In the museum’s latest special exhibition, Thinking Made Visible, perception, communication, and invention are explored through nature journals and cartoons, maps and scientific fieldnotes, architectural, art, and exhibit design. Memory and sensory experience are given form by the humble sketchbook.

In the course of developing the exhibit, museum staff conducted more than three dozen interviews and delighted in following those branching conversations, the cross-cutting themes and stories for a museum exhibit as conversation across conversations. In this episode, we hear from a few of the contributing artists and scientists about intergenerational influence and encouragement, the planting of the seeds for the practice of observation and the visualization of what we see, what we feel.

The exhibit, Thinking Made Visible, runs through January 5, 2025, in the museum’s special exhibits gallery.

The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.