maxine & jesse whitney museum

I was not expecting much when we pulled up to this museum but I was wrong. There were many typical Alaska animals in their environment. I saw animals that I would have never seen in the wild.

This museum, at the Prince William Sound Community College, is really superb! I think it is the best display of trophy class mounted animals that I have ever seen. Polar and grizzly bears, moose, caribou, musk ox and others are included in the display of big game animals. We really enjoyed this museum of Alaskan life, culture, and wildlife, which includes one of the largest private collections of Native Alaskan art and artifacts in the world. This is worth visiting! And it is FREE, although donations are appreciated.

This is an excellent collection of stuffed animals, ivory carving, and Alaskan Native Art. It took Maxine and Jesse Whitney to build their collection. It was donated to the Collage for all to enjoy.

Valdez, is a great place for accessible history, the earthquake, the oil spill, the glaciers, the fishing. I almost did not take in this museum, because I had seen the Valdez Museum as well as the "Old Valdez" exhibit. However, I am certainly glad I did. Located on the campus of the PW Sound Community College, this collection contains so much history and information about ALL of Alaska and its people. The staff is very informed, and helpful, and knows all about the collection. Fossils, Narwhal, and Mammoth tusk, native Alaskan tools are just a few of the features here. Haven't seen any or enough Alaskan wildlife? Then check out the moose, bear, Caribou, and other residents here.

This is a quick stop. You can spend 15-20 minutes. I was amazed that one person can collect so much during their lifetime. Highly recommend this if you want to kill sometime during your stay in Valdez. Plus it is free.

Great museum that we went to in order to get out of the rain. Great surprise ! Interesting story and interesting and varied displays. Knowledgable and personable docent. Check it out. Free admission was an added plus

We loved this place. So much to see and we learned a lot of things we didn't know before. The young man in the front was fun and great to talk to. Thanks for a great visit.

After a day of kayaking, as the weather started to turn, we found ourselves (after some dead-ends) walking into the Whitney Museum. It's a small museum, funded mostly by donations and the goodwill of the local college (and, of course, the Whitney estate), but is a great introduction to local and regional indigenous culture as well as Alaskan wildlife.While taxidermy may not be everyone's thing, it is impressive to get up close and personal with excellent specimens. Very comprehensive collection.More interesting to us was the collection of indigenous Alaskan clothing, ceremonial gear, carvings, and weavings. The selection of bonework/ivorywork was particularly impressive -- everything from traditional patterns to an Alaska Airlines 727.Perhaps most overlooked, and most interesting, is the very significant set of items (animal and human) preserved in trays for review near the entrance. Go through every drawer. Take your time. There's a lot there, and it all represents years and decades and centuries of culture.The Whitney is an absolute must see if you're in Valdez. Took us less than an hour, but could have been in there a lot longer. Odds are you'll find rainy days there, and this is a perfect way to learn something while passing the time.

I don't know if this is appropriate as we never got to see the museum. We stayed an extra day in Valdez as it was advertised widely as open 7 days a week from 9 until at least 5. We went at 11 am. and it was closed we no indication why. Very disappointing but we saw other attractions.

We live in Alaska and are regular museum visitors whenever we visit towns in our state: Fairbanks, Seward, Anchorage, and Valdez. We stopped in here one Thursday afternoon. Admission was free, with a donation requested. The museum is administered by the Prince William Sound Community College and is housed in a building connected to it's campus. This museum has only one large gallery and houses the collection of long-time Alaskan Maxine Whitney, who accumulated these items traveling about the state purchasing art and artifacts for sale in her gift shop. The interpretive displays contain an interesting discussion of what makes something art and whether art created for the commercial or tourist market is somehow tainted by the commercial motivation. There is also interesting information about the trade schools that taught young Alaska Natives to carve and weave. A free interpretive booklet detailing the life and collection of Maxine Whitney and her husband, Jesse, and giving more information about some of the items in the collection is available at the entrance.I was particularly impressed by the collection of ivory carvings. There were many from different artists around the state and they were grouped by theme. Particularly unusual was a set of airplanes commissioned by Maxine Whitney to commemorate the history of flight in Alaska.This collection and display is not particularly child friendly, but there is a scavenger hunt, word find and coloring page at the back of the interpretive booklet. I wish the docents staffing the front entry had mentioned this to me when we entered. Other parents may want to know.

I did not expect such a delightful place on Valdez - though i liked every moment in Valdez and at sea. Wonderful collection remarkably presented. Nice and helpful young people at desk (i went once alone, and once with my wife)

So many things well displayed and not too much information. Just enough to get a sense of Alaska and a couple who loved it.

The museum was a wonderful stop on our way out of Valdez. The taxidermy was excellent and really gave you a perspective of the animals size. The collection of artifacts was impressive and there where many interesting exhibits. Well worth your time, and it was free(donations are accepted for upkeep).

Enjoyed two particular museum visits for the June 2014 Alaska vacation: Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, and Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum.The Anchorage Museum is pretty fancy and lots of staff working there, while M&JW Museum is free admission, plain building layout but with "real deal" exhibit items. I was particularly intrigued by artifacts/topics such as - fish wheel to harvest salmons - native clothing, canoes, kayaks, and hunting weaponry - education system and segregation period - Russian Orthodox influence and subsequent American rules - impact of Good Friday earthquakes & other tsunami events

Entry is on a donation basis. The museum is packed with full mounts of a wide variety of animals and a beautiful collection of Native Alaskan craftsmanship with ivory, leather works, dolls, furs and much more. We were very impressed. Even our nearly 3 year old grand daughter enjoyed herself. Not only is everything neat, clean and well displayed, but educational, as well.