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
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