Short Takes on Plastics

Look around you and you'll notice that plastics are everywhere today. From children’s toys to parts on the Mars rover Curiosity. It’s difficult to imagine what life was like before them. Products made with plastic are often more convenient, cheaper, lighter, safer and more durable, but they also present unwanted side effects to our health, cultures, and environments across the globe.

As part of our Plastics Unwrapped exhibit at the Burke, we recently invited a range of experts from the University of Washington (UW) and beyond to present their perspective (or "Short Takes") on a range of topics related to plastics in front of a live audience at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle. We've captured a few of the presentations on video to share with you:

What was life like before plastics?
Lauren Palmor, a UW Art History student shows what life was like before plastics - specifically related to food. How did people preserve their food without plastic? Watch Lauren's presentation in this video to find out:

Video: how do you get to Antarctica?

Think your holiday travel plans are extreme? Can you imagine if you were traveling to Antarctica? That's exactly what Burke Museum curator of vertebrate paleontology Christian Sidor and two UW graduate students, Adam Huttonlocker and Brandon Peecock, are doing this Sunday, as they depart for a two-month trip to search for fossils in Antarctica. Along with an intrpeid group of paleontologists and geologists from across the country, the Burke team will explore the rocks of the central Transantarctic Mountains for evidence of ancient life.

So how does one actually get to Antarctica? Unsurprisngly, it's not quite as simple as just booking a flight. I sat down with Adam and Brandon the week before their trip to talk more about what it takes travel to the world's harshest, coldest continent. In this short video, they discuss what it will be like to arrive in Antarctica for the first time:


Stay tuned for more stories from their trip.

Posted by: Samantha Porter, Operations

Video: How does a new exhibit get installed at the museum?

The latest Burke exhibit Weaving Heritage: Textile Masterpieces from the Burke Collection opened on Saturday. It's a beautiful exhibition, artfully displaying 130 of the most aesthetically and culturally significant textiles from the museum's collection of over 2,000 textile pieces.

Some might wonder, what does it take to install a major exhibit like this? The day after the last exhibit closed, our exhibit prep team was hard at work preparing for Weaving Heritage. Take a look at this short video to see the transformation of the special exhibit gallery from an empty room to a complete museum exhibit:



Weaving Heritage is on view through February 27, 2011. Keep an eye on our website for a list of special weekend weaving demonstrations and other events.

Posted by: Julia Swan, Communications

What Makes a Photograph "Award-Winning?"

This past weekend, a new exhibit opened at the Burke. The International Conservation Photography Awards showcases over 75 of the best conservation photographs from around the world. The ICP Awards was the brainchild of Seattle-based photographer Art Wolfe and since 1997, the biennial competition has been inviting photographers to submit their best work in a number of categories, including Wildlife, Nature at Risk, Community at Risk, and Documenting a Conservation Project. The competition is judged by four photography and design professionals, and the winners and honorable mentions from the 2010 competition will be on view at the Burke through Labor Day Weekend.

On opening day this past Saturday, I walked through the exhibit with ICP Awards juror Cynthia Hall (a senior designer at Girvin) with our Flip camera and asked her to talk about the question “what makes a photograph award winning?” She offered some great insight about the factors the judging panel considered when making their final selections:



Each of the photographs in this exhibit has a unique story to tell about conservation and appreciation for the natural world. Come to the Burke this summer and check it out!

Posted by: Julia Swan, Communications

A Day in the Life of a Museum Collections Manager

Many of the people on our staff do not hold jobs that are primarily focused on exhibits or public programs, which are the two ways most members of the general public tend to interact with the museum. For all of the exciting things happening in the public spaces of the Burke, there are just as many exciting things going on behind the scenes in the museum collections spaces. Our collections managers and curators across 11 divisions are devoted to caring for over 12 million objects and specimens at the museum that represent the natural and cultural heritage of this region and for making those objects and specimens accessible to researchers and others.

A few weeks ago, Rebecca Andrews, collections manager in ethnology here at the Burke, approached me about making a video that showcases some of the many things she must consider each day in order to best store and protect the Burke ethnology collection of 45,000 objects.

I followed her around for an hour and put together this short video, "A Day in the Life of a Museum Collections Manager." It shows a side of the museum that many people never get to see!



NOTE: If you are having trouble viewing the full video, watch it here.

Watch more behind-the-scenes videos about the Burke Museum collections here.

Posted by: Julia Swan, 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

The Case of the Double-Edged Swords

In this behind-the-scenes video, Burke Museum exhibit specialist Arn Slettebak discusses some of his favorite objects in the ethnology collection: a set of pattern-welded steel swords. Arn describes the features of the swords that make them high-quality pieces and talks briefly about each of their histories. Take a look:

Paleontology meets art

A couple of weeks ago, we posted this video showcasing Ray Troll’s artistic process as he prepared for the new Burke exhibit, Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway, which opens this Saturday. Ray collaborated with Kirk Johnson, curator of paleontology at the Denver National History Museum, and the staff at the Burke, to organize this exhibit about evolution, extinction, and early life on Earth. In the video about Ray, he discusses how science influences his art, so it seemed fitting to get Kirk’s perspective, as a scientist, on why art and science are complementary. He has some interesting points about how this collaboration helps us all understand the past. Take a look:



The video was filmed this summer during a road trip Ray and Kirk took around Washington, exploring the fossilized prehistory of this state. To view other videos of their trip as well as Ray Troll’s discussion of science and art, click here.

See for yourself how science and art influence each other at the opening day of Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway this Saturday. Tours of the exhibit will start at 10:30 and happen on the hour throughout the day.

Posted by: Andrea Barber, Communications

New video: Packing the Burke's Geology Collection

A few months ago, we wrote about creating a safer home for our ethnology and geology collections. Following that post, I spent some time with Ron Eng, geology collections manager, learning more about the process his staff and volunteers are going through to pack up the 2 million-piece geology collection in preparation for the new storage compactors that will be arriving at the museum in the future.

Take a look:



Posted by: Julia Swan, Communications

Video of Preston Singletary creating glass sculpture for Burke collection

Back in November, glass artist Preston Singletary created a very beautiful killer whale sculpture for the Burke Museum's permanent collection. One of our curator's recorded some video footage at the Museum of Glass, where Preston worked on the piece. Take a look to get a sense of his process, then come see the final piece on view now in the Pacific Voices gallery.



Read more about the story behind the sculpture here.

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 .

Bridging the Gap

Posted by: Karin Hoffman, Communications

I had the pleasure to sit down and speak with Edwin Martinez, third-generation coffee farmer from Guatemala and owner of Onyx Coffee, about the importance of connecting those who produce coffee with those who consume it. Edwins' passion for coffee stems from his experiences working in every aspect of the coffee chain, from picking ripe cherries to exporting green coffee beans. The photos featured in this video are from his families farm, Finca Vista Hermosa. I hope you enjoy.

Earth Hour this Saturday

Next Saturday, March 28, at 8:30 pm, spend an hour in the dark. The World Wildlife Fund has organized a global effort to turn off the lights in homes and businesses across the world for one hour. The purpose? To send a message to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhangen in late 2009 that the world's citizens want governments to adopt policies that will take action against global warming. For more information, visit the Earth Hour web site or watch the video below:



Come back after the weekend and share your stories about Earth Hour!

Dino Day is Dino-mite!

Posted by: Karin Hoffman, Communications

On Saturday, March 7th from 10 am – 4 pm the Burke presents the 24th annual Dino Day. The star this year is Triceratops! Come learn about where it lived, what it ate, and who tried to eat it. Crack open a rock with Stonerose Interpretive Center, draw a dinosaur with illustrator Mark Orsen and watch Burke scientists extract fossils from rock right before your eyes. Here’s a little fossil preparation preview with Bruce Crowley, Burke fossil preparator, as he works on triceratops horns that will be on display for the first time at Dino Day.

Coffee talk

Posted by: Karin Hoffman, Communications

During opening weekend the Burke was fortunate to have two coffee connoisseur's
from Portland Roasting walk visitors through a formal coffee cupping. Cupping is the practice of observing tastes and aromas of brewed coffee by sniffing the coffee, then loudly slurping so it spreads to the back of the tongue. The cupping journey provides tasters the tools to measuring the coffee's body, sweetness, acidity, flavor and aftertaste. Take a look at Stephanie and Marie in action.



And make sure not to miss this weekend's coffee events. On Saturday from 11 am - 2 pm, Tully's will be conducting coffee tastings in the exhibit gallery.

The Ethnology Detectives

Posted by: Karin Hoffman, P.I

Let me set the scene.

It’s a cold, foggy night. A confident yet distraught woman dressed in a black knee-length wool coat, broad-brimmed hat and delicate heels walks slowly up a set of wooden stairs to the second floor. Smoking a cigarette she approaches a closed door. She knocks, then enters the office of Karin Hoffman, P.I.

I always thought it would be fascinating to be a private investigator – digging up secrets from the past, anticipating a person’s next moves, or working to discover the story behind a statue of a falcon reputed to contain priceless jewels. I guess that’s why I was drawn to museums. Every day collections managers and curators are challenged to uncover the history of an object, often times relying on little prior knowledge of the artifact.

Our ethnology division recently faced such a challenge. A set of antique rifles was donated to the Burke and right away the collections team knew the rifles were keeping a secret. Take a look at what they discovered:

A whale of a job

Posted by: Julia Swan, Communications

See our skeletons on the move:



See even more cool mammal specimens this Saturday at Meet the Mammals!