The Homer region has relatively sleepy origins. The town at the end of the road attracts travelers, drawn by the magnificent scenery – a gorgeous bay, glaciers, volcanoes, plentiful wildlife, forests, and an enchanting coastline. For those eager to explore farther afield, the town has become a jumping-off point for boat and plane travel into the wilds across Kachemak Bay and to the far side of Cook Inlet.

The Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Centre is a high-tech facility is a natural history and cultural museum, not a place to find out where to get a good seafood dinner. Visitors enter through massive sculpted metal doors with handles shaped like kelp.

The centre has a specific mission: to study the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and share its findings with the public. This unusual refuge comprises a constellation of 2,500 islands that host marine mammals and some 40 million seabirds.