Unalaska, AK – On Friday night, the Museum of the Aleutians opened its doors and welcomed community members to explore its new exhibition, "Discovering the Northland Gardens," which tells the story of plant life in the Aleutians.

The gallery is now filled with herbariums containing pressed flowers, replacing the photographs of marine life that filled the space before. The exhibition explores the history of the plants and how they have been used over the years by the people who have inhabited the Aleutian Islands. In one corner, there are woven materials, made from grass covering the island. On another wall, there's a flora index which explains which plants have medicinal properties and which ones are edible.

Zoya Johnson, the museum's executive director, says the exhibition is the result of hard work over the time of a couple of years. After drawing inspiration from the island's spring and summer growth, the museum staff set to work researching the various plants, creating a narrative about their history, mounting them, and preparing the gallery space.

The exhibition will be open through January 15th. After that date, the museum will be closed for three weeks as the staff prepares for an invitational art exhibit.