How do we really know what happened before we were here? At the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, we bring together people, objects, and the stories that make them meaningful.
Burke members and guests had a wonderful time exploring the Plastics Unwrapped exhibit at the opening party in early January 2013. Photos by Lora Shinn.
Burke Members had a great time going behind-the-scenes in our collections where they discovered new objects, talked with curators, and learned about our cutting-edge research. Photos by Andrew Waits.
Fishes collection manager, Katherine Maslenikov, takes SpaceSaver on a tour of the Fishes collection at the University of Washington.
Sharlene Santana is an evolutionary biologist and the new curator of mammals here at the Burke Museum. She studies how behavior, diet, anatomy and function result in bursts of diversification in tropical bats -- mostly from Panama, Costa Rica and Venezuela. While Sharlene releases most of the bats she studies in the field, she collects some specimens to help preserve the biodiversity of these increasingly threatened habitats.
Photographer TJ Watt regularly explores the remaining old-growth rainforests on Vancouver Island, B.C. These are some of the world's most spectacular old-growth temperate (non-tropical) rainforests, where trees have trunks as wide as living rooms and grow as tall as skyscrapers. Sadly, 75% of the island's productive old-growth forests have already been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms. While hiking in March 2010, he took a photograph now known as "Last Stands."
The Burke's fossil preparator, Bruce Crowley and a team of volunteers excavated a giant turtle - but finding it was only the beginning. We set up a camera to capture time-lapse video as our staff and volunteers prep the giant turtle in our fossil lab to show just what it takes to uncover the turtle.
Photographer Cheryl-Samantha Owen recently documented a Cape Gannet rescue effort lead by the group SANCCOB in South Africa. This is her conservation story.
Studying the evolution of plants and climate change's impact on vegetation helps us better understand how our modern ecosystem evolved to be what it is today. Follow Regan Dunn, a graduate student in the University of Washington's Department of Biology, as she collects fossil plant remains in Costa Rica as part of a study with Burke Museum curator Caroline Strömberg.
Our members were able to preview the ICP Awards exhibit before it was open to the public and mingle with several of the award-winning photographers.
One night a year, Burke members are invited behind the scenes of the museum. Behind-the-Scenes Night is an exclusive opportunity for members to see the Burke collections, meet curators and collection managers, and learn about current research. Members will discover every Burke division, including the Herbarium, archaeology, ornithology (birds), ethnology, ichthyology (fish), mammalogy, paleobotany, vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, and entomology (spiders & insects).
Visitors accessed Burke knowledge on the natural and cultural world by bringing their heirlooms and objects on Artifact ID Day. Burke experts examined items ranging from fossils to Pacific Northwest Native American art. A record turnout with incredible objects made this year's Artifact ID Day a lively event!
Ever wanted to touch an otter? See a full-sized lion up close? These are just a few experiences visitors had at this year's annual family event, Meet the Mammals. Hundreds of specimens from the Burke's mammalogy collections were on display, with experts on-hand to answer questions.
This year’s annual Archaeology Day focused on the last Ice Age. Visitors of all ages threw atlatls, touched artifacts, and learned how Clovis points were made.
Burke Museum Girls in Science campers learn about Dr. Caroline Stromberg's paleobotany lab and the work of UW graduate student Regan Dunn.
University of Washington Daily's "Double Shot" came to the Burke Museum's mammalogy collections to learn more about the squirrels on campus. They spoke with Collections Manager Jeff Bradley about the changes in the local squirrel populations over time.
Much fun had at this year’s Bug Blast! Visitors got to hold live bugs, see our Entomology collections, and talk with Burke experts.
Visitors enjoyed a day of colorful crafts, music, and programs about Carnivals around the world while exploring the ¡Carnaval! exhibit.
Arryn Davis from our Education department displays the masks she's been working on for our upcoming exhibit, ¡Carnaval!
A guided behind-the-scenes tour of the ichthyology collection at the Burke Museum.
By Gregory P. Wilson Many of us think of extinction as a terrible process that strips us of amazing biodiversity. On one hand, that’s certainly true. It’s estimated that more than 99.9% of living things… Full post »
How do we really know what happened before we were here? Objects are the key to understanding the story of life on earth. Many of us have personal collections that remind us of the past - people,… Full post »
By Norah Farnham Guest Writer When I was hired as the hippo zookeeper at Woodland Park Zoo in 1999, the hippos were the first animals I was assigned to care for, and I have been with them ever since.… Full post »
Look around you and you'll notice that plastics are everywhere today. From children’s toys to parts on the Mars rover Curiosity. It’s difficult to imagine what life was like before them. Products made with… Full post »
"Before Plastics" objects on display in the Plastics Unwrapped exhibit The Burke Museum’s new exhibit, Plastics Unwrapped, examines how plastics went from being rare to being everywhere in a short period… Full post »
Logan was live-captured for the first time on January 24, 2013 near Easy Pass. (Photo by U.S. Forest Service). Wolverines are one of the rarest and most elusive mammals in North America. After… Full post »
