Travelers who choose College as a destination will find a wide range of subjects on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus: from the night sky to campus art, subarctic horticulture, and wildfire knowledge. The offerings also vary in format. When planning, it is worth considering whether you prefer a hosted show, an outdoor tour, or a self-guided walking tour.
The Night Sky at the Planetarium
The Walt & Marita Babula Planetarium is located in the UA Museum of the North on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. In the immersive theater, visitors can explore the night sky over Alaska, the aurora, and the universe. Each show combines a fulldome film with a live tour of the night sky and beyond; the program lasts 45 minutes.
The planetarium offers a clearly defined way to engage with topics related to the sky and space. The film and live tour are both part of the format: the show combines a visual presentation with a guided look at the night sky. Those especially interested in the aurora will find it explicitly included in the program alongside the universe and the sky over Alaska.
Campus Paths and Geophysics
The Geophysical Institute offers a free outdoor tour. Stops along the way include a rocket, satellite dishes, and the Planet Walk. A Black Brant IX rocket stands in the landscaped strip across from the front of the Geophysical Institute. This specific location makes the rocket a landmark in its own right for anyone exploring the institute’s outdoor offerings.
On the UAF Planet Walk, celestial bodies from Mercury to Neptune are represented to scale. This offers a different perspective from the planetarium show: there, the focus is on the view of the sky in fulldome format; here, it is on a sequence of to-scale representations. A self-guided walking audio tour of the Troth Yeddha' Campus is also available through Spotify.
The two tour formats are quite different: the Geophysical Institute’s outdoor tour is free and guided, while the audio tour is self-guided and designed for walking. You can choose based on whether you prefer a guided tour or an independent audio format. No specific duration is given for these tours, whereas the planetarium show is listed as lasting 45 minutes.
Campus Art and Architecture
At the Elvey Building, the mural “Geo-Odyssey” brings art and geoscience together: Alaska artist Keith Appel created it on the front of the building in 1993. The University of Alaska Museum of the North also offers an architectural perspective on the landscape. Its contemporary architecture is inspired by glacier crevasses, alpine ridges, the aurora, and ice breakup on the Yukon River.
The two examples emphasize different things. The mural draws attention to a named work, its creator, and the year it was made. The museum’s architecture, by contrast, draws on several landscape and nature motifs. Those interested in design can therefore explore both an individual work of art and a building whose inspirations range from glacier formations to the aurora.
Horticulture and Wildfire Knowledge
The Charles Georgeson Botanical Garden is dedicated to education and research in subarctic horticulture. It expands the range of topics to include plants and gardening in a subarctic setting. The Wildfire Walk offers insight into wildfires in Alaska and their research and management. Together, these attractions highlight two more areas of focus: horticulture on the one hand and wildfire management on the other.
The options range from a 45-minute planetarium show and various campus and tour formats to art, architecture, horticulture, and wildfire topics. During your stay in College, you can plan around the subject that interests you most: a guided look at the sky, a self-guided audio experience, or a deeper exploration of science and design. This gives you a practical guide to the discoveries you may want to include in your trip.
Discover more destinations: Fairbanks, North Pole.
View the broader travel guide: Fairbanks North Star Borough.
