Wasilla Museum hosting Night at the Museum series

WASILLA — The Wasilla Museum Visitor Center is hosting weekly educational workshops through the annual Night at the Museum series throughout the summer.

This annual series features a variety of classes covering a range of topics such as crafting, gardening, art, writing, and nature.

“It just morphed into us asking different community members teaching us about what we can get involved in and what’s around us,” Wasilla Museum curator Bethany Buckingham said.

Each week is a new learning opportunity. Local groups and individuals from across the Valley offer various presentations and educational activities at the Wasilla Museum.

The Fish and Wildlife Service held a presentation on invasive and non-invasive plant species and what people should and should not plant in their gardens during the first event of the series June 1.

Participants learned how to sew their own tote bags in a class hosted by Sewing Together Sewing Studio during the second week of the series.

Local writers are invited to a workshop titled “So You Want to Write a Book?” Wednesday, June 15.

The Night at the Museum series started in 2009, according to Buckingham. She said this year’s schedule is particularly diverse in topics to learn about.

“We’ve had a great outpouring from the community,” Buckingham said.

This is the first time the Wasilla Museum has put on the Night at the Museum series since the start of the pandemic. She said they’ve been averaging around 25 participants each week, and they’re eager to reconnect with the community with various public events throughout the year.

“Everybody’s been hit by it. Looking at the numbers across the state, a lot of museums lost 50 percent of their attendance over the last couple of years. We’re all feeling that impact. With everything opening back up, we’re hoping that we can get back to 2019 numbers,” Buckingham said.

The Wasilla Museum is offering tours throughout the summer. The current exhibit “Illustrating Alaska” is a traveling exhibit that explores the process of illustrating children’s books while highlighting Alaskan illustrators Jim Fowler, Evon Zerbetz, Michaela Goade, and Mitchell Watley.

The Night at the Museum series runs every Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. throughout June and July.

For more information, call 907-373-9071 or visit cityofwasilla.gov/services/departments/museum.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com