Totem pole conservation project to begin July 23rd at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum

Harnessing of the Atom Kootéeyaa (totem pole), located at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, will receive conservation care beginning July 23, at the City Museum. This project is supported by Juneau Rotary, the Friends of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, and individual donors.

On Wednesday, July 23rd between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Harnessing of the Atom Kootéeyaa will be taken down and moved to the front lawn of the City Museum. During that time, there will be no parking in front of the museum nor on the Calhoun Ave. side of the building. Sidewalks around the museum will be closed and traffic will be reduced to one lane.

Harnessing of the Atom Kootéeyaa was carved by renowned Lingít carver and artist, Jeet Yaaw Dustaa Amos Wallace of the T’akdeintaan Clan of the X’aakw Hit (Freshwater marked Coho House) in 1967. In 1976, it was installed outside the Juneau Memorial Library which is now the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. When the pole was installed in 1976 a traditional method of mounting a totem was used. This involved digging a hole for the lower end of the post to rest in. Rocks lined the hole to provide drainage and stability. By 2003 the pole had developed a distinct lean and was in danger of severe damage. It was removed from its original, traditional mount. A new aluminum support post was mounted in a concrete base to provide better stability and prevent further damage.

It has been 22 years since Harnessing of the Atom Kootéeyaa was remounted and stabilized in 2003, and once again the pole needs conservation and care. This kind of care will require taking the pole down, replacing the base, stabilizing any worsening open splits, and cleaning and applying fungicide.

The Juneau-Douglas City Museum is located at 4th & Main St.  Summer Hours: Tuesday-Friday 9am-6pm and Saturday-Sunday 10am – 4:30pm.  General admission is $7.00, admission for seniors (65 and older) is $6.00, and children under 13 are free when accompanied by an adult. As a Blue Star Museum, the City Museum offers free admission to active-duty military personnel including the National Guard and Reserves and their families.

July 22nd, 2025|

Help shape the future of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum

The Juneau-Douglas City Museum is seeking individuals to participate in a museum social impact survey. Participating in the survey is simple: register your interest online and, if selected to participate, visit the City Museum free of charge three times before October 31, 2025. Participants may also bring a friend or family member free of charge each visit.

After visiting the museum three times, participants will complete an online 30-minute survey to share how experiences at the museum impacted various outcomes. Upon completion of the survey participants will earn rewards, like a complimentary one-year membership to the Friends of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum or a free walking tour. Additionally, participants who complete the survey will have the option of entering a drawing for a chance to win tickets to Juneau art events.

Register online at bit.ly/4j7zdxt.

The Juneau-Douglas City Museum is open for summer hours Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. General admission is $7.00, admission for seniors (65 and older) is $6.00, and children under 13 are free when accompanied by an adult. As a Blue Star Museum, the City Museum offers free admission to active-duty military personnel including the National Guard and Reserves and their families.

For more information, contact the museum at (907) 586-3572 or [email protected].

May 19th, 2025|

City Museum closure on January 15

 The Juneau-Douglas City Museum will be closed on Wednesday, January 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for a private event.

The City Museum’s regular winter hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (closed Sunday and Monday). Admission in the month of January is free, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Pioneers of Alaska Igloo 6.

General information about the City Museum, including current exhibitions, can be found on the museum’s website at juneau.org/museum.

For questions, please contact Elissa Borges, Curator of Public Programs, at (907) 586-3572 or [email protected].

January 9th, 2025|

Juneau-Douglas City Museum to participate in national leadership program

The Juneau-Douglas City Museum has been selected by American Alliance for Museums (AAM) to participate in the Museum Social Impact in Practice (MSIIP) cohort. MSIIP is an initiative led by AAM and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Through this program Juneau-Douglas City Museum staff will learn how to effectively leverage social impact data collected over the next few years.

After a competitive application process, forty museums from 25 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico were selected to participate in the MSIIP program. This group of institutions represents the diversity of America’s museums, from small, regional art museums and historic houses to larger institutions. It includes children’s museums, science centers, historic houses, anthropology museums, university museums, zoos, visitors’ centers, presidential libraries, and natural history museums. As a member of this cohort, the Juneau-Douglas City Museum will engage in a study to measure and analyze the museum’s social and community impact.

Over the next three years, the Juneau-Douglas City Museum will recruit 100 visitors/participants for the study and track their visits to the museum. The visitors/participants may visit up to three times for free and will receive an incentive to participate in the survey developed by the museum.

For more information about the MSIIP program, visit the American Alliance of Museums website.

For more information, contact Elissa Borges, Curator of Public Programs at (907) 586-3572 or [email protected].

October 9th, 2024|

City Museum moves to winter hours and free admission starting September 29

The Juneau-Douglas City Museum will shift to winter hours and admission next week. Beginning Sunday, September 29, the museum will be closed on Sundays and Mondays and open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Winter hours through April 2025.

Admission to the City Museum is free from October through April thanks to the generous support of the museum’s free admission sponsors:

  • Friends of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum
  • Michelle Storer
  • Don and Alma Harris

For information about current exhibitions, visit juneau.org/museum.

September 26th, 2024|