Homer’s Pratt Museum has received a $15,827 grant from Museums Alaska, a nonprofit organization supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. The funds will be used to upgrade the Pratt’s Gull Island exhibit, one of the oldest displays in the primary section of the museum.

The Pratt’s curator of collections and exhibitions, Liv Wisnewski, said the live video cameras installed on Gull Island predate the cameras used for providing live video feed from the bear sanctuary camera. The videos are only live during summer months in order to protect the equipment from winter weather, Wisnewski said. The exhibit still shows recorded displays of the island during the winter. The cameras are installed in April and May and generally come down in October, she said. Gull Island is located on the south side of Kachemak Bay, about 3 miles from the Homer Spit, according to an Alaska Department of Fish and Game website.

Wisnewski said the grant funds will serve several purposes. Both the specimen items and the actual display case in the old collection need refurbishing. The case will be created by Alan Ransenberg, owner of Alchemy Designs, a 35-year-old company based in Portland, Oregon. The new gear will be installed with the help of Homer metalsmith and sculptor Art Koeninger.

The specimens in the collection also need some maintenance. These include wings, bones, feet, skulls and egg specimens. The species represented in the collection include eagles, seagulls, kittiwakes, puffins, ravens and auklets.

“It’s too much for the case,” Wisnewski said of the specimens. “There’s just a lot there. It’s a little bit overwhelming. We’re going to really be looking at what’s there and to make sure we’re showing the best of the collection and giving the best examples of the shorebirds that nest over on Gull Island.

Wisnewski said the Pratt has a conditional use permit to be on the island for camera installation, educational and research purposes and for the display but the site is managed and controlled by the Seldovia Village Tribe. Subsistence harvest does occasionally occur on the island, she said. Other visitors must remain in their transportation vessels, either personal or water taxi, when approaching the rock for viewing. The site is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wisnewski said the goal is for the new display to be installed in time for the 2025 Shorebird Festival, which will take place May 7-11. That will depend on circumstances and timing from the construction component.