Terrific aerial photos from the Brooks Range top this week’s Twitter-clicks-list. People were also interested in a family making their way to Fairbanks on a bicycle built for five and wanted to check out the new Morris Thompson Center website.

1. Stunning photography from the Brooks Range thanks to @alaskaphoto – http://ow.ly/2eFwC
2. Strange story of the day: family makes its way to Denali, then Fairbanks on a bicycle built for five – http://ow.ly/2eMPm
3. The Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center has launched a new website: http://ow.ly/2cvLs
4. A bunch of new photo contest entries have been added this week: http://ow.ly/2eG5c
5. On Facebook…people like us. You should too: http://ow.ly/2cb3b
6. Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival attracts participants from around the world – http://ow.ly/2dul0
7. From an Anchorage blogger: ‘You have to love Fairbanks!’ – http://ow.ly/2e1v6

These are our seven most-clicked links on Twitter for the past week. See our top-tweets from the past in the Inside Alaska archive.

Download the 6-25 KFBX Update

We spoke with Vice President of Visitor Services and Membership Karen Lane today about the upcoming Cultural Programs at the Morris Thompson Center. We also discussed some of the items on the agenda for the next First Friday Art Exhibit. Play or download this week’s program below.

Download the May 28 Update

Download the 5/29 Midday Update

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• Visit with exhibit mural artist Jan Vriesen.
• View Alaska Native art.
• Visit with building architects about the new structure.
• See story knives showcased by local artist Marty Hintz.
• Browse through the Alaska Geographic bookstore.

The Morris Thompson Center is home to the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau, Alaska Public Lands Information Center, Alaska Geographic, Denakkanaaga and Tanana Chiefs Conference Cultural Programs. For more information, please call us at 456-5774 or (800) 327-5774.

On a recent trip to the Alaskan interior, I didn’t get to see the aurora borealis, but I did, in a way, hear it. At the Museum of the North, on the grounds of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, the composer John Luther Adams has created a sound-and-light installation called “The Place Where You Go to Listen”—a kind of infinite musical work that is controlled by natural events occurring in real time.

You’ll find both artist and creation fascinating, as Ross first describes the place:

The first day I was there, “The Place” was subdued, though it cast a hypnotic spell. Checking the Alaskan data stations on my laptop, I saw that geomagnetic activity was negligible. Some minor seismic activity in the region had set off the bass frequencies, but it was a rather opaque ripple of beats, suggestive of a dance party in an underground crypt…

When I arrived the next day, just before noon, “The Place” was jumping. A mild earthquake in the Alaska Range, measuring 2.99 on the Richter scale, was causing the Earth Drums to pound more loudly and go deeper in register. (If a major earthquake were to hit Fairbanks, “The Place,” if it survived, would throb to the frequency 24.27Hz, an abyssal tone that Adams associates with the rotation of the earth.) Even more spectacular were the high sounds showering down from speakers on the ceiling. On the Web site of the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute, aurora activity was rated 5 on a scale from 0 to 9, or “active.” This was sufficient to make the Aurora Bells come alive.

And the man who made The Place Where You Go to Listen a reality:

Adams blends in well with the proudly scruffy characters who populate the diners and bars of Fairbanks. Tall and rail-thin, his handsomely weathered face framed by a short beard, he bears a certain resemblance to Clint Eastwood, and speaks in a similarly soft, husky voice. He’s not unworldly—he travels frequently to New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and other cultural capitals—but he is happiest when he goes on extended camping trips into the wilderness, especially to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He exudes a regular-guy coolness that is somewhat unusual in contemporary composers.

Be sure to visit our world class Museum of the North on your trip to Fairbanks.

Visitors will now have more time to explore the galleries at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Closing time this summer will be 9pm, providing extra time for catching the auditorium shows called Dynamic Aurora and Winter, which have been moved forward one week this year. Daily show times for Dynamic Aurora will be 10am, 2pm and 7:30pm. Winter can be seen at 11am and 3pm. Additional showings may be added based upon visitor demand. Details on other new items for this summer can be found on the Museum homepage.

Poetry, natural history, science fiction, history, photography and cooking are among the dozens of topics to be discussed at the second annual Alaska Book Festival. The three day event brings together a diverse group of Alaska authors, meeting all over the Fairbanks area June 12-14, 2008. Events will be held on the UAF campus, as well as at coffee shops, book stores and other venues around town. All the details can be obtained on the official Alaska Book Festival website.

The grand prize went to a second grade student, Elena.

In category 1, second graders Connor and Lars were winners, along with first grader Elias.

Juliana, third grade, and fourth graders Clara and Sadie took home prizes for category 2.

Sixth graders, Ciarra and Chris won in category 3. Fifth grader Blessing was also a winner.

The winning drawings are on display at our Log Cabin Visitor Information Center, located at 550 First Avenue in downtown Fairbanks. Our champions were from local schools including Woodriver, Joy, Denali, Badger Road and Fairhill Christian. Congratulations to everyone! Make sure you drop by the cabin for extensive information about Fairbanks and Interior Alaska. While you’re there, take a closer look at these drawings, and perhaps be inspired to have your own Alaska winter adventure!