From salmon to huskies, an Alaskan village at the Heard Museum celebrates ‘Molly of Denali’

“Molly of Denali” made her groundbreaking debut on PBS Kids back in 2019. The animated Alaska Native girl is the first Indigenous lead of a nationally distributed children’s series.

Now, she’s made a stop in Phoenix.

If you visit the Heard Museum before the end of August, you’ll come across an Alaskan village where you can tag along with Molly on all of her wild adventures throughout the Last Frontier.

From flying a bush plane and riding a snowmobile to wearing snowshoes, going ice fishing or even smoking salmon, there are lots of Alaska-themed fun and activities for all ages.

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Pairs of snowshoes sit outside of the “Molly of Denali” Alaskan village-themed trading post at the Heard Museum in July 2026.

Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ

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A child flies the “Molly of Denali” bush plane simulator at the Heard Museum on July 11, 2026.

Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ

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Molly of Denali: An Alaskan Adventure is a nationally traveling exhibit created by The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum in collaboration with GBH Kids and a team of Alaska Native advisors.

Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ

“We brought Alaska to Arizona,” said Hopi Patty Talahongva, who is the museum’s chief programming and engagement officer. “And therefore, the Heard Museum is the coolest place in town.”

During Phoenix’s dog days of summer.

“You never know when you’re going to find your best friend, and sometimes it might be at the museum,” said Alison Nicolosi, co-founder and director of AZ Husky Rescue. The nonprofit has helped save more than 700 dogs from shelters since 2018.

Her group’s volunteer work mostly focuses on northern breeds, like huskies and Alaskan malamutes. Before Heard staff reached out, Nicolosi admittedly didn’t know much about Molly “but they kind of explained everything to me and I thought it was a wonderful idea.”

Gabriel Pietrorazio

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KJZZ

An idea welcomed by Heard temp employee Taylor Susan, who is White Mountain Apache and Walker River Paiute, who shared “Oh my gosh, there’s one that I’m trying to adopt. He claimed me like no other.”

Sadly for the former Miss Indian World pageant winner, Max the husky has already found a new home. But there’s still plenty more pups — maybe even enough for a pack to pull a dog sled through the Valley desert.