Current Exhibits

Based on the book of the same title by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio, this exhibit explores food traditions around the world through photographs of ten families at home, at the market, and surrounded by a week’s worth of groceries. Additional content examines a myriad of food issues in the 21st century, from sustainable farming to cultural survival.

Augmenting Hungry Planet is a related display, Salish Bounty: Traditional Native American Foods of Puget Sound, developed by guest curators Warren King George, Muckleshoot/Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Historian/Traditionalist and Elizabeth M. Swanaset, Nooksack/Cowichan/Laq'a:mel Tribes, Cultural/Traditional Foods Specialist in partnership with the Burke Museum. Salish Bounty connects archaeological and historical research about 5000 years of tribal diets in the Puget Sound area to current efforts to revitalize Native food traditions.

Hungry Planet is toured by the Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota.

Photo essay by Tom Reese

The Duwamish River flows into Puget Sound at the southern end of Seattle’s waterfront. While people have lived along its banks for at least 11,000 years, efforts to tame the wild river through settlement and industry have nearly destroyed it over the past century. Explore the animals and people that have been impacted by changes to the river along with current restoration efforts through Tom Reese’s compelling photographs.

Note: The Burke Room is a multi-purpose room with occasional limited access. Call 206-616-3962 for event scheduling in advance of your visit if you are coming specifically to see this display.

A new display at the end of the Life and Times exhibit highlights Burke Herbarium curator Dick Olmstead’s research on the diversity of plants in the verbena family within the broader context of evolution. It is the first in a series of displays planned over the next few years to spotlight NSF-funded research of Burke curators who are tackling ongoing questions about the evolutionary processes that give rise to biodiversity. The centerpiece of the introductory section is a “Tree of Life” that illuminates Charles Darwin’s metaphor for how all living things are related. Reconstructing the Tree of Life is a goal of evolutional biology and a starting point for understanding the processes that give rise to biodiversity.

Native American Dolls

Examine the diversity of Arctic doll-making at the Recent Acquisitions case in the Pacific Voices gallery. Doll-making in North America has deep roots; ivory and bone heads of ancient dolls have been found in archaeological sites throughout Alaska. Thanks to a generous donation by Ellyn and Jonathan Ostrow, 15 contemporary dolls are on display, each an excellent example of regional styles from the Arctic. Included are leather-faced “activity” dolls from Chevak with expressive, whimsical features. You can also view intricate, ivory-headed dolls from St. Lawrence Island.

Ongoing

With more than 100 species of plant life from both sides of the Cascades, the garden features plants important to Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest.

Ongoing

Over 500 million years of geological history! Lethal lava, grinding glaciers, and rampaging reptiles—marvel at the natural forces that shaped Washington's landscape, and at the amazing animals that once lived here...

Ongoing

Over 17 different cultures represented. Immerse yourself in the lives of native peoples from around the Pacific; learn about their arts, ceremonies and personal stories.