It's a new holiday! Burke Education makes one kid's dream come true

When 6-year old John, of Friday Harbor, Washington, was asked make up his own holiday, he let his imagination run wild—prehistoric wild.

Image excerpt courtesy of Scholastic Book Clubs, Inc.

What really killed the dinosaurs? K-12 teachers are helping us find out

By Gregory P. Wilson

Many of us think of extinction as a terrible process that strips us of amazing biodiversity. On one hand, that’s certainly true. It’s estimated that more than 99.9% of living things that once existed are now extinct! On the other hand, extinctions often benefit the survivors.

As a paleontologist with the Burke Museum and University of Washington, I examine the evolution and ecology of early mammals in the context of major events in the earth's history.

Dr. Wilson in the field.

There’s no better example of this than the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs (except for birds) and allowed mammals to expand into all corners of the earth, all body sizes, and all modes of life.

Marine fossils from around the world contain important clues to understanding this mass extinction event. But relevant terrestrial fossils, including dinosaurs, can only be found in a handful of places.

One of the most famous and intensively studied fossil sites is the Hell Creek badlands in northeastern Montana, where the type specimen of T. rex was discovered in 1902 by paleontologist Barnum Brown. In the 1980s, this area became a testing ground for the ‘Alvarez hypothesis’, which posited that an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs in a geologic blink of an eye.

Volunteer Spotlight

With Volunteer Appreciation Month coming to a close, we'd like to spotlight one of our long time volunteers, Doug, who has spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours helping out in the Burke's ethnology and education departments.

Jessica, volunteer coordinator: Hi Doug! Tell me a little bit about the volunteer work you do at the Burke.

Doug:  I have been volunteering as an education docent for the past 14 years, as well as in the Ethnology Division photographing objects for the past 10 years.

Jessica:  How did you end up volunteering at the Burke Museum? 

Doug: My father is from Canada and the family spent a lot of vacation time in Vancouver, B.C. with relatives. Through that Vancouver connection, I became fascinated by Northwest Coast formline art. Through some friends, I started collecting Northwest Coast baskets. In the Seattle area, all the good baskets are at the Burke, so in 1990 I became a member of the Burke Museum. In their newsletter I saw a notice that they were looking for new Docents. That was almost 15 years ago.

Jessica: What do you like most about volunteering at the Burke?

Doug: There are a lot of bright and intelligent people working here, and there is always something interesting going on somewhere in the building. I have become a “Museum Geek” and I love it.

Jessica: What is the funniest thing that has happened while volunteering? 

Doug: It is probably not the funniest, but the most humorously frustrating is that when you start a tour – any kind of tour – if you ask the kids what they want to see, it’s always the dinosaurs!  I started out not knowing a thing about dinosaurs. I have learned a few things, but the nine-year-olds always know more than I do!

Jessica: What would surprise people about what you do?

 

Doug: In spite of all my rambling-on about Northwest Coast art, I personally cannot even draw a straight line. I am artistically challenged when it comes to actually making or drawing something.

Jessica: Briefly describe your most memorable project. 

Doug: I was working in ethnology at the right time when the Steinman Collection of Contemporary Northwest Coast art objects were donated!  I got to be ‘up-close-and-personal’ with each object as part of my photography duties. It was an amazing opportunity to compare a lot of great Northwest Coast artwork.

In Education, the most rewarding times are when you are explaining something to a ten-year-old kid, and suddenly you see ‘the light go on’. The opportunity does not happen every day or every tour, but when it does, you can see the comprehension in the kid’s face.

Doug leads a discussion on the glass sculpture Killer Whale created by Preston Singletary in 2008. Doug and his wife Thelma donated Killer Whale to the Burke's permanent collection. 

The Burke has so many wonderful volunteers that we'll continue sharing their stories.  Check back in May for another interview.

Posted by: Jessica Newkirk, Volunteer Coordinator 

April is Volunteer Recognition Month!

Did you know that over 200 volunteers donate more than 12,000 hours each year at the Burke Museum? Volunteers are a quiet but powerful force at the museum, often times working on tedious projects like prepping mammals and birds in the biology department, sorting shells in archaeology or preparing materials for tours in education. Since April is Volunteer Recognition Month, I’d like to highlight a few individuals who represent the volunteer work occurring every day at the museum.  Recently, Jess was kind enough to sit down and chat with me about her experiences volunteering at the Burke.

Jessica, volunteer coordinator: Hi Jess!  Tell me a little bit about the volunteer work you do at the Burke.

Jess: I have been working in the education department for about a year now.  I help lead tours for K-12 school groups, lead hands-on educational opportunities in the galleries on First Thursdays and assist with various office tasks. 

Jessica:  How did you end up volunteering at the Burke Museum?

Jess: I like teaching pre-kindergarten kids, and once I found out I could do that at the Burke I applied to volunteer early last year.  I am currently a UW student double majoring in history and anthropology.  I graduate next fall and I'd really like to work in museums so I hope that my volunteer experience will give me an edge when I'm applying for jobs.

Jessica: What is the funniest thing that has happened while volunteering?

Jess: Last summer during the Little Dinos summer camp, a 5 year old girl corrected my pronunciation of “ammonite”. Sometimes it’s hard to teach dinosaurs to kids because they already know everything!

Jessica: What would surprise people about what you do?

Jess: I spend a lot of time cutting cardboard for crafts such as bentwood boxes.

Jessica: Briefly describe your most memorable project.

Jess: Last year, I helped develop a “kid mail database” so education staff could easily find and reflect on fan mail received from children. I scanned all the thoughtful and creative letters, and then organized them by type, such as tour, quotes, and drawings.  The education department now uses them for outreach in Olympia and promoting events. Some of them have even been featured on the Burke Blog here.

Jessica: Thanks for your time today and thank you so much for all you do for the Burke!

In addition to volunteering for education, Jess is a member of the Burke Museum Student Advisory Board.  BMSAB promotes the museum and plans student events.

Interested in volunteering for the Burke?  Check out current volunteer opportunities here. 

Posted by: Jessica Newkirk, Volunteer Coordinator 

Fundraising T-Rex Grants First Interview

After receiving positive feedback about my interview with Frank the Freight Elevator, I started to think about other interesting characters at the Burke who might be willing to chat with me about their contribution to keeping this place running smoothly. I found a willing candidate in Margot the Fundraising T-Rex and while I was working at the admission desk this past Monday, I called her over for a short sit-down with me.

Margot the Fundraising T-Rex

Sam the Receptionist: Thank you, Margot, for setting aside part of your busy day to tell us about your experience at the Burke.
Margot the Fundraising T-Rex: No problem, Sam. I love talking about the work I do here and am overjoyed at the chance to explain what I do to your blog readers.

S: It is my pleasure. So how long have you been working in Development at the Burke?
M: Well, I’ve been around the Museum for quite a while, but I’ve only been in my current position for about 9 months. I really enjoy what I do here! Although some might think I’m rather stiff, I get to see so many people everyday walk around the lobby with wide eyes and curiosity all over their face. Each week there are so many students that come through. Our Educators work really hard to corral so many youngins every day. Sometimes there are upwards of 60 enthusiastic elementary school children in one tour. I love days like that when there are so many busy bodies of energy exploring the Burke for the first time!

Me and Margot!

S: Do you usually get to interact with the kids on days like that?
M: Sometimes I do. Children are usually the ones that notice me first so I get to say “hi” and show them my giant quarter. But some of the time they don’t notice me at all which makes me a little sad, but I know it’s because they’re so eager to discover all that the Burke has to offer.

S: What is your favorite part of working here at the Museum?
M: It has to be when people fill my little Plexiglas office with donations. I love it because it means that they really enjoyed their time here and they value the institution enough to put even a little bit of money back into the Museum. It doesn’t even matter to me how much people give, it’s the act of giving itself that makes me giddy.

S: Does it annoy you when kids try and aim for your head with quarters?
M: Nope, not at all. When I was in college I played soccer and having quarters aimed at my head is as close as I get to hitting headers anymore.

S: Well, Margot, thank you for taking the time out of your day to tell our readers about your job!
M: Anytime, Sam, anytime.

With whom should I seek my next interview? Cast your vote!



Posted by: Sam Porter

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

Dear Burke Museum

Inspired by a post on the Seattle Art Museum’s blog, SOAP, I thought it would be fun to share some of the student letters the Burke education department receives throughout the year. Most museums with a K-12 education program are familiar with the often adorable “kid letters” that arrive at the museum following a school field trip. Students like to write the Burke’s team of educators and thank them for the tour and share what they learned on their trip to the museum. Here is a sampling of some of our favorite recent letters:

"Wow! I'll give it to the Burke Museum."

"I wish the mammoth was real!"

"My favorite object was the big canoe."

"You can make some useful tools out of cedar bark."

Calling All Environmental Writers

Wow, hard to believe that there are just five weeks left until our 2010 Environmental Writer's Workshop. The all-day seminar on Saturday, May 15 will be led by Jack Nisbet, Lynda Mapes, and Susan Zwinger. Just as last year, the workshop will include time at the museum and at the Center for Urban Horticulture.

Lynda, Jack, and Susan bring unique and complementary perspectives as naturalists, journalists, instructors, and historians who have written deeply and provocatively about landscapes wild and urban. They exemplify a growing field of writing that brings in not only plants and animals, but also the human inhabitants, past and present, who dwell on the land. In doing so, they are forging a new way to look at nature and to develop deeper connections to place. Read more about each instructor here.

The cost is $100 (10% discount for Burke Members), which includes a catered lunch and instruction materials. We have fewer than 15 spots left so sign up now!

Posted by: David B. Williams, Education

Save the Date: Environmental Writer's Workshop

Greetings from Burke Education! This is a short save-the-date notice for our 2010 Environmental Writer's Workshop. It will be held May 15, 2010.

I am excited about the instructors who have agreed to work with us. They are Jack Nisbet, Lynda Mapes, and Susan Zwinger. They bring years of experience as writers and teachers. Each is an attentive observer who weaves together history, nature, and field time into well-crafted, thought-provoking writing about place.

As we did last year, the workshop will include time at the museum and at the Center for Urban Horticulture.


Watch the Burke events calendar for a more formal announcement with details on time and cost or contact us now and we will e-mail you more information about the workshop once the details have been set. In the meantime, read on for a short biography on each of our knowledgeable instructors.
More...
Lynda Mapes has been a daily newspaper reporter for 25 years, at four newspapers on both sides of the country. For the past 11 years she has been at the Seattle Times, where she specializes in coverage of Indian Country, natural history, and regional environmental news. She is also the author of two books, Washington: The Spirit of the Land, about landscapes of Washington, and Breaking Ground, published in May, 2009 about the inadvertent discovery of one of the largest, oldest Indian villages ever discovered in Washington State. She believes good writing begins with deep observation, and richly attentive presence in the moment.

Spokane author Jack Nisbet writes about the intersection of human and natural history. His books include Sources of the River, Purple Flat Top, Visible Bones, and The Mapmaker's Eye. His latest work is The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Pacific Northwest.

Susan Zwinger is a widely acclaimed writer and teacher. A poet and nonfiction writer, who keeps elaborate illustrated journals, she has written The Hanford Reach, The Last Wild Edge, Stalking the Ice Dragon, Still Wild, Always Wild, and co-authored Women in Wilderness. She is currently teaching for the Whidbey Island Writers’ Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction, Colorado College, The Nature Conservancy, and the Yellowstone National Park Institute (Poetry and Ecology).

Posted by: David Williams, Education

Vote for the Burke!!

It’s no SIFF, but did you know the UW currently has its own film festival? It’s the “Pocket Media” competition and the Burke Museum submitted a 90-second video. You can view our submission and find out how we answered the question “What do YOU do at UW?” here:

http://www.zooppa.com/ads/uw-pocket-media-film-festival/videos/the-burke-museums-top-10

And you can VOTE for the Burke’s video to win the People’s Choice Award!

There are some very creative and talented people here at the UW. To view the other entries, visit http://www.zooppa.com/ads/uw-pocket-media-film-festival .

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.

The Age of Dinosaurs

Posted by: Julia Swan, Communications

It's a dino-riffic week at the Burke Museum, with Dino Day approaching and the launch of a brand new interactive Burke Box called Age of Dinosaurs! Dozens of physical Burke Boxes travel the state visiting classrooms all over Washington, but online Interactive Burke Boxes make it even easier for educators anywhere to utilize the resources of the Burke Museum. This is the second Interactive Burke Box (with more on the way); the first was called Rocks and Minerals of Washington State.

Click here to launch Age of Dinosaurs and learn all about geologic time, evolution, and life as a paleontologist. And if you know any educators, pass along the word about this great new tool that makes teaching about dinosaurs easy and fun!

Dia de los Muertos

Posted by: Karin Hoffman

Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival this Saturday and Sunday, November 1st and 2nd at the Center House at Seattle Center. TMCA (Taller Mexicano Para La Cultura y Las Artes) is hosting this FREE (!!) event which includes art exhibits, short films and animation, print making, sugar skulls, an opportunity to participate in the creation of a community ofrenda, (an alter to celebrate the lives of loved ones) and much more!

The Burke Museum Education staff will also be showcasing a wonderful hands-on activity (paper skeleton puppets) so stop by and say hello!

For more information and hours, go to http://www.tallermexicano.org/.

The 411 on Burke 101

Guest writer: Laura Crisp

For those of you who don’t know, the museum’s Burke 101 program is back after a summer hiatus! My name is Laura Crisp and I am a second-year student in the Museology graduate program at the UW. This quarter I am thrilled to be taking “Native Art of the Pacific Northwest” from Professor (and Burke Curator) Dr. Robin Wright, and I am participating in the Burke 101 course teaching visitors about Northwest native art.

Burke 101 provides UW students with a unique opportunity to develop and present informal education programs for visitors in the Burke galleries. If you come see us in the galleries, you will be able to touch authentic Native objects, do hands-on activities, or even just have a conversation about Native art and culture. The students in Burke 101 really enjoy talking with visitors and we love being able to teach and learn from you! If this sounds like something you are interested in, please see our Web site for the schedule and for more information about the Burke 101 program, http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/events/burke.php.

As the quarter progresses, I will be posting on the Burke blog again to report back about our gallery sessions… I hope you come check us out in the galleries! Here’s a fun fact to entice you: Native peoples used to make their diapers out of cedar bark… can you imagine the labor that must have gone into that? Think about that the next time you pass the diaper aisle at the grocery store!

Photo by Storms PhotoGraphic

Burke Boxes "Rock"!

Posted by: Julia Swan

Two weeks ago I posted about the exciting launch of Burke Kids. This week, Burke staff celebrated the launch of another great web project: the new interactive Burke Box, “Rocks and Minerals of Washington State.” The Burke Museum has been offering traveling study collections to classrooms around Washington State for many years, but this is the first time we’ve been able to offer lesson plans, background information, and interactive teaching tools on the Web. The enhanced accessibility of the Burke Boxes makes it much easier for teachers across the state to bring a piece of the Burke Museum into the classroom.
“Rocks and Minerals of Washington State” is the first of many interactive, online Burke Boxes to come, so keep checking our website for more updates. In the meantime, you might learn something (like I did) by touring the “Rocks and Minerals Interactive.” I’m very impressed!

Last Polar Bear Summer Camp: A Recap

Posted by: Keely Gnagy and Tim Stetter

What do you get when you cross a dozen middle school students with cameras, a polar bear exhibit, and researchers on the UW campus? Fantastic photography exhibits about environmental issues! The students joined Burke Education staff during the week of July 14 for a summer camp based on the current Burke exhibit, The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World. During the camp, the students learned about the basics of climate science, some of the challenges we are likely to face because of it, and what we can do about it.

One of the things we can do is raise awareness about an issue that is important to us, just like Steven Kazlowski, the photographer of “The Last Polar Bear,” did by taking photographs to bring attention to the plight of the polar bear in the warming Arctic. Using disposable cameras, what they learned throughout the week, and their imaginations, the campers created their own exhibits focused on topics such as recycling, transportation choices, native and non-native plants, human eco-footprints, and the power and beauty of nature.

The Burke’s collection was a fantastic resource for the campers. They were able to touch polar bear fur and stand nose to nose with a polar bear skull from the Mammalogy Collection. We saw angler fish, sharks, and sun fish at the Burke’s incredible Fish Collection with tour guide Rachel Schoen, a graduate student in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. And we were able to use artifacts from Arctic culture, like snow goggles and the intestine material used to make rainproof gear, to imagine the life of a person living in the Arctic environment.

We also learned a lot and had a great time visiting other research centers and talking to scientists on the UW campus. Dr. Kevin Rennert from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences taught us about climate change and the Arctic. We learned about ways plants adapt to climate with Fleur Beckwith, a graduate student at the Botany Greenhouse. We visited the Applied Physics Lab and talked with Dr. Mike Steele, an oceanographer at the Polar Science Center. And we learned about cameras and photography from professional photographer Joe Burnett.

On Friday afternoon, the students displayed their exhibits in the Burke Room. Friends and family attended a reception in their honor. One visitor commented, “I wish I was a kid so I could be in this camp!”

What an awesome week! And what incredible photography exhibits. It was an honor to spend the week with students who are so motivated to learn and to make a difference.

- Keely and Tim

Burke launches cool new Web site for kids!

Posted by: Julia Swan

On Monday of this week, the Burke staff launched an exciting new Web site called Burke Kids. Burke Kids is an educational, interactive site for 6-12 year olds featuring fun games and learning opportunities. It’s a good way for kids to get to know not only the museum, but the people who work behind the museum. Learn what it’s like to be an archaeologist or build your own Northwest Coast mask!

A lot of work went into planning, writing, and building Burke Kids. It was truly a collaborative effort, with input from communications, education, Web services, and curatorial staff. I think the result is pretty amazing and something that really adds to the museum’s presence on the internet. I hope kids from all over will enjoy playing games and learning about anthropology, geology, and biology on the Burke Kids Web site!

We’re not the only museum to build Web sites aimed at kids. Check out the work of some of our peers around the country:

SmART Kids at the Smart Museum (University of Chicago)

Ology at the American Museum of Natural History (New York)

Diamond Ranch Web Site at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (Oklahoma City)

A Fresh Perspective on Climate Change

Posted by: Julia Swan

The Burke is preparing to host almost 40 climatologists, documentary filmmakers, and photographers next week. No, we’re not gearing up for a major conference or convention—we are actually waiting for the arrival of middle and high school students, passionate about the environment, who will attend two great new summer programs: Climate Quest (for high school) and The Last Polar Bear Summer Camp (for middle school).

Climate Quest students will take a University of Washington science and policy class on climate change and produce mini-documentary films capturing their ideas and solutions. Program highlights include taking a field trip to the Cedar River Watershed to meet climate scientists, participating in a live videoconference with Climate Quest students at Western Washington University, and sharing their videos on a national website for youth, www.climatequest.net.

Middle school students in The Last Polar Bear Summer Camp will learn about the basics of climate change, impacts on the arctic ecosystem, and actions that people can take. As a culminating project, students will take their own photos and create a photography exhibit documenting their thinking on climate change, which will be on view at the museum on Friday, July 18 from 2-4 pm.

Its gonna be very cool…or hot (depending on the summer weather)…having these young minds in the museum for a week, brainstorming about ways to tackle climate change. I for one am excited to hear their ideas!

- Julia

Test drive the Burke Kids Web site

Posted by: Rebecca (Durkin) Whitham

Got a kid in your life who loves to play on the computer?

We’re looking for kids ages 6 - 12 who are willing to test drive our brand new Burke Kids Web site. It’s filled with fun games and cool things to discover about the Burke, the natural world, and culture.

If you and your kid are free during Spring Break, from March 29 - April 11, make an appointment to come to the Burke for free, play on the site, and give us your feedback. You’ll even get a $10 gift card to Häagen-Dazs in return!

You can sign up online or contact us at burkepr@u.washington.edu or 206-616-5887.

- Rebecca

Homeschool Day was a hit

Posted by: Melissa Todd, School Programs Manager

The Burke hosted its first ever Homeschool Day on Dec. 4 and it was a resounding success! We had 104 students and 76 parents attend, most staying all 4 hours.

All the education staff came out for this great event. We had a series of staff-led activities in the Burke Room, staff and docents with fossils and artifacts in the exhibits for some hands-on learning, and a variety of experiments, crafts, scavenger hunts, and sketching to deepen students’ museum experience.

Dana led a presentation about giant squid, including building a life-size model of a giant squid, and then Keely led an activity to learn about salmon and make a model fish trap at the same time. Tim finished up the series with a great activity about the challenges of conservation in the context of the Yellowstone to Yukon exhibit. We had a full house for each activity, and parents were eager for more. It was a lot of fun. We can't wait for the next Homeschool Day!

Some comments from our visitors:

"A great field trip! Great hands-on lectures and knowledgeable lecturers."

"The docents were great!"

"To offer this again would be terrific!"

"Offer this from 9-4, there is so much to do!"

See our education website for info on more resources available to homeschoolers.

- Melissa

Photos:

Top: Students learned about salmon and made a model fish trap that they took home.
Middle: Educator Tim Stetter led a conservation challenge based on the Yellowstone to Yukon exhibit.
Bottom: Students made their own Northwest Coast masks in our Pacific Voices gallery.