Fairbanks is a year-round destination for fun and wonder

Fairbanks has a lot to offer the visitor.

In March, brave the town's arctic weather to view the Ice Art Championship and its entries of intricately carved, sometimes gravity-defying wonders.

An ice challenge

The World Ice Art Championships are held from mid-February to March 1. Divisions include the Multi Block Classic is six days of four artists using nine blocks to create a massive piece. The Double Block Classic lasts three days and two carvers use but two blocks for their creation. And, for three days, one person works one block to gain "ice domination."

The ice sculptures will remain on display, and the ice playground open through the end of March.

For more information go to https://icealaska.com.

Viewing migrating birds

Summer brings magnificent migrating birds back to Creamer's Field.

Once a small dairy owned by a couple named Creamer, this land is now an extraordinary wildlife refuge. More than 100 species of birds and mammals call this wilderness home. Sandhill cranes and mallards show up all summer.

Be there in the fall when the Sandhills rise as one mighty body to fly to their winter homes far south.

The Friends of Creamer's Field runs a small visitor center with exhibits and conducts guided nature walks. There are miles of trails that meander through a variety of habitats.

Don't miss the Alaska Bird Observatory at the east end of Creamer's Field, dedicated to understanding the dynamics of Alaska's 77 songbirds.

For more information, visit https://friendsofcreamersfield.org.

Museum of the North

The University of Alaska Museum of the North is an essential department of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It is the only research and teaching museum in Alaska.

The museum's research collections of 2.5 million artifacts and specimens represent millions of years of biological diversity and thousands of years of cultural traditions in the North.

The collections are organized into 10 disciplines consisting of archaeology, birds, documentary film, earth sciences, ethnology/history, fine arts, fishes/marine invertebrates, insects, mammals, and plants, which serve as a valuable resource for research on climate change, genetics, contaminants and other issues facing Alaska and the circumpolar North.

The museum is also the premier repository for artifacts and specimens collected on public lands in Alaska and a leader in northern natural and cultural history research.

Highlights of the collections include a 2,000-year spectrum of Alaska art, from ancient ivory carvings to contemporary paintings and sculpture, in the Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery.

You'll find the state's largest public display of gold, as well as Blue Babe, an almost 50,000-year-old mummified steppe bison, in the Gallery of Alaska. An ever-changing sound and light installation driven by the real-time positions of the sun and moon, seismic activity, and the aurora can be viewed in the Place Where You Go To Listen.

Family programs for kids include Junior Curators and Early Explorers. Go to http://www.uaf.edu/museum/education/kids-families/hands-on-programs/index.php for more on family programs.

For general information, http://www.uaf.edu/museum.

A park for everyone

Pioneer Park celebrates Fairbanks' history and is preserved for all to enjoy. Pioneer Park is a 44-acre, entrance-free, historical theme park in the heart of Fairbanks, between Airport Way and the Chena River bike path.

Travel back to the Interior of Alaska 100 years ago in its historic village featuring original buildings moved from downtown Fairbanks, as well as museums, and the Gold Rush. Take a ride on the carousel and train that runs the perimeter of the park, visit a selection of local shops and dine in rustic cabin restaurants.

The Alaska Salmon Bake is open daily during the summer season from 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner, and the Palace Theater offers a daily show at 8:15 p.m.

Winter season hours are daily from 6 a.m. to midnight and provide the opportunity for self-guided tours of artifacts, buildings, grounds and special events.

Museums include the paddle wheeler SS Nenana, the Kitty Hensley House, President Harding's rail car, Pioneer Air Museum, Tanana Valley Railroad Museum, and the Wickersham House Museum.

Visit http://www.fnsb.gov/462/Pioneer-Park.

Fairbanks gold rush history

Travel back to the gold rush era in Fairbanks, where you can pan for gold and keep it. Since 1952, Golden Days, held in mid-July, has celebrated the city's gold rush heritage.

Golden Days boasts exciting events for all ages, including the biggest parade in Alaska, a street fair, and a rubber duckie race along the Chena River.

Best is the Old Tyme Games, a family-friendly event that includes various old-time contests like watermelon eating, pie eating, balloon toss, water bucket brigade, log splitting, and cross-cut sawing. Fun for all ages.

The height of the Golden Days activities is the largest parade in Alaska, with more than 100 entries, including marching bands, clowns, jugglers, antique cars, unicycle riders and floats.

For more go to http://www.fairbankschamber.org/golden-days.