FAIRBANKS — The owner of a Fairbanks museum showcasing dog mushing has closed due to low turnout, leaving its memorabilia in need of a new home.
Bouchard’s International Dog Mushing and Sled Museum was $30,000 behind in rent as of July before it closed Aug. 26, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
Owner Kyia Bouchard says she plans to sell the museum or liquidate the assets.
“There’s a couple dog mushers that are interested in opening a museum,” she said.
Yukon Quest winner and four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey says he may buy the memorabilia to display it at his kennel.
“I think it would be an added attraction and a natural fit,” Mackey said. “We sat down (Wednesday) and discussed it with some detail. There’s some great interest. The things that she has in that museum are very, very attractive.”
The museum’s contents are worth an estimated $150,000.
Bouchard grew the collection over 13 years. She moved the museum to Fairbanks from Dawson City, Yukon, intending to tap into the city’s more robust tourism economy.
She says her losses will end up totaling about $70,000.
Bouchard said independent tourists were the most common type of visitors the museum would get. She has said that 100 people per day would need to visit the museum in order to cover expenses, but on average about 40 people were coming in. Museum admission was $10.
“I went broke,” Bouchard said. “There was no support from the town or the people. So I’m selling it.”
