A collection of Washington state symbols, natural history style

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 Code of Washington (RCW), a compilation of all laws enacted by the state's Legislature.

Washington has 22 official state symbols to date under the RCW, and 12 of them can be found at the Burke Museum—the Washington state museum of natural history and culture since 1899. We care for these objects, and millions more, as a record of nature and culture to help us to understand how the choices we make today will affect the future.

Here are the 12 Washington state symbols in the Burke collections:


State Tree: Western Hemlock

The western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) is found in Washington's temperate rain forests. This evergreen conifer can grow up to heights of 230 feet, with the longest living specimen being more than 1,200 years old; it became the State Tree in 1947. Fun fact: new-growth needles can be steeped to make vitamin-rich tea. Date collected: May 6, 1967.

A mammoth state symbol from Washington's prehistory

State symbols are designated to reflect the history and culture of a place. For instance, in Washington, we have a state tree that's common to our region (the Western Hemlock) and also a state bird (the Willow Goldfinch)—there's even a state dance (care to square dance, anyone?).

In the early 1990s, a group of elementary school students in Washington noticed an important piece of Washington's history that was not represented in the state symbols list: a remnant from prehistory Washington.

Prehistory is fascinating. Memorialized in the fossil record is evidence of massive floods, thousands of feet of solid ice and animals that we can now only imagine. Studying paleontology and learning what the planet looked like millions of years ago is akin to present-day detectives solving crimes with only a few clues and a wealth of scientific knowledge.

Mrs. Aebly's 2nd grade class in 1994.
Photo courtesy of Chris Pineo.

This topic captivated Chris Pineo and his classmates in Mrs. Sara Jane Aebly’s second grade class at Windsor Elementary School in Cheney, Washington. While learning about dinosaurs and paleontology, the students read about a class in Colorado that designated a state fossil and it inspired Chris and his classmates to seek out a fossil that represented Washington state.