The Anchorage Museum is expanding to the north with the addition of 25,000 square feet of new gallery space for the museum’s art collection and exploration of art of the north.

Construction timeline: February 2016〜September 2017.

Focus: This expansion is about more than bringing works from the collection out on public view. It’s also about creating a wonderful description for the north through the lens (镜头)of art and furthering the museum's mission of expanding awareness of the north, its landscape and cultures.

An expanded museum will:

•Provide greater public access to the museum’s art collection

•Create physical space for each kind of the museum’s mission—art, history, science, culture

•Tell the story of the north and Alaska through art that represents its landscape and people

•Create positive, engaging and relevant museum experiences

•Help museum visitors understand Alaska and the north through a variety of experiences

•Connect people and encourage global dialogue about the north and its different environment

Project partners: The $24 million expansion is funded entirely by private dollars, including $12 million gifts from both the Rasmuson family and the Rasmuson Foundation.

Anchorage Museum

625 C Street

Anchorage, AK 99501

907—929—9200 |General

907—929—9228 | Membership

Admission:

•Member: Free

•Adult: $15

•Senior Student: $10

•Children 3—12: $7

•2 and younger: Free

I was the oldest of five children back in the 60’s. We lived in a nice little three-bedroom bungalow（平房）in Michigan. Mom and Dad worked so hard, yet always found the time to spend with us. The only place they could take five active children to was the drive-in (汽车影院）movies!

We always looked forward to going to the drive-in! Mom would fill a big bag with homemade popcorn. On the way there, Dad would make a special stop at the penny candy store, where we were all allowed to fill a little brown bag with all kinds of penny candy. We were so exited as we carried our treasures back to the car, knowing we couldn’t eat it until the cartoon began.

We would get there early, so that we could play on the playground, right under the big screen. As soon as it started to get dark, the screen lit up, and we would race back to the car to get our candy.

There were always two cartoons playing before the movie, like Felix the Cat, The Coyote, and Tom and Jerry, But what was just as exciting was the ticking clock advertisement for the refreshment stand, with dancing hot dogs, candy and ice cream. That came on right before the movie. It was all that five kids could hope for, and by then, stay awake for.

We would get home around 2 am, pretty late for us. Mom help«ed us drug ourselves and our pillows to our beds and dad carried in the little ones.

I was disappointed the day they closed the last drive-in in our town. It will always hold special memories for us—those days of penny candy.

The number of Japanese students in the Chinese mainland is more than those studying in the US, according to Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, a Taiwan news outlet reported on Monday.

Japan saw the peak of studying abroad in 2010 when 124,000 sought academic careers overseas. About 61,000 Japanese studied in the US in 2010, about half the total studying abroad. But since then, the number has decreased. In 2015, the number was down to only just over 20,000, about 20 percent of Japanese students being educated overseas.

The number of Japanese going to the Chinese mainland to study has been rising since 2009 and now surpasses the US.

An official spokesman said, "Choices are various for studying abroad nowadays, not just limited to the US. Many Japanese universities have an increasing number of exchange pro-grams with Chinese universities and Japanese companies now tend to prefer people with academic experience in Asia rather than the.US or Europe as previously. Tuition fees (学费）are another reason. Annual fees in US universities are almost twice those charged by Chinese

Some Japanese experts say the decline indicates young Japanese are satisfied with the domestic situation rather than preparing for challenges outside.

As the leaves change color in autumn students return to school. As a frost cove’s the ground each night, we are busy planting vegetables in northern Wisconsin.

Five public school districts in northern Wisconsin recently built high tunnels（隧道）for the winter growing season. The schools’ high tunnels, made of metal frame and a plastic covering the raised beds, keep plants warm enough to extend the growing season through the winter and allow an earlier spring planting. Our very short growing season occurs almost entirely during the summer vacation months. This makes the high tunnels necessary in allowing students to gain experience of growing and marketing produce in a cold climate where production at this scale couldn’t otherwise happen during the school year.

During the summer, the high tunnels on school grounds still need to remain there. We developed the Agripreneur program（Agriculture + Entrepreneur）to support students’ work in the high tunnels during months when students are on holidays. This program was made possible by a farm and a university. Each summer, a pair of students will be hired from every high school to care for and sell a single crop in exchange for instruction from professional local farmers, growing experience, and a salary.

The Agripreneur program appeared for its first season during the summer of 2015. Students grew tomatoes that were sold to community members, local restaurants and the school cafeterias（食堂）. The program met its goal of increasing the number of local vegetables consumed, both within the region and in school lunches. Sales to school cafeterias will continue through the winter as the high tunnels’ change to nutrient root vegetables, all grown by students.

We may live in winter, but with the recent addition of these school high tunnels, our students are able to eat the freshest local vegetables available—even during the coldest months.