Your local museum: coming to a pub near you?

It’s been six months since the first “Burke Museum Trivia Night” at the College Inn Pub and so far it has proven to be a great way to connect the museum to new audiences and inspire a sense of excitement about the natural and cultural world amongst the people who come to the bar to play trivia. Tonight at 8 pm we go at it again, with a fresh batch of questions based on subjects related to the museum’s collections, exhibits, or programs.

Not sure if a natural history-themed trivia night is for you? Here’s a sampling of some of my favorite questions from past Burke Trivia Night events:

* What is the official Washington State flower?
* In 1962, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a book that prompted the United States government to ban the use of which pesticide?
* What is the name of the branch of biology that studies fish?
* Which former Seattleite hosted a show on PBS in the 90s teaching kids about science?
* In which country was the coffee plant first discovered?
* One tradition of the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead is to decorate skulls in honor of a deceased loved one. What is the edible substance used to make these skulls?

Still not convinced? Here’s a slide show of pictures from last month’s event – everyone had a great time!

Photos by Andrew Waits.

NOTE: The Burke Museum isn’t the only museum in town heading to the local pub to experiment with new forms of museum outreach: The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) has been contributing to quiz nights all over town for the past several months. Other local museums are catering to the twenty and thirty-something crowd by holding late-night events in the museum, such as Seattle Art Museum’s SAM Remix and Pacific Science Center’s Science With A Twist. These programs are all great ways to experience local museums in a new light!

Posted by: Julia Swan, Communications