledge of techniques for processing taperrnat and weaving it into mats. The photos below include the workshop in progress, as well as a selection of items from the Pratt Museum Collection that are made from the same grass.
Information gathered, shared, and documented during this project will be added to the Smithsonian Learning Lab Platform, a website that is free to access by the public. The Learning Lab sites for the Arctic Studies Center in Alaska can be found here https://learninglab.si.edu/ and features information about Alaska Native cultures and educational resources created in collaboration with Alaska Natives.
About Woven Together: Taperrnat Research and Art This project was co-developed by Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Museum Specialist, Dawn Biddison, the Bristol Bay Foundation, and Alaska Native participants. It has been reviewed and approved by the Alaska Native Museum Sovereignty group and by tribal representatives in areas where the work is taking place: The Native village of Eklutna, Ninilchik Village Tribe, and Naknek Native Village Council.
“Woven Together will be based on work with Yup’ik, Sugpiaq, and Dena’ina community members – whom the Bristol Bay Foundation serves – as partners, participants, educators, learners and content-creators, along with other Alaska collaborators, for: 1) researching and harvesting taperrnat (beach wildrye grass in the Yup’ik language); 2) teaching how to prepare and weave taperrnat; and 3) creating and sharing resources for educators and learners. Alaska Native Knowledge-Keepers will be at the center of each element, and Alaska Native cultural protocols, values and expertise will be honored and shared throughout the project and in the co-created educational resources.” (Biddison, “Woven Together: A ‘Together We Thrive’ Project”, ASC Newsletter, May 2024, p. 17).
Information about a related project can be found here https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/weaving-a-yupik-issran-grass-carryingbag/sbmuMYcg9n5Gv0QC
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 & Communications Manager, tel (907) 435-3328, email communications@prattmuseum.org
Download a printable PDF of this press release, here.
Pratt Museum Receives Scholarship Grant for Staff to Attend Museums Alaska 2024 Conference in Fairbanks
Pratt Museum Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Receives Scholarship Grant to Attend Museums Alaska 2024 Conference in Fairbanks
Homer, Alaska (August 8, 2024)
Olivia Wisnewski, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Pratt Museum, is the recipient of a $775.00 scholarship grant from the Donna Matthews Professional Development Fund
Pratt Museum Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Olivia Wisnewski, is grateful be the recipient of a $775.00 scholarship grant from the Donna Matthews Professional Development Fund. These scholarship awards are generously supported by individual donors and auction income. This grant will allow Ms. Wisnewski to attend the Museums Alaska 2024 Conference beginning September 25th in Fairbanks, Alaska. The theme of this year’s conference is Building Community and will be a great opportunity to forge connections with museum professionals from across the state, experience hands-on learning, and expand the impact of the Pratt Museum in the Kachemak Bay Community.
About Museums Alaska In 1983, Museums Alaska became an official non-profit organization, after serving as a committee of the Alaska Historical Society since the 1970s. For over four decades, their commitment to strengthening museums and cultural centers in Alaska has grown, propelling them into a new era of growth and impact. More information is available at https://museumsalaska.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 a PDF of this press release, HERE.
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