Waste of money! $15 a person to get through in 10 minutes. Then they have qr codes where the artists ask for donations as well. I went down the slide 3 times for something to do. Gift shop looks like a garage sale. Stay away from here. From the locals, I hear the sculptures at local festivals are way better. read more

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Every part of me wants to say we had the best time here but it was such a lackluster experience. We paid $30 for two of us to enter the "museum" and boy do I regret it... After getting our tickets, we walked through the set of double doors behind the ticketing area. The environment is really old and run down. It's cold, of course, but everything smells musty and kind of reminded me of standing in a corner of the cold dairy section in Costco where there happens to be an entire pallet of expired milk (I know you wouldn't do that to me, Costco). There is a large open area where I assume you can sometimes watch artists create their sculptures. But beyond that is a tiny room where some of the ice sculptures live permanently. Most of them looked like they had been there for a while. And it was very underwhelming. The best part was the tiny ice slide that my husband insisted on going down multiple times in an attempt to get our "moneys-worth". What a shame. We were both excited to be here. If it weren't for the slide, the entire experience would've lasted less than 10 minutes. The young lady at the ticket counter did tell us, "it's mostly here to take selfies and some photos..." I guess she wasn't wrong. When we walked out she was asleep at the counter. I wish that were the case when we walked in. I would've known to turn around and leave. The gift shop didn't have much to offer either. The shelves were pretty bare besides a few of the basics. We had a lot of fun in Fairbanks - I'd recommend checking out your options - especially if you have young children who get bored easily. read more

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This was a really cool (literally!) little museum. It's $15 for admission which seems reasonable to me. You'll be done looking around in less than an hour, but I enjoyed taking pictures and took a few turns on the ice sled! It's neat to see the ice sculptures from the carving competition there. read more

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If you want to enter an old run down theater to see a cheap tourist trap, this is the place for you!!! Adorned with mildewy, dirty carpet scraps, led strips, and a patchy black paint job, the ambiance in this singular room is unmatched. The ice sculptures are half melted and broken, letting you use your imagination to the fullest! Is it a caribou, moose, or deer? Up to you! Want to try the ice slide? You get some good speed down the slide only to ram into another dirty scrunched up carpet to prevent crashing into the door at the end of the hallway. read more

Fairbanks Ice Museum - Museums Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

Something to do in Fairbanks AK We were looking for an activity to do in Fairbanks and found this museum through Yelp. The museum is in an old theater, dated, and could use some improvement in both the exterior and interior but that's just cosmetics. The tour is $15/person (general admission) and was about an hour long broken up in three parts. The first part was watching a 20-min movie in a theatre setting showcasing different ice sculptures created by different artists. The movie is grainy, old, low-quality and dated. We were then led inside the ice museum which was 20°F inside. This part was a bit more fun but some of the sculptures look unrecognizable. LoL! Like what is this thing I'm mounting for a pic? oh, a snowmobile! We took pictures with some of the ice sculptures and even tried sledding down an ice ramp. This interactive activity took about 20 mins. The last part was watching Andy do an ice carving demonstration. He designed a flower from an ice block and added color to it. That was the last 20-mins of the tour. That's all. 3-1/2 Stars at best. Review #3130 read more

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This was a waste of time and money. It was $15 per person to enter the museum. Once you purchase your ticket, you enter a room that was once an old theater room which still has its seats. There is a movie about ice sculptures/sculpting you can watch but it only plays 2 times per day so you have to catch it at the right time. At the very front and on the right side of the room there are ice sculptures for you to look. There are a few to interact with by either sitting on them or sticking your face in them to take a picture. Almost 1/2 of the sculptures were melted, so they lacked detail and were unrecognizable. On the left side of the room there was a giant ice slide that you can slide down on a sled. This was the best part of the museum. Unfortunately, the way you stopped was by 3 pieces of carpet that were tossed at the bottom of the slide that you have to put back into place after your turn is over before the next person can take their turn. As you exit, there are a few displays related to Alaska and ice sculpture but nothing that tells about them. Don't waste your time or money on this museum. You can learn more on YouTube. read more

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It's a small museum, but it brought me happiness. I kept on smiling seeing all the sculptors. There was a demonstration done by an ice sculptor. He also was our photographer. read more

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Smells bad. Not much to look at. The slide was fun. Overpriced for what there is to see.

I've come to find out that Fairbanks isn't rife with a lot of activity. I would think their main draw is the Aurora, which unfortunately was not active nor in season during our visit. That being said, it's nice to check out the ice museum and what it had to offer. Since o got the combo package of the ice museum combined with the aurora show, I'll separate them in the review. The ice museum part of it comes with a roughly 15 minute video that takes about ice sculpting; a little history so to speak. Similar to other reviewers, the video does leave a lot to be desired. The idea is fine, but execution is poor. The video is TERRIBLE quality. It's 2023... they could do better than 120p or 240p. It's actually kind of embarrassing really. So just power through that until they update it. Afterwards, you're escorted to the actual museum, which is an assortment of ice sculptures. I urge you to taper your expectations and you'll have a good time. It's not incredibly massive, but there is a decent amount. I liked Andy's (the ice sculptor) enthusiasm and you can tell there is passion in what he sculpts. He functions as a photographer if you want group/couple pictures. I particularly love toe slide since it's pretty fun to go down. Made me feel like a kid again. Also don't worry about not having a jacket as they definitely can provide you with one. It ends with actual demonstration of him sculpting in an observation room. It's really cool to see the process in action. Pretty cool (no pun intended). The Aurora show was unique in that it highlights the beautiful photography of Zimmerman combined with classical music. Don't worry the quality is a lot better (although not the best) than the ice sculpture video). It gives a short history of Zimmerman before showcasing his work. It is beautiful and showcases the aurora borealis in different forms.it is pretty mellow and calming, which could lead some to dozing off (I did a little), but definitely appreciated the art behind it. Overall, it's definitely something to do if you're in the city. I don't think it's too expensive, but many may not see the value. If you like ice sculptures, check this place out! read more

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Nicccccce, we had a great time watching an live ice sculpturing + we went down their ice slide in a sled!

Unfortunately a bit disappointed with this ice museum after visiting the one in Chena Hot Springs. Pricey and honestly not too worth it. The movies that were shown were grainy and not the best quality. Nice staff, and awesome art, but I don't think I'd go again. The guide showed us an example of ice sculpting and created the beautiful flower below! read more

Fairbanks Ice Museum - Museums Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

"Museum" is a little overstated for this attraction. The staff were nice, and the live craving was fun to watch, but other than that, this experience was underwhelming for the price. The video played at the beginning is just a slideshow of ice sculptures, and no educational information on the history of the activity, techniques, or tools. After this video you are guided into a room that wraps around the auditorium and contains ice sculptures -- several of which were worn and partly melted, missing much of the detail that makes these sculptures interesting in the first place. The highlight of this part of the tour is the ice slide in the corner, and the fact that they offer winter jackets if you're in the museum without one. Andy, the artist, then does a live carving which is neat to watch -- he was singing while carving which was very charming. They only offer this "guided" tour experience and it costs $15, but if you're in town at the time of the Ice Championships thoe tickets cost $17 and are significantly better value for your money. Okay, but not exceptional. read more

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This was an absolute tourist trap and we fell into it. If I could give 0 stars, I would. You pay $15.00 per adult to go inside. The lady at the desk was nice but when we walked out 5 minutes later she didn't ask why we were leaving so soon; she knows. The theater is old, dirty and dark. The ice sculptures were unidentifiable and brown instead of clear because even the ice sculptures were dirty. The place is so small, I couldn't imagine more than 10 people inside. The worst purchase I could have made with my hard earned money was coming here. I would say skip this "museum" and find something else to do unless you like to give money away. read more

I debated for a long time whether or not to visit the ice museum. On the last day of our trip we decided to go. It was $44 for 2 adults to view the movie and visit the ice museum. Being an ice museum I was prepared for it to be cold...I was NOT prepared for how cold the movie theater would be for the approximately 45 minute film that was surprisingly dull. After that, we spent about 5 minutes looking at the ice sculptures and decided to leave. Looking back we definitely would have skipped this, it wasn't worth the $44 or the time spent there. Edit to add: I read somewhere this museum includes an ice demonstration and the opportunity to have a drink at the ice bar. We didn't find either of these. read more

Fairbanks Ice Museum - Museums Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

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My husband and I came here just to kill some time. We weren't expecting much, to be honest. When we arrived, we noticed that the building appeared very old (an old movie theater) and there were random Alaskan decorations scattered all throughout. When it was time, Andy brought all of us into the main theater where we sat down and watched a really old video about ice sculpting. The quality of the video was not the best, as many of the images appeared a bit pixelated. Towards the end of the video, a bunch of neon lights suddenly turned on dramatically to reveal the various ice sculptures housed in the museum. At the end of the video, Andy gave us instructions regarding what was coming next. The next half of the ice museum, we were allowed to interact with the ice sculptures and take pictures. This included sitting in Santa's ice sleigh, sitting at an ice bar, and sledding down an ice slide. It was fun! My husband and I enjoyed it. Afterward, we were brought back into the theater, where Andy did a small ice sculpting demonstration for us, showcasing a couple different strategies that ice sculptors use to make their art. I would say that it's worth a visit, especially considering that the museum ticket prices are reasonable. It is very chilly inside the area with the ice sculptures, so I would recommend packing warm clothing. However, Andy does have a small rack of extra winter jackets for people to borrow in case they did not bring warm clothing. read more

Didn't know what to expect going to an ice museum in June, but this place was worth the 30 minutes I was there. The staff will help you take pictures and act silly, the ice artist is on site so when they give a tour he will give and ice show and you can slide down an ice slide. You can be a little silly and see some ice sculptures. Sounds like a win win to me. The price is what you'd expect in Fairbanks. I'd take others there. read more

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This was an enjoyable place to spend a couple of hours while in Fairbanks. Went back that night on the recommendation of the gentleman selling tickets to see the aurora bourilius movie-he told us we'd get in for $7 instead of $10 since we went to the museum, but we were charged $8-no biggie but they started the movie almost 10 minutes early! This place is definitely dated but again it was enjoyable. read more

This place is ridiculous. Forelorn appearing theater. Poor quality, low-resolution movie. Terrible sound. Chintzy lights. Sub-par ice sculptures. Over-priced. I absolutely loved it. It's so bad it's good. Quintessentially Alaskan. Not to be missed. read more

"Museum" might not be the the best descriptor for this experience. It's less like the Met, and more like a roadside attraction. So just keep your expectations more in line with the latter and its a decent way to kill an hour before dinner. read more

This place was a lot of fun and the artist is incredibly talented. I don't know if he also runs the museum, but he greeted us and showed us around. read more

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Not a bad way to spend a hour - Of course it's very cold inside so dress accordingly. I was disappointed in the quality of the 20 minute movie, super grainy and low quality The sculptures are amazing and getting up close to them was really cool (pun intended) Simple but fun if they improved the quality of mile it would be 4 but I'm stuck on 3 read more

+ Nice staff - Run down location and displays - Over priced admission fee No more to say. Yelp required more text. read more

I grew up and spent the vast majority of my life in the Fairbanks area. It wasn't until after I moved to the lower 48 and came home on vacation that I visited the Ice Museum. I brought my wife and daughter by to give them a glimpse of where I grew up and we were so pleased with our experience here. The building and video was dated but Andy (the Ice Artist) showed us and amazing time. Watching my daughter in awe of the pieces, getting a chance to touch, climb and pose with the ice sculptures and her favorite part, a chance to go sledding in June made this experience one of a kind. At the end Andy showed us his talents as he carved a sculpture right in front of us. I cannot believe it took over 35 years and two vacations before I stepped in to this theater. We will definitely be back! read more

Really cool! Place if your downtown Fairbanks, it was worth the 15 bucks to support a local artisan. Had a great time! read more

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Fairbanks museum was surprisingly an amazing experience. From the theatre to the ice freezer and finally the ice slide was an amazing experience. The front desk manager was beyond accommodating and gave my brother and I a gift that we will never forget. Don't miss out on this opportunity 5 star experience! read more

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What a creative space! This was the most fun we had on our entire trip and where we got our coolest pictures! With your ticket, you get an hour-long "tour" of Andy's space, a movie theater converted into an ice sculpture gallery. The tour begins with a ~15 minute film about the annual ice festival that takes place nearby, and then Andy kicks of the tour of the sculptures. You begin with riding down the ice slide (SO fun and would be a real treat for kids!) and then he guides you through the sculptures and installations, letting you sit & stand in the sculptures. He'll even pose you & take the pictures himself if you want! The tour ends with him bringing you to his workspace in the museum where he gives a live demonstration of him carving a simple piece. The only thing we didn't absolutely LOVE was the film at the beginning. It provides good background & insight about how many of the pieces are made, but it does feel a tad bit long. Still totally worth it, though! read more

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If you're thinking about going, DO IT! We weren't sure what this museum was all about, so we got tickets and sat in the theater room while some short movies about snow and Alaska played. We thought "Oh boy, this is the whole tour..." but we were wrong! After some videos, the windows slide open and you can see into the amazing ice room!! They provided jackets and gave us 20 minutes to walk around, take photos, even sit on some ice sculptures! If you like that kind of tourist activity and have never seen all that ice up close, this is a must-see. We even rode down an ice slide on sleds! And that slide can get pretty fast! Then we watched a 10-15 minute ice carving demonstration. It was a nice surprise in the middle of summer to find this place! One of my favorite Alaska memories. read more

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You first watch a 20 minute film about ice sculptures that makes you wanna snooze a bit, but then you are able to enter the freezing room full of ice. They have a bar, a slide and other interactive ice sculptures for you to take some photos. At the end, we watched a live demonstration from our guide which was pretty cool. Definitely dress for the occasion, it's a little chilly in there. read more

Fairbanks Ice Museum - This is me sitting on an ice sculpture of a snowmobile. In the back, you can sort of see the slide which we were allowed to slide down. - Museums Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

This is a really interesting experience. The museum contains many highly detailed ice sculptures and an ice slide (sleds provided). The sculptures are back lit and you can touch/sit on all of them. If you are in Fairbanks I highly recommend coming here. It's very cold inside so bring a jacket! read more

Fairbanks Ice Museum - Ice bear - Museums Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

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This place is rad!! Granted it's a bit smaller than I'd expected but you aren't gonna find any other ice museum that's in downtown and close to our hotel. The show was totally awesome. It started off with a movie and then you got to go see actual ice sculptures sculpted by Andy, who has won multiple awards in the local ice sculpting contest held in March(?). There's even a slide you can go down with a sled. That was definitely my favorite. The cashier mister was also super nice! I saw someone complain about him in a previous review and I beg to differ. Maybe she encountered a different man but the man that was behind the cashier when I went was an older gentleman and I felt like he was my neighbor! :-) :-) My mom had not gotten to go down the slide so the man let her go even though our time had already ended and another showing was about to start. I even saw him help another group of people who were visiting from another country. He called a place for them so they could change their reservation time even though there was a small line. :-) read more

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It is a total rip-off and waste of time. it takes less than 5 mnts to view. it has one ice sculpture and the rest is not worth the time to see. read more

Small but fun place. I've carving demonstration was really neat and the artist is soooo funny. Bring a coat! It's ice, after all!

For the price you pay, it's a very good experience you wont find very easily (from california). The guide was really kind and although the ice sculpture museum isn't some huge glamorous attraction, they do a great job with what they have! The place gets to about 20 degrees so layer up if you wanna spend a good chunk of time in there. The only thing I was meh about was the video that they show for the first 20 minutes of your hour. The video plays in 144p (im not kidding) and so it felt like it was just a time filler/nap time. read more

When you first get there, the inside is almost set up like a movie theater entrance with a ticket booth off to the left. After you pay, they take you to a theater and show a short film about the art of ice carving and show various ice sculptures. Afterwards you get to pick a jacket and go into their massive freezer room to look at various ice sculptures. It was beautiful, a full sled dog team made of ice, a reindeer, an ice slide and so much more. At the end we were surprised to find out that there's also an ice carving demonstration included in the tour. All in all a fun experience, would be great for kids and families! read more

The museum isn't your normal "do not touch" location. You watch a short movie explaining how they started to do the ice art and when it takes place. It sounds like a fun event to try I you can make it. After the movie the lights come on and behind the glass is carvings of Eskimos, dog sleds, a mini cabin, bar, ice slide, etc. they provide jackets and let you go in and take pictures with all the ice sculptures and even let you go down the ice slide. After everyone is done they do a small ice sculpture in front of you to show you how it's done. Super happy we went! read more

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Best part of our trip by far. Granted, a lot of attractions were closed for the season by the time we made our way to Fairbanks, but this was shockingly fun. Don't let the tourist trap looks of the building fool you, this is more fun than your average tourist trap! (and this is coming from someone who worked for one of the biggest and best tourist stops for 7 years) I don't know what we were expecting, but when the guy selling the tickets said that we could sit on some of the sculptures and that there was an ice slide we were SOLD! It *is* cold in there, and for about half an hour all you're doing is sitting watching a video of the history of the World Ice Sculpture Contest that happens annually in Fairbanks. There is some fantastic photography of the amazing ice sculptures, but to me it does run a hair too long, but I get why they do it - it gives people a chance to be a few minutes late before they open up the doors for the main attraction. They give you about 20 minutes to wander around and play on the ice. The doors have to be kept closed, and I assume the short time is more because the longer everyone's in there, the higher the temp climbs. Still, it was TOTALLY worth it. We went and were 3 of 5 guests, so we were able to spend a lot of time looking at each of the sculptures and playing around. They have a lot of photo ops and I suggest everyone take advantage of them because they are super fun. The last 10 minutes or so you come back into the theater area to watch a sculpting demonstration. It's a fun way to end the hour long attraction. I would have liked to have the option to watch that or continue playing, but either way it's fun. They DO provide jackets for those that need a little extra warmth, and I would suggest either asking if you can use them for the movie before hand as a blanket, or maybe pack a blanket just in case someone in your group gets cold easily. The Ice Slide is definitely the BEST part about the tour, and you can go multiple times if you aren't in a large crowd. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time, and we go sledding all winter long! Haha! Overall, a MUST DO in Fairbanks. We're already talking about making a trip next summer JUST FOR THIS. read more

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What a fun little treasure in Fairbanks! Admission is $15/person and the experience starts with a 20 minute video on ice carving and its historical and cultural presence in Alaska. Then we have 20 minutes of exploring the ice sculptures and posing for pictures with them, they are all pretty interactive! There is even an ice slide we can slide down using the sled provided, how fun! The experience is wrapped up with a demonstration of carving ice and incorporating color into the carving by the funny and nice host. Great visit! read more

Fairbanks Ice Museum - Museums Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

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The "museum" is housed in an old theatre. I've been inside many beautiful old restored theaters. This isn't one of those. When you enter the lobby, you are met by a moldy aroma. It's an old building, so you might expect that. On your right is a "gift shop". The gentleman selling tickets was a very nice man and we had a short and pleasant conversation. After a short wait in the lobby we were escorted into the theatre by our non-English speaking tour guide to watch a 20 minute film showing some of the sculptures as they may have looked in better days. It was somewhat difficult to stay awake during the movie as the resolution was terrible, and so pixelated that you had to use your imagination to figure out what you were seeing. After the movie you are taken into the "museum" to see the sculptures. I don't know when they were carved, but there is so little detail left that they are almost unrecognizable. It took some two minutes before I was desperately looking for the exit. I didn't stay for the sculpting demonstration, so maybe I missed the best part. All I could think of was getting out. read more

This is a great stop in for the littles in winter. I absolutely love the experience for the price. It has been in Fairbanks from the time I was a little girl, so I am excited to take my own little. Make sure they're properly dressed! read more

Tourist trap. They don't have many sculptures on display for starters. The ones they do have are in bad shape, melted or sublimated away. It's 10 bucks to get in and if you spend 10 minutes in there you are seeing it all. The ice sculptures and tour at the Chena resort is a big step up. read more