Things to do nearAurora Ice Museum

The Aurora Ice Museum sits on the grounds of Chena Hot Springs Resort, a historic geothermal property that has drawn visitors to interior Alaska for over a century. The museum itself was conceived and built by world-champion ice sculptors Steve and Heather Brice, whose competition credentials and artistic ambition are evident in every carved surface inside. Unlike seasonal ice hotels found in Scandinavia or Canada, the Aurora Ice Museum operates year-round, relying on an innovative refrigeration system that keeps the interior at a steady 20 degrees Fahrenheit even during Alaska's warm summer months.

Inside, guests move through interconnected rooms filled with sculpted thrones where photographs are encouraged, arched doorways carved with organic curves, and a chandelier assembled entirely from blocks of ice harvested on-site. The walls glow with embedded lighting that shifts the color of the translucent ice from pale white to deep cerulean, giving the space an otherworldly quality that photographs struggle to fully capture. A small ice bar serves drinks in carved ice cups, adding a tactile, sensory layer to the visit.

The museum draws travelers who come to Fairbanks specifically to witness the northern lights, and it pairs naturally with the resort's geothermal hot springs pools, making for a day of striking contrasts between extreme cold and soothing warmth. The surrounding boreal landscape, open skies, and genuine remoteness of the Chena River valley add context to the experience. The Aurora Ice Museum stands as a testament to what dedicated craft and a specific climate can produce together, and it offers something genuinely unlike any other gallery in the United States.