Alaska State museum may have to close for up to 2 years

Here's a switch ... If the governor and Legislature approve a bit of funding, the Alaska State Museum will have to close its doors temporarily.


According to the Juneau Empire (via the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner), at issue is the remaining bit of funding for a construction project that would end up housing the Alaska State Library, Archives and Museum under one roof in Juneau.


Construction plans and the project timeline are currently under development, but because the designated project site is the current home of the state museum, it'll have to close for an estimated 20 months if funding comes through.


The main issue in scheduling the construction after funding comes through is "how many tourist seasons we want to miss," said Bob Banghart, museum curator.


Much of the state museum's work outside of Juneau is done through things like traveling exhibits, so Juneau residents and visitors will be primarily impacted by the possible closure. Statewide residents likely won't even notice, say officials.


During that time period, the museum's new storage area will be constructed, and artifacts will be transferred a single time, from their current location to their permanent new home, Banghart said.


That will minimize handling, saving work for the staff and reducing risk of damage to artifacts, he said.


In the meantime, Banghart said he's looking for a temporary location in which at least some museum displays can be put up temporarily while the main museum building is unavailable.


"We want to have a presence, it is important to have a presence," he said.


No space has yet been identified, and Banghart declined to identify which locations were under consideration.


It hasn't yet been decided what the museum will choose to show at the temporary location either.


Some of that may be determined by the condition of the space that's available, he said.


"Those spaces are not going to have a full complement of environmental controls," he said. For any items displayed there "the material has to withstand a little more of the rigors of a conventional environment," he said.


The interim location also has to have adequate security for whatever is shown there.


Further, they want to have a large enough space so they feel good about charging admission, he said.


And the division has to be able to afford it, and know it will be available when it is needed, whenever that turns out to be.


"We're not walking around with cash in hand, but we do have some options were looking at," Banghart said.


"What's exciting for us in the division is that this has been talked about for years, and now we've got one of the most important projects in Juneau since the State Office Building in progress," he said.


Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, said there's strong support for the project throughout the state and the Juneau delegation has met repeatedly with top state officials about the project.


"All the indicators we've received to date (are) that the governor is very supportive, and I'm very hopeful," she said.


She said museum supporters are eagerly watching the governor's budget proposal in December for more museum funding.


Banghart said if a direct appropriation is made for the project, work could begin more quickly, while waiting for bonding authority could take longer.