Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture facts for kids
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Exterior of the Burke Museum
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| Established | 1899 |
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| Location | 4303 Memorial Way Northeast, Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Type | Natural history museum |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
| Collection size | 16 million |
| Visitors | 104,000 (2017) |
| Owner | University of Washington |
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (often called the Burke Museum) is a cool place to explore natural history and culture. It's located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The Burke Museum is the oldest museum in Washington state. It has an amazing collection of over 16 million items! This includes the world's largest collection of spread bird wings. The museum is also the official state museum for Washington.
Contents
History of the Burke Museum
How the Museum Started: Young Naturalists
The Burke Museum's story began with a group of high school students. In 1879, students like Edmond S. Meany and Charles Denny formed a natural history club. Charles Denny's father, a founder of Seattle, helped them meet on the Territorial University of Washington campus. In 1880, they officially named themselves the "Young Naturalists Society."
As the first members finished high school, they continued their club at the university. In 1882, a biology teacher named Orson "Bug" Johnson joined the university. He brought 20,000 animal specimens with him! This made the Young Naturalists' collection the biggest natural history collection in the Pacific Northwest. They even built a special clubhouse in 1886 to hold all their growing treasures.
In the 1890s, Edmond Meany, one of the founders, returned to teach at the university. He helped bring new energy to the group, including more members, even women. By this time, their collection had grown to more than 60,000 specimens!
Becoming the Washington State Museum
In 1895, the University of Washington moved to its current campus. Part of the Young Naturalists' collection, used for teaching, moved to Denny Hall on the new campus. In 1899, the Washington State Legislature officially named this part of Denny Hall the Washington State Museum. In 1904, the Young Naturalists decided to donate the rest of their collection to the new state museum and close their club.
Moving Around: A Museum on the Go!
The 1909 Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition (AYP Expo) brought many new buildings to the University of Washington campus. After the fair, the Washington State Museum moved into its first dedicated building, which was the fair's old California Building.
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However, this building had leaks! So, the museum moved again to the fair's old Forestry Building. But guess what? That building was full of bark beetles! From 1923 to 1927, the museum's collections had to be stored in different places all over campus.
Finally, in 1927, the museum found a new home. It moved into what was originally the Washington State Building from the AYP Expo.
In 1929, Erna Gunther became the museum's director and stayed in that role for over 25 years. But in 1957, the museum had to move again because its building was no longer safe.
A New Name and a Brand New Building
When Thomas Burke passed away in 1925, his wife, Caroline McGilvra Burke, wanted to create a lasting memorial for him. She was a collector of Native American artifacts herself. After she died in 1932, she left her personal collection to the museum. The Burke family also offered money to help build a new state museum. The only condition was that the new building had to be named after Thomas Burke.
Even though some people at the university and the museum's director, Erna Gunther, weren't sure about changing the name, the new building was finally opened on May 3, 1964. It was officially named the Burke Museum.
In 2014, the museum started planning for an even newer building. They asked the state for help to build a large, modern facility. The new Burke Museum building was finished in 2018. The old building closed at the end of that year so its 16 million items could be moved. The old building was taken down in April 2019.
The brand new museum cost $106 million to build and opened to the public on October 12, 2019. The new building, designed by UW alum Tom Kundig, has big windows that let you see into the research areas. This means you can peek at parts of the collection that were never shown before! Outside, there's a garden with 60 types of plants native to Washington. The new museum also has a small cafe called Off the Rez, which serves Native American cuisine.
What Can You See? Amazing Collections!
The Burke Museum has over 16 million artifacts and specimens! These are divided into different areas like anthropology (human culture), biology (living things), and geology (Earth's history).
Here are some cool facts about their collections:
- Birds: The museum has the world's largest collection of spread bird wings. It also has the world's second-largest collection of frozen bird tissues, which are important for scientific research.
- Mammals: The Mammalogy Collection has over 55,000 mammal specimens. It's one of the largest mammal collections at a university in North America.
- Native American Art: The museum has the fifth-largest collection of Northwest Coast ethnographic material in the world. This includes 10,000 objects of Native American art. You can see important early collections and modern silkscreen prints and sculptures.
Exciting Exhibits
Past Exhibits
Before the museum closed temporarily in 2018, it had three main long-term exhibits:
- "Life and Times of Washington State" showed the natural history of the Northwest over 545 million years. It featured huge fossils, like an Allosaurus skeleton and a giant ground sloth fossil found near Sea-Tac International Airport.
- "Pacific Voices" explored the cultures and traditions of 19 different Native American and Pacific Rim groups. It used art, artifacts, and videos to tell their stories.
Temporary Exhibits
The Burke Museum also has a special gallery for changing exhibits. These can be traveling exhibits from other museums or new ones created by the Burke staff. For example, in November 2022, they hosted "Body Language: Reawakening Cultural Tattooing of the Northwest."
Current Exhibits in the New Building
When the new museum opened on October 12, 2019, it featured several exciting new exhibits:
- "Culture is Living" lets you explore objects from the past and present and hear stories from communities across the Pacific.
- "Northwest Native Art" showcases amazing art from Native peoples of the Northwest.
- "Amazing Life" explores the incredible diversity of living things.
- "Our Material World" looks at the materials that shape our lives.
- "Fossils Uncovered" is a must-see for dinosaur fans! It includes one of the best-preserved T. rex skulls in the world, along with many other fossils.
How the Museum is Run
The Burke Museum is managed by the University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences. The University of Washington Board of Regents helps guide the museum.
The Burke Museum Association (BMA) is a group that supports the museum. They help make the museum more visible, raise money for programs, and connect with the community.
The museum's budget is about $5 million each year. About half of this money comes from the state of Washington. Other funds come from donations, grants, and money earned from admission fees and gift shop sales.
