New "walking fish" named for UW donor Maggie Walker

University of Washington alumnae, donor, and volunteer Margaret (Maggie) Walker will soon be honored with the naming of a newly discovered species of fish. The Burke Museum’s curator of fishes Ted Pietsch and his graduate student Rachel Arnold, are facilitating the naming process, which, it turns out, is no small feat! Why is that? According to Ted, “Once a new species of fish is discovered, a specialist has to describe and illustrate the specimen, prepare a manuscript and then submit the manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The plant or animal cannot be officially declared to be new until the description is accepted for publication and this process might take six months to a year.” In other words, it’s a lot of work! So the Burke is happy to announce that this process has begun for the soon-to-be named “Maggie Walker fish.”

This new species actually suits the name it will soon receive, as this fish is known to “walk” along the bottom of the ocean, rather than swim. The newly discovered fish species is part of the family Antennariidae, commonly known as frogfishes. This family is unique in that they carry their clutch of eggs wrapped in their tail, until just before they hatch, when they drop them on the seafloor and 'miniature adults' hatch out.

The "Maggie Walker fish"

The “Maggie Walker fish” was recently discovered by UW Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences graduate student Rachel Arnold, who has collected both morphological and molecular (DNA) evidence to support her claim that this species is indeed new to science.

Why go to all this trouble to honor Maggie Walker? Maggie has been an active and passionate donor and volunteer for the UW for over 20 years and she visits campus several times a week to attend to her many volunteer commitments. Her interests and volunteer service extends beyond the University to other important causes and organizations. She and her family have traveled extensively throughout the world. They share a love of animals, art, nature, natural history, and being in the outdoors, which Maggie has expressed through her service to art, zoological, and environmental organizations throughout the Seattle-area.

Maggie Walker’s commitment to the University of Washington has benefited innumerable students, faculty, and community members. And now, her name will grace a newly discovered species of fish! Thanks Maggie!

Posted by: Nicole Robert, Communications

Story of a pole raising

On the afternoon of September 23, a crowd of at least 100 people crammed into the lobby of the UW Tower for a very special celebration. The festivities were surrounding the Burke Museum’s recently acquired totem pole, carved by well-known Tsimshian artist David Boxley, and we were proud and excited to raise the pole in the University of Washington Tower for those who pass through that building to enjoy.

There is a nice story behind how the Burke acquired this pole: in the late 1990s, Warren and Ellie Guntheroth (Warren is a physician at the UW) commissioned David Boxley to carve a pole for their home, partially in memorial to their Siberian Husky, Sasha. The pole was dedicated at the Guntheroth home in 1999. When Ellie passed away a few years ago, Warren decided the pole needed to be moved to a place where future generations could enjoy it, as he and his wife had, and generously donated the pole to the Burke Museum.

The pole, as it stood outside the Guntheroth's home:

As the pole had been standing outdoors for ten years, it required some touchup work by David before it could be reinstalled at the university:

Then, a rededication ceremony helped introduce the pole to its new home: the UW Tower lobby. The unveiling of the pole itself was very exciting and dramatic!

Following the unveiling, David and his friends in the Git-hoan (People of the Salmon) Dance Group treated the crowd to several dance numbers, many written by David himself.

Their performance was a great reminder of the living culture that thrives in Native communities, like the Tsimshian, today. In the words of David, “The traditions are ours, but there needs to be a witness.” Now, for as long as the pole remains in the UW Tower, all people who pass by it will be the witnesses to a beautiful work of art, and to one piece of the Tsimshian tradition.

The artist, David Boxley, speaks about his culture and his craft.

Burke by the Numbers

We just published our 08-09 Annual Report and it's chock full of fun facts and stats about everything the Burke accomplished over the past year.



To me, the most interesting page in the report is "Burke by the Numbers." In the last 12 months...


...109,000 people visited the museum, including 37,300 K-12 students and 18,000 UW students.

...7,500 questions were answered by Burke collections experts via phone or e-mail.

...869 people followed the Burke on Twitter.

...2,260 people held Burke memberships.

...156,700 people were served outside the walls of the Burke, through traveling exhibits, professional and community programs, and school outreach.

...2,808,357 people visited the Burke Museum Web site.

View the entire report here to read more about our collections, education programs, donors, volunteers, and public programs.

Coffee exhibit closes Labor Day

This week, Seattle Times staff artist, Gabriel Campanario posted a very unique and refreshing type of review of Coffee: The World in Your Cup -- in the form of a sketch. See his hand-drawn interpretation of the coffee exhibit at the Seattle Sketcher.

If you haven't yet seen Coffee: The World in Your Cup, get on over to the Burke this weekend, as the exhibit closes on September 7 (yes we are open on Labor Day!).



After leaving Seattle, the exhibit will begin it's national tour:

Oct 17, 2009 – Jan 10, 2010, World Forestry Center, Portland OR

February 13 – May 9, 2010, University of Northern Iowa Museums, Cedar Falls, IA

May 29 – Sept 19, 2010, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven CT

Oct 9, 2010 – Jan 2, 2011, Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center, Buford GA

Jan 22 – April 17, 2011, Museum of the North, University of Alaska, Fairbanks AK

May 14 – August 7, 2011, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX

Thank you to everyone who has suppported this exhibit in some way: over 35 different partners in the coffee industry, 14 partners from the UW campus, and thousands of visitors who have come to see this great exhibit. The Burke appreciates all of you very much!