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Project Descriptions

Yuungnaqpiallerput (The Way We Genuinely Live) Masterworks of Yup'ik Science and Survival

August 1, 2005 - July 31, 2009 | Exhibitions
The Anchorage Museum of History and Art, working with the Calista Elders Council, will develop a 5,000 sq ft traveling exhibition presenting 19th-century Yup'ik Eskimo technologies, their contemporary applications, and the underlying scientific processes. Featuring Yup'ik artifacts, it will integrate indigenous knowledge into the teaching of basic science principles as well as demonstrate the role played by science in everyday life. The exhibition will be organized around seasonal activities practiced in the past and retaining modern relevance. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will develop the comparative exhibits on modern science and technology, and the Imaginarium will develop complementary educational programming. Primary audiences will include rural Alaska Natives, both youth and elders, non-Native Alaska residents and visitors, as well as venues outside Alaska. By demonstrating how indigenous knowledge can be related to modern science, this exhibition provides a model for the informal science education field on how to incorporate cultural aspects of their own communities into museum exhibitions and programs. In addition, it demonstrates how artifacts and hands-on science activities can be combined effectively to create engaging educational experiences.

Funders

NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 0515387
Funding Amount: 2024481

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Ann Fienup-Riordan
    Principal Investigator
    Anchorage Museum of History and Art
  • Suzi Jones
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Anchorage Museum Association
  • Discipline: History/policy/law | Nature of science | Social science and psychology | Technology
    Audience: Youth/Teen (up to 17) | Adults | General Public | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Exhibitions | Museum and Science Center Exhibits
    Access and Inclusion: Rural

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