The mask that inspired the Seattle Seahawks logo was unveiled at a press preview event for the Burke Museum's exhibit "Here & Now: Native Artists Inspired." See the mask for yourself November 22, 2014 through July 27, 2015 at the Burke!
The 8 1/2 foot-long Columbian mammoth tusk found in Seattle in February 2014, is wrapped in a plaster cast, kind of like a broken arm or leg, while it dries out. So we handed visitors a pen to wish it well!
A Columbian mammoth tusk was discovered at an AMLI Residential construction site in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood. See photos and video of the tusk being excavated from the site and transported to the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.
How do you mail a 37-foot totem pole? With a flatbed truck - and your help! Take part in our effort to bring a remarkable story pole back to the Northwest.
Each year we bug out as thousands of specimens, dead and alive, crawl to the Burke Museum for this favorite annual family event.
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.
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.
by Jared GrummerI often wonder what non-scientists think of my research: why would people care about lizards that most will never see? When I say I study hybrids, do they think I mean hybrid cars? Hybridization,… Full post »
It’s been one year since we first explored the connection between a Native mask from the Pacific Northwest and the original Seattle Seahawks logo. What a year it has been! Now, as the Seahawks prepare… Full post »
On Nov. 11, 2014, Washington state turns 125. In the spirit of celebrating, we highlighted 12 objects in the Burke collections that are quintessentially Washington—at least according to the Revised… Full post »
By Tom KayeThe sky was crystal clear as my wife Carol and I geared up for our first day “on expedition” at Petrified Forest National Park in northern Arizona. This trip was particularly exciting for… Full post »
Over the past four months, we've asked Burke Museum visitors to answer a simple question in our Imagine That exhibit: what do you collect?"What do you collect?" tags hang in the Burke's Imagine That exhibit.As… Full post »
By Peter Lape, Amir Sheikh, and Don FelsSomeday soon, Seattle’s downtown waterfront will look very different than it does today. The City of Seattle is replacing our crumbling seawall, and perhaps Bertha… Full post »
