Drawing conclusions: One geologist's glimpse into ancient marine life



A fossil found at the Metaline Falls quarry.

Fossils are an important key to understanding life on our planet. They can tell us a lot about creatures who inhabited the Earth millions of years before us. Finding a fossil is one thing. Figuring out what the fossil once was, is another. That’s where geologists like Ed East come in.

Ed is a retired geologist and longtime Burke Museum volunteer and donor with a keen eye for identifying fossils. But when he recently was stuck while trying to identify rare fossils, he looked for a creative approach to discovering what they were and started drawing.

I sat down with Ed on his last day as a volunteer at the Burke Museum. After more than 30 years he had a lot of memories and research to sort through. He pulled out a file folder and spread dozens of fossil drawings across his desk, but before he could start describing them, a photograph caught his eye. Ed gently unpinned the old photo of a clean-shaven young man on his graduation day. "This is me when I attended school here," he said with a smile.

Archaeology at an Insane Asylum

Imagine the Archaeology Department’s surprise when they got a call from the WA State Archives requesting help with 12 boxes of artifacts from the Insane Asylum of Washington Territory. 

Turns out that along with the historic hospital records from what has become Western State Hospital in Lakewood, WA, some artifacts were also transferred to the State Archives. The State Archivist realized these collections belonged in an appropriate repository, and contacted the Burke Museum.

But why are there artifacts coming from the Western State Hospital, the State’s psychiatric hospital? Due to the proposed construction of a new wing in the 1980s, archaeologists from the Office of Public Archaeology on the University of Washington campus were called in to investigate the land that is part of the Fort Steilacoom Historic District. 

Archaeologists identified, among other things, remnants of a wooden structure dating to circa 1850-1890 and a privy dating to circa 1850-1920. This site was originally a Steilacoom band winter settlement site. In the 1830s, the site was occupied by Joseph Thomas Heath, who ran a Hudson’s Bay Company farm. It was taken over by the U.S. Army in 1849 when Heath succumbed to measles. The U.S. Army established Fort Steilacoom which housed a military hospital and surgeon’s quarters. The fort was abandoned in the 1868, and was purchased by Washington Territory, in part, to establish a facility for psychiatric patients.

This Fall, a group of UW Museology students from Museum 581: Preservation and Management of Collections, has been working with the Burke Museum's Archaeology department to rehouse and catalog the artifacts found at the site.

The artifacts include glass bottles and fragments, nails, clay pipes, ceramic sherds, metal buttons, bricks and a favorite here in the Archaeology lab, a leather shoe with shoelaces intact. This project provides a learning experience for Museology students in terms of the depth and breadth of archaeological collections, as well as the practical experience of organizing such a varied collection.

What should I do if I see a bear?

To enjoy the last bit of nice weather before the winter, you may be heading for the hills. While camping, hiking, or doing other nature activities, remember that other animals are around. Sightings of bears in particular go up during the warmer months.

What should I do if I see a bear?
The Burke Museum partnered with Western Wildlife Outreach (formerly the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project) to answer this question.

There are two species of bear you could you see—brown and black bears—in Washington State. Black bears are much more common while brown bears (also called Grizzly bears) are rare. For the first time in 15 years, a brown bear was spotted in the North Cascades. So if you see a bear, it is most likely a black bear. To learn how to tell the difference between the two species, click here.

Black bear. Photo courtesy of Phil Myers, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan.

How far away you are from a bear can dictate how you react. If you spot a bear from a distance, do not proceed and be sure to leave a clear pathway for the bear to exit. If the bear sticks around, the most important thing is to distinguish whether you are dealing with a predatory or a defensive situation.

You are most likely to find yourself in a defensive situation when the bear is surprised by your arrival—by the time the bear knows you are there, you are already "too close.”

These situations seldom lead to an attack, but here are some general safety tips to diffuse the situation:

• Talking, clapping hands, or wearing bells while hiking can help let bears know you’re approaching, giving them time to move away
• Don’t run, remain calm and keep your eye on the bear at all times
• Speak in a low voice so the bear can identify you as a human
• If the bear does make contact, play dead. Leave your backpack on if wearing one, lay on your stomach, and clasp your hands over your neck
• Stay quiet and don’t move until the bear is gone

Once a bear doesn’t view you as a threat, it will stop attacking. Although rare, predatory attacks do occur.

If a bear attacks you in a tent or approaches you in a campsite:

• Look as big as you can; be intimidating
• Be aggressive—throw rocks, sticks and yell. Be prepared to fight back if it makes contact
• Use bear spray if you have it when the bear is at least 25 feet away from you so it has time to retreat when charging
• If a bear is following you, place a pack and other items down to distract it
• Climbing a tree may work if a bear is following you but is not guarantee of safety

Bear attacks from both black and brown bears are very rare, even though humans live and play in bear country. These animals disperse seeds from the fruits they eat and help control insect populations, making them important contributors to our ecosystems.

For more complete safety information, go to www.bearinfo.org.
 
Many thanks to the Western Wildlife Outreach for contributing to this Burke Blog post.



Mt. Rainier Wildflowers

It looks like the summer has finally arrived in western Washington! Heading outdoors and basking in the sun is on all of our minds lately, and the Burke has been getting asked:

When is the best time to view wildflowers on Mt. Rainier and what kinds of flowers could I see?

This chilly summer has delayed the breathtaking wildflower blooms on Mt. Rainier. Usually blooming during July and August, snow still covers much of Mt. Rainier National Park’s Paradise area and the snow is starting to melt at Sunrise. As the sun returns to the Pacific Northwest, wildflowers will make a belated appearance that should stretch from early to late-August.

Once these amazing flowers bloom, the sight is breathtaking. To help hikers and other nature-lovers identify the blossoms, the Burke Museum’s Herbarium has just published Alpine Flowers of Mt. Rainier, a color-coded identification guide with photos and descriptions of 90 common wildflower species found above the tree line at Mt. Rainier National Park. Here are a couple of the many flowers you may see.

One of the unique wildflowers found on Mt. Rainier is the Mt. Rainier Lousewort, Pedicularis rainierensis. This flower is endemic to the park and can grow up to 16 inches high.

In naturally disturbed areas like streamsides and burned areas, you may see Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium. This colony-forming plant has a striking pink bloom with four petals.

For those interested in wildflower excursions on Mt. Rainier, Alpine Flowers of Mt. Rainier is available at the Burke Museum shop, Mt. Rainier National Park gift shops, Seattle Audobon, Discover Your Northwest, Metsker Maps, and Third Place Books. Proceeds from the guide will support the Burke Museum Herbarium’s educational outreach and field research activities. 

Photos courtesy of Donovan Tracy, co-author and photographer of Alpine Flowers of Mt. Rainier guide.

Puget Sound Sharks

Sharks, though often feared, are critical to our local marine habitats, and may be found among the many other fishes that inhabit Puget Sound waters. So you may wonder:

What kinds of sharks live in Puget Sound?

The Puget Sound is home to 11 species of sharks. Of these 11, three that are seen regularly are the Spiny Dogfish, the Sixgill Shark and the Brown Cat Shark. To learn more about all 11 species of sharks, a general overview of them can be found on the Burke’s “Key to the Fishes of Puget Sound” website.

Of the resident sharks, the Basking Shark can grow up to 40 or perhaps even 45 feet in length, but rarely over 32 feet long and is the largest of them all.

Basking Shark, image courtesy of Chris Gotschalk/Wiki Commons

Fortunately for those brave enough to conquer the freezing waters of the Sound, these 11 species of sharks are generally docile. Many of them live in deeper waters, making their human sightings rare. Sharks often get a bad reputation but only a few species have been known to attack humans, and when they have, it is often a case of mistaken identity.

As important members of the marine food chain, sharks are vital to the Puget Sound’s ecosystem. For example, Spiny Dogfish help keep local fish populations healthy by preying on the weakest. By eating fish that are caught sustainably, we can help ensure the future of Puget Sound sharks and our local fishing economy. Purchasing fish that are well managed and caught in environmentally friendly ways helps keep their numbers strong for animals and people alike.

The Burke Museum partners with the Seattle PI's Big Blog to answer commonly asked questions about the natural and cultural history of our region. This post originally appeared on the Big Blog on June 26.

Got a question for next time? Send it here!

How Many Wolves are there in Washington State?

With the recent removal of the gray wolf from the federal endangered species list for part of Eastern Washington, it makes one wonder: exactly how many wolves are there in the state of Washington?

To confuse matters is the fact that the wolf remains protected as a state endangered species throughout Washington… and is still on the federal endangered list for all of the state west of Highway 97. East of this line, they are considered part of the healthy northern Rocky Mountain population.

So, how many are there?

Our state population of wolves is currently estimated at about two dozen, with a couple of successful breeding pairs documented.

Pups playing from Washington State's Lookout Pack.  Photo courtesy of Conservation Northwest.

Though it is impossible to determine exactly how many wolves lived in the Northwest before European-Americans began commercial fur-trapping and settling in the greater Pacific Northwest in the 1800s, records from the Hudson Bay Company for the years between 1821 and 1859 indicate that nearly 16,000 wolf pelts were collected during that period.

Under intense pressure, wolf populations took a nosedive that ended in a crash. By the 1930s, the Gray wolf was absent from all of Washington and Oregon.

It was only after British Columbia halted its aggressive wolf-eradication practices in the 1960s that wolves again began to reclaim their range. In the 1980s wolves travelled from Canada and naturally reestablished themselves in northwestern Montana. Then, in the 1990s, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced wolves into Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. The wolves we see in Washington today came here from these states and from Canada to the north.

Learn more about the Burke Museum’s upcoming exhibit, Wolves and Wild Lands in the 21st Century, opening on June 4, 2011. Attend opening day events and hear about the return of wolves to Washington State, the historical relationship between wolves and the Quileute people, and even how wolves directly affect the lives of owls and woodpeckers!

The Burke Museum would like to thank David Moskowitz, author of Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest, for his prepared information about Washington wolves.

The Burke Museum partners with the Seattle PI's Big Blog to answer commonly asked questions about the natural and cultural history of our region. This post originally appeared on the Big Blog on May 29.

Got a question for next time? Send it here!

Posted by: Peg Boettcher, Communications

Poisonous Mushrooms

Mushrooms can be a delicious addition to our meals. However, not all mushrooms are safe to eat. With more people foraging for wild foods, the chance of misadventure is increasing.

How can I tell if a mushroom is poisonous?

Dr. Denis Benjamin, author of Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas helped the Burke Museum answer this question.

There is no one, simple rule that can be relied on to tell the difference between a poisonous and an edible mushroom. The best advice is to invest in a series of beginners classes to gain the basic knowledge of identifying mushrooms. These are offered by local mushroom clubs, such as the Puget Sound Mycological Society, universities or community colleges.

The three most dangerous types of mushrooms are false morels, amanitas and little brown mushrooms. While some wild mushrooms have few toxic impostors, such as the chanterelle, others have to be very carefully and positively identified before being added to the stew.

Poisonous mushroom Amanita muscaria var. Formosa, photo courtesy of Marilyn Morill Droege

Unfortunately, the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) has been migrating up the west coast from California and has made a number of appearances in Washington and British Columbia in the past few years, resulting in some serious poisonings. With the coming spring mushroom season, differentiating the delicious true morel from the potentially toxic false-morel look-a-likes is a skill easily acquired if one is made aware of the differences.

If you'd like to become a mushroom forager and mycophagist (mushroom eater), the Puget Sound Mycological Society is a great resource for mushroom identification clinics, classes and workshops.

The Burke Museum partners with the Seattle PI's Big Blog to answer commonly asked questions about the natural and cultural history of our region. This post originally appeared on the Big Blog on May 14.


Got a question to Ask the Burke? Send it here!

When Washington State Burned

What was the largest forest fire in Washington State history?

When Mark Twain visited Olympia in August of 1895, he commented wryly about the smoke-choked town: “I regret to see – I mean to learn – I can’t see, of course, for the smoke – that your magnificent forests are being destroyed by fire. As for the smoke, I do not mind. I am a perpetual smoker myself.”

A few short years later, his comments might have been met with silence rather than laughter, as Washington State had suffered its worst wildfire—the Yacolt Burn of 1902.  Before the flames were doused by rain, almost 239,000 acres had been charred, 12 billion board feet of lumber consumed, and at least 38 people had lost their lives.

Native peoples had long set small fires to herd game, encourage the growth of plants needed for food and medicines, and improve grazing. Stories of the “Big Fire” circa 1800, which was credited with burning a half million acres, were already being told long before settlers began to arrive. The settlers and loggers used “clearing” and “slashing” fires much more extensively than ever before. Though the cause of the Yacolt fire was never pinpointed, these practices were more than likely culprits.

The first plume of smoke was spotted by the single ranger at work in the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve on September 11, 1902. He essentially ignored it; there was no organized system in place to fight wildfires.

Strong, hot winds from Eastern Washington soon fanned the flames into a wall of fire that raced forward, driving all before it: Native Americans, settlers, loggers, farmers, livestock and wild animals alike. In 30 hours, it covered 36 miles. The blackened sky convinced some terrified witnesses that a volcano was erupting; smoke darkened the air from Seattle to Astoria.

Photo of the fire's aftermath, ca. 1908.  Courtesy of UW Libraries, Special Collections Division

After it was over, the little town of Yacolt was still standing, but blistered paint on many buildings told of how close the call had come. 

In the smoky aftermath, the Yacolt Burn disaster focused attention on the need for fire protection for America’s wild and private lands. Washington State was quick to appoint its first  fire warden the very next year, and the National Forest Service was founded not long after to look after our treasured forests.  

We thank James Agee, Professor Emeritus, Forest Ecology and Fire Ecology in the University of Washington's School of Forest Resources for his assistance with this blog.

The Burke Museum partners with the Seattle PI's Big Blog to answer commonly asked questions about the natural and cultural history of our region. This post originally appeared on the Big Blog on April 30. 
 

Got a question to Ask the Burke? Send it here!

Posted by: Peg Boettcher, Communications

A Squirrel-y Time of Year

As the winter season creeps its way into Washington State, you may feel the urge to eat comfort food and wrap up in warm blankets.  While we den up, a backyard animal is hard at work—the squirrel.

There are 13 different species of squirrels found in Washington State, some are native and others have been introduced.  While each species has its own set of winter behaviors, one frequently seen species, the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), can be seen carrying many tasty morsels throughout the day.

As food sources for squirrels become harder to find during the winter months, the Eastern Gray Squirrel and many other squirrel species can be seen burying, or storing, food.  Constantly busy during this time of year, these squirrels collect seeds from trees and other plants as well as fungi and insects.  Eastern Gray Squirrels bury these items in winter caches and can find these locations in the future by using memory and smell.

Sometimes squirrels can forget where caches are located, and the result is good for the environment.  When winter caches go uneaten, these buried seeds may aid in tree dispersal and contribute to the growth of forest ecosystems.  As I watch these creatures investigate my gorgeous Japanese Maple, I can only hope that someday they can plant another one for me in my backyard!

Come see squirrels and touch other mammals this Saturday, Nov. 20, 10 am – 4 pm at the Burke Museum’s Meet the Mammals family day event.

Posted By:  Andrea Barber, Communications

National Fossil Day!

UPDATE: National Fossil Day is today! The galleries were busy this morning with families visiting the museum. Our educators had stations set up throughout the museum for kids to touch fossils and even practice digging for them. Here are some photos:

Posted 10/11/10:

This Wednesday is the first annual National Fossil Day, and in honor of this exciting occasion, read up on this small fossil that supports a big timeline of the history of Washington State: Murex sopenahensis (pictured above), is a type of rock snail fossil that can be found in the Burke Museum’s marine fossils collection. Although it is only 3 centimeters tall, this 40-million-year-old murex snail fossil provides evidence that the climate of Washington State was much warmer than it is today. Murex snails are carnivorous and only live in in subtropical seas; at the time this snail lived, the present location of Interstate 5 would have been beachfront! Murex snails would have lived in the Seattle area surrounded by palm trees and relatives of banana plants. However, as the world’s temperatures cooled, these tropical snails became extinct on Washington’s coastlines, leaving only their fossils behind.

Come learn more about paleontology at the Burke on Wednesday, Oct. 13 from 10 am – 4 pm and help us celebrate National Fossil Day! For event details, click here.

Posted by: Andrea Barber, Communications

Beneficial Bugs

If you look closely around your backyard, you can catch a glimpse of the tiny household helpers that often go unnoticed—bugs. Many insects in Washington State pollinate our gardens, eat pests in our homes and reduce the need for pesticides we use in our yards.

One insect found throughout Western Washington that’s good for our homes is the ground beetle. There are numerous different species that reside in damp areas. As larvae and as adults, ground beetles eat slugs and snails that invade our backyards. Large mandibles (pinchers) help them eat a variety of large and small prey. They also eat what many consider to be garden and house pests, such as house fly maggots and cutworms.

An adult Common Black Ground Beetle, photo courtesy of Washington State University

Want these predacious ground beetles to live in your backyard? These nocturnal animals like to hide during the day, so providing logs, rocks and soil areas for ground beetles can result in them staying in your yard. Also, only use pesticides when necessary, and spray directly on the plants in jeopardy. Reducing pesticide use saves ground beetles, which reduces the need to use pesticides!

To learn more about the bugs in your backyard, come to the Burke Museum’s Bug Blast on Sunday, Sept. 19 from 10 am – 4 pm. You can see bugs, touch bugs, and even eat some chef-prepared bug dishes!

Posted by: Andrea Barber, Communications

Road Trip Idea: Visit the Stonerose Interpretive Center!

If you’re looking for something to do over the upcoming weekend, a road trip may come to mind. While deciding on your destination, consider taking a trip to the Stonerose Interpretive Center in Republic, Washington. This 5-1/2 hour drive from Seattle is well worth your time. Stonerose has breathtaking fossils and an Eocene fossil bed where you can search for fossils yourself!

While preparing for the Burke Museum’s Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway exhibit, paleontologist Kirk Johnson and artist Ray Troll took their own road trip to the Stonerose Interpretive Center. In the video below, Kirk shows some of the amazing fossils at Stonerose and discusses the importance of the collaboration between science and art.





Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway closes on May 31st, so make a stop at the Burke before you hit the road to check out some fossils from the Republic area. You may even discover some interesting places to stop and search for Washington’s prehistoric past like Ray and Kirk did along the way.

Before you head off on your own fossil adventure, be sure to double check the visitor information section of Stonerose’s website for holiday availability and fossil excavation rules. Happy fossil hunting!

Posted By: Andrea Barber, Communications

Keeping Washington's Coasts Clean

Last Saturday, more than a thousand volunteers braved wind and rain for the annual CoastSavers Cleanup on the beaches of Washington State. From Cape Flattery to Cape Disappointment, over 48,000 pounds of marine debris was removed from the coast. I am proud to say that I helped contribute. My small group was responsible for at least 70 pounds of debris removed from Pacific Beach.

I knew there would be plenty of trash but I didn’t expect the form it would take. My biggest surprise was the size. On our stretch of beach, most of the debris we saw was small pieces of plastic, so fragile they would often crumble when picked up, making the pieces even smaller.

Shell or plastic? I thought that was an easy question. Many of the pieces of plastics littering our tide line stood out because of their color – red, pink, turquoise – but most of the plastic remnants were milky white and difficult to distinguish from shell. It’s hard to tell, but in the picture below nearly all of the white material is plastic. It is very easy to see how birds and other animals could confuse these for food.

Marine debris is an issue gaining more and more attention. There are reports that for every square mile of ocean, there are 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. The Burke Museum is in development on an exhibit exploring the ways plastic has improved our lives and the toll it is taking on our environment, tentatively scheduled for fall of 2012.

I participated in the clean-up because I love the coast, but also in honor of Earth Day (which was yesterday, April 22). After spending a couple weekends out on the beach and seeing all the marine debris, I am going to make a habit of picking up debris every time I am on a beach. You don’t need to be part of an event, every little bit counts.

For more information about the Washington CoastSavers Clean-up and marine debris, visit this Web site. To read more about the garbage patches forming in the Pacific Ocean, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, click here.

Posted by: Sarah Tollefson, Facilities

Animals in the Spring

Although we have had some blustery weather over the last few days in the Seattle area, there is no doubt that spring is arriving. Not only are flowers and leaves peeking their way back into the landscape, but Washington state animals are starting some interesting activities as well. Here are a few things to look for around your neighborhood and around the Puget Sound.

Wood Peckers: You may have noticed already this spring that woodpeckers are pecking your house, trees and other parts of your neighborhood. There are a couple of different reasons why woodpeckers “drum” on houses. Searching for food is one reason, but did you know they may also be trying to attract a mate?

That’s right, drumming is used to communicate with other woodpeckers, and they tend to be at their loudest during their breeding season in early spring. In order to get the point across and make the drumming even louder, woodpeckers have been known to drum on flashing around chimneys (thus the rooftop noise), siding and even metal street lamps!

Hairy Woodpecker, photo by Stuart MacKay

Once a woodpecker has found a mate, your house will likely go unnoticed by the neighborhood woodpeckers.

Male American Robins: Is a robin attacking your windows every morning? It may be startling, but the bird is not injuring itself. Instead, this noisy and disruptive behavior is due to a male robin seeing his reflection in the window pane. Male robins get particularly territorial during their mating season in early spring, and will come back repeatedly to your windows to check up on this “invader.”

Male American Robin, photo by Stuart MacKay

Just like the wood pecker, this behavior only lasts for a short period of time. However, for your sanity, click here to find out ways to reduce reflections on your windows.

Orcas: The three pods that inhabit Puget Sound, known as the southern resident killer whale population, return to the area in May to follow salmon runs until October. Popular routes for the Puget Sound’s three orca pods in the spring are generally around the San Juan Islands. If whale watching boats aren’t your style, people often see orcas from the state parks on the islands.

Orca Whale, photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/ephotion/255115491/

Eastern Cottontails: If there are rabbits that hang out in your backyard or neighborhood park, you may see some interesting mating displays. Eastern cottontails, common in the Seattle area, have a mating season of February-September. The males fight each other and do dance-like courtship displays. These displays include group chases and lots of jumping, including females jumping over males.

Eastern Cottontail

Keep an eye out for these interesting creatures and enjoy your spring!

Posted By: Andrea Barber, Communications

Road trip idea: Visit the Ginkgo Petrified Forest!

The weather in Washington is slowly but surely getting nice again, so maybe it's time to start thinking about interesting places to visit for a weekend road trip. Here's an idea: head out to Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park near Vantage, WA to visit this fossilized ancient forest!

When paleontologist Kirk Johnson and artist Ray Troll were preparing for the Burke Museum exhibit Cruisin the Fossil Freeway, they visited a number of fossil sites in WA State, including the Ginkgo Petrified Forest. In this video, Kirk talks about the history of the Ginkgo Petrified Forest and the process of petrification.



It's just over a 2 hour drive out to Vantage from Seattle so pack up the car and visit one of the most interesting geological sites in the state!

Posted by: Julia Swan, Communications

Earth Day!

Posted by: Sarah Tollefson, Operations Manager (and Burke Sustainability Action Committee chairwoman)

Every day is earth day, but the official 39th annual Earth Day is coming soon on Wednesday April 22nd, 2009. The Burke Museum challenges you to do one green thing and make it part of your daily life.

There are many fabulous happenings all over town this weekend as well as on the day proper. You can get out and active with a work party in the Arboretum and Climate Day for Kids at the Olympic Sculpture Park. Or, enrich yourself sedentarily with all-day environmental programming on UWTV.

On the UW campus, the Earth Day Melange is on Wednesday the 22nd. The UW Green Coalition, a network of environmental student groups at the UW, is organizing the main celebration on campus.

• 10am-2pm – Fair on the Hub Lawn: Free food, music, booths, green art gallery, electric car.

• 10am-2pm – Electric Car Show in Red Square: Display provided by Seattle Electric Vehicle Association.

• 3-5pm – Social at the Waterfront Activities Center: Connect with fellow environmentally-minded people and enjoy free food.

• 6pm – Guest Speaker & Film in Odegaard 220: Jerry Heinlen CEO of Yakima Products, Inc., followed by a screening of The 11th Hour.

More Earth Day happenings:

• via Grist magazine: http://www.grist.org/article/2009-03-15-celebrate-earth-week-seattle/

• via WA Dept of Ecology: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/earthday/2009events.htm

• via Earth Share: http://www.esw.org/event/2009/04/18/day/all/all/1

Happy Earth Everybody!

Burkemobile hits the road!

Posted by: Tim Stetter, Education

Last week, the Burke Education office conducted our first Burkemobile (yes, Burkemobile!) outreach program at Lincoln Elementary School in Ellensburg. This classroom-based program features three hands-on lessons (ecosystems, fossils, Native Cultures) that bring a unique museum experience to schools and students that normally can't visit us. One of the 5th grade teachers wrote that this was "an amazing day for our students." Next up on the schedule: Gilbert Elementary in Yakima and the Lummi Nation School in Bellingham. We also have multi-day trips in May to Aberdeen and Forks. A special thanks goes to the Burke collections managers and curators who helped prepare specimens for this outreach program!

This photograph shows a model of a wetland ecosystem, created by a team of 5th graders using specimens from the Burke Museum's education collection, including a juvenile Chinook Salmon, pressed Cattail, Monarch butterfly, Muskrat skull, and Great Blue Heron feather.

For more about Burke Education programs, visit our website.

Sensing a bit of Husky pride...

Posted by: Julia Swan

The sun is shining (for now), cherry blossoms are blooming, and Washington Huskies, past and present, are flooding the UW campus. This weekend is the biggest showcase of University of Washington achievements of the entire year—Washington Weekend. Just about every campus department has something exciting going on! Check out the schedule for a full listing of events.

Of course, the Burke Museum is eager to get in on the fun. We’ve decided to offer free admission to all UW alumni and their families for the whole weekend (Friday-Sunday). So for all those UW alum out there who miss the perks of being a student, this is the perfect time to come visit the museum for free! All you need to do is bring your Alumni Association membership to the front desk.

We’ve also got a major event happening Saturday here at the museum. The Plateau Native Arts Celebration is going on from 10 am – 4 pm. We are bringing nine distinguished artists from the Yakama, Cayuse, and Nez Perce nations to demonstrate their crafts. If you liked what you saw in Peoples of the Plateau or This Place Called Home , then this is the perfect opportunity to witness the living arts of the Plateau region. And if you haven’t yet seen these two wonderful exhibits, why not come when you can meet practicing artists in person?

I’ve got my fingers crossed that the nice weather persists and that we have lots of sun for Washington Weekend. Come see the UW campus in all its glory, and while you’re at it, check out the Plateau Native Arts Celebration.

- Julia

Photo by Storms Photographic.

Wilderness Conference coming up

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham

How do we preserve wilderness for future generations in a world where environmental and social change is occurring more rapidly than ever?

If you are interested in meeting the many people who have created and protected the wilderness areas of this region or if you want to learn more about how change impacts local wildlife, you should check out the 2008 Wilderness Conference, April 3 – 5.

From sessions on global warming, to bridging political divides through environmentalism, to indigenous perspectives on wilderness, there’s a lot to take from this event.

Of special interest to Burke fans:

Steven Kazlowski, the photographer behind the Burke’s upcoming exhibit The Last Polar Bear, will be there signing books with publishers The Mountaineers Books. Stephen Brown, editor of Arctic Wings, on which the Burke’s upcoming fall photography exhibit of the same name is based, will be featured as the Saturday night Banquet Speaker.

Details on registering can be found online at the conference home page. It’s not too late to register and there are some affordable options.

A number of the Burke staff will be attending the kickoff event on Thurs., April 3 at Kane Hall on the UW campus – a presentation by award winning photo-journalist Gary Braasch, author of Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming is Changing the World. See you there!

- Rebecca

Museum Without Walls (MWW)

Posted by: Julia Swan
Hello museum lovers, this is Julia, the Outreach Assistant at the Burke Museum. I’m a new voice to the Burke Blog and I’m really excited to be writing for it, so I figure it is appropriate that my first post is about a project I’m working on just beyond the doors of the Burke that also excites me.

I tend to wear a lot of hats around here. When I’m not helping plan student outreach events, attending campus resource fairs, or writing press releases, I moonlight as a museology graduate student. As a student, one of the projects I’ve become involved in is the University District Museum Without Walls.

What on earth is a Museum Without Walls you might ask? Well it’s hard to define precisely, but it is essentially a way to share the unique and dynamic history and culture of the University District without staying confined to a single building or location. If you’re still feeling confused, here are some examples of upcoming MWW projects:

• In the fall of 2008, MWW is installing a temporary exhibit (location TBD) that tells the story of
  activism in the University District. Check out the blog (yes, I contribute to the blogosphere in many ways) for a Picture of the Week feature that highlights activism in the neighborhood.
• In 2009, MWW will help the University of Washington celebrate the centennial of the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition by commissioning new sculptures that commemorate the AYPE.
• MWW will be installing historic photographs on billboards throughout the neighborhood, as well as distributing collectible cards that feature notable people, places, and events in the history of the University District.

So keep your eyes and ears open for updates on the University District Museum Without Walls project. In the meantime, keep coming to the museums with walls, like the Burke Museum and the Henry Art Gallery here at the UW!

I’m looking forward to my next post!

- Julia

Photo: Pottery Booth at U-District Street Fair, by Bob Miller, 1971. Courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection.