Skagway Museums Part 5

Visitor Center Museum

You can feel the raw excitement of the Gold Rush in this action-packed photo!

Well, here we are at week 5 of our Skagway museum review and we are still trying to work through the long list of museums at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. I actually had to go back and see which museums we’ve already covered because my brain is totally overloaded. You could visit Skagway on 20 cruises and still not see all of the local museums. That’s crazy stuff. There are more museums in Skagway than bars, which is something I have trouble wrapping my head around. Let’s get on with it.

Whew! This is the last park museum!

If you were a Klondike Gold Rush addict, Skagway would be your dealer. Going to the Visitor Center Museum would be like mainlining history. Obviously, Gold Rush history is very popular in Skagway because it was a big thing that happened a long time ago, which is interesting. When you get off of your cruise ship, this museum is likely where you will start your day. It’s like a Skagway for Dummies class. Let’s take a look at what they offer.

The Visitor Center Museum is like walking through a Skagway timeline

When you step off of your cruise ship onto the Skagway docks, you are literally walking in the steps of Bone Fide Gold Rush Stampeders. That’s pretty cool. But what was life like in 1898? As it turns out, not so great. To find out, go to the Visitor Center Museum and imagine what life was like for people coming to Alaska before all-you-can-eat cruise buffets and discount shore excursions.

The museum was recently renovated, which is a good thing because it used to be pretty lame. The exhibits are way better now and you can choose your own route to the Klondike gold fields as you browse the displays. That’s fun! I think it would be a lot better if they made you change into heavy wool clothes and old boots, which is what people back then wore. They looked better, but I bet they smelled awful.

Speaking of smells

The Visitor Canter Museum is quite tactile, which means you can see, hear, feel, and smell what life was like in Skagway back when it was a lawless dump. Some of the exhibits are interactive and there are all sorts of old photos, artifacts, maps, videos, and dioramas. I love dioramas. I made a diorama from that scene in Jaws where the shark attacks the boat. It’s not in the museum.

They should really work on that name

Let’s face it, the Visitor Center Museum is a terrible name. It makes you think it’s a museum with a bunch of visitor center exhibits. Nobody would go to that museum unless they gave away free beer. I think it should be named something like, “Gold ADRENALINE Rush Museum of Thrills and Chills!” Or maybe, “Mr. Soapy’s Wild Ride!” Almost anything would be better.

That’s it for today’s Skagway museum review and it’s also the last park museum until they build two or three more next year. Next week, we are going to get down and dirty with another gold rush museum because that’s how we roll in Skagway.