EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

In Alaska, our lives are closely intertwined with flora, fauna and the environment. This gallery focuses on earth and life sciences including geology and geography, with an emphasis on zoology. Exhibits include:

CREATURES NEAR AND FAR
It's a zoo in here! Watch Chomper the snapping turtle, baby alligators and moon jellies, or make a new friend at the marine touch tank, which is home to sea stars, sea anemonies and more.

SHAKE TABLE
Anchorage sits in one of the world's most active earthquake zones. Structures here must withstand strong quakes. At the shake table, erect a building, program an earthquake and observe how well your building withstands the tremors.

EARTH AND ICE SOUNDS
Curl up in this 3-D sound booth and hear nature recordings made in Alaska, such as a polar bear groaning, a glacier calving and wolves howling.

LIQUIFICATION
Toward the end of the last Ice Age, melting glaciers in the Cook Inlet region laid down a deposit known as Bootlegger's Cove Clay. It is "sensitive clay." Shaking during strong earthquakes temporarily turns the clay from a material that can support buildings into flowing ooze. Use this model to see firsthand how Bootlegger Cove clay liquefies when it’s disturbed by tremors.

Sponsored by ConocoPhillips

Did you know?

You can tell a whale's age by looking at the wax plug in its ear.

Sneezing with your eyes open is impossible.

Alaska's Great Earthquake of 1964 is the strongest ever recorded in North America with a 9.2 magnitude.