Museums Alaska: The Statewide Museums Association : Conferences

Our association is strong because it represents museums both large and small, from all parts of the state. And unique, small places like Kodiak, Ketchikan, and Homer have always been great destinations for our meetings. It's not just natural wonders, culture, history, and art - it's community, the font of all good ideas in the museum world.

Our theme "Nature, Culture, History - Museums!" is a perfect match for Unalaska and for our host institution, the Museum of the Aleutians. The 2009 conference program will offer ideas, benefits, and inspiration to match the beauty around us. Planned sessions and workshops include Unangan cultural heritage, science and natural history education, community archaeology, professional development, exhibit design, collections care, and mount-making.

Co-sponsors include the Unalaska/Dutch Harbor Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Grand Aleutians Hotel.

Getting there

The MA board is committed to helping its members to take advantage of this opportunity. Here's how:

Travel scholarships:

Scholarships to the conference are available! Apply by June 28, 2009.

Our goal is to help equalize Unalaska travel with normal meeting costs. This initiative is made possible by generous sponsors, income from last year's meeting with WMA, and some targeted budget trimming.

Alaska Airlines is pleased to offer Museums Alaska attendees the following discounts:
10% discount off any published fare (excluding Hot Deals) to Unalaska, Alaska, from any intra-Alaska, Alaska Airlines city. VALID TRAVEL DATES: September 13th, 2009 to September 22nd, 2009

HOW TO BOOK:
To take advantage of these discounts online at www.alaskaair.com, simply use e-certificate code ECCTA0011 in the Flights Quick Search box.

Or call the Alaska Airlines Group and Meetings Desk at 1-800-445-4435, or your travel agent and reference ID number CTA0011. There is no booking fee when booking on AlaskaAir.com, however, a $15.00 ticketing fee will apply for bookings made by calling into the Group Desk.

Ferry
Leaves Saturday at 4:00 pm, $361-$563, arrives in Homer Tuesday 22 at 1:45 pm

Hotels
133 rooms, reserved until August 17:

Grand Aleutian - $105/single, $125/double
Unisea - $85/single, $105/double

NOTE: When making hotel reservations at Grand Aleutian Hotel for the conference you must directly contact the hospitality manager Dan Young at 907-581-7155 or Dan.Young@unisea.com.

Registration: Online registration now available!

Top Ten Reasons to visit Unalaska:

• You will see breathtaking beauty in every direction and the most beautiful evening light in the world.

• You will see a seafood processing company engage in complete recycling from the product itself to using the oil to run the machinery that processes the product.

• On the right day, you can walk along Summer Bay Road (a five minute walk from any of the conference venues) and see harbor seals, otters, sea lions, puffins, ravens, eagles and foxes in one trip; and you will have a chance to go for a hike or just pick berries without having to look over your shoulder all of the time for fear of bears!

• You can hike along the same paths that were hiked by people thousands of years ago (that just takes breath away every time one thinks of it!)

• You can see the remnants of World War II and the scars left on a land where Native Alaskans sacrificed more than written words can tell.

• You can pick the best blueberries in the world.

• Instead of the changing colors of tree leaves, you can witness the changing colors of hills and mountains.

• Within the limits of the City of Unalaska, you can visit three National Historic sites or areas: Sitka Spruce Plantations, For Schwatka (Ulakta Head), and the Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of Christ, built in 1808.

• You will get a chance to have a taste of the Grand Aleutian Hotel’s Seafood Buffet – the Mecca of the local seafood cuisine.

• You will see the boats fishing in some of the deadliest waters on the Earth.