Can you imagine life before plastics? No waterproof raincoats? No plastic buckets? Humans existed without plastics for millennia. Now, we rely on plastics to meet our basic needs. They help keep us safe and healthy. They make our daily lives convenient in so many ways, it’s nearly impossible to imagine a world without them.

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.

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

From Africa to Asia to the Americas, female artisans are creating grassroots cooperatives to reach new markets, raise living standards, and transform lives.

Empowering Women provides an intimate view of the work of ten such enterprises in ten countries. This exhibition illustrates how the power of such grassroots collaborations transform women's lives, bringing together first-person quotes, stellar photographs, and stunning examples of the cooperatives' handmade traditional arts.