Burke Museum

Burke Museum The Burke Museum cares for and shares natural history and cultural collections from around the world.
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The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, located on the University of Washington campus, is an active research museum that hosts a collection of 18 million artifacts and specimens ranging from canoes and gemstones to dinosaur fossils and the world’s largest collection of bird wings. With research and lab work that happens in plain view of visitors and three floors of one-of-a-kind objects,

the Burke is an ever-changing place of curiosity and wonder. COMMENT GUIDELINES: The Burke Museum encourages interaction, discussion, comments, questions and criticism on the Burke page, but asks that you keep your comments and posts relevant and respectful. We will not tolerate personal attacks, inappropriate language, racism, spamming and excessive posting. We reserve the right to delete comments or postings to improve the overall fan experience. We may remove any comment/post or ban anyone who violates these guidelines or Facebook's terms of service.

06/16/2026

This may look like a fossil fish tail, but it’s actually a 66-million-year-old palm frond! The hadrosaur we’re working on was buried in a sandy streambed after it died and is mixed together with a lot of plant remains that were also buried there. It’s rare to see plant remains so well preserved in a setting like this because the sand is often too course to preserve fine details, so this is a lucky find!
What kind of plant environment was our hadrosaur living in? “Based on other sites nearby where we have more complete paleofloral records, folks draw a comparison to a warm, wet swampy environment—think of the Mississippi River delta today. We find conifers (e.g., swamp cypress-type plants), broad leaved angiosperm trees (sycamores, willow relatives), palms, ginkgos, etc.” - Paige Wilson Deibel, Burke paleobotany collections manager.

06/12/2026

Ahead of the FIFA Men's World Cup tournament starting this month, 27,000 limited-edition SEA26 ORCA cards, with artwork by Alison Bremner, were produced.

05/29/2026

We’re experimenting with a new lab technique! Using sheets of low temperature thermoplastic made out of an archival adhesive, we can protect portions of our dinosaur we’re not currently working on and even keep delicate areas from falling apart when moving them. When we’re ready to take the shrink wrap off we just peel it off or use acetone (nail polish remover) to dissolve it.

05/27/2026

If your first thought is “no,” consider this: When photography was invented in the early 19th century it was not considered art by many critics because the camera, a machine, was generating the image. Fossils are images of ancient living creatures generated by Earth itself via geologic processes, and like a photo, they preserve a unique visual snapshot of the past. Replacing the photographer in this metaphor is the fossil preparator, a specialist who may travel long distances to collect fossil-bearing rock and then carefully reveals the image inside by removing the parts of the rock that obscure the fossil from view. We spend a lot of time talking about the scientific value of fossils, but it is also important sometimes to appreciate their inherent aesthetic value. It’s no coincidence that fossils and more classically defined art are often housed in the same museums!

We’ve had some lively discussions here at the museum about this topic, but what do you think? Let us know in the comments.

"During my time at the artist studio in Burke, I worked on a personal project that revolved around the concepts of routi...
05/19/2026

"During my time at the artist studio in Burke, I worked on a personal project that revolved around the concepts of routine and ritual in my daily life that I never questioned. Braided hair with ribbons was a requirement in most Indian schools, so it became a routine I followed throughout my childhood. Inspired by this theme, I spent my time cutting strips of recycled fabric that would then be braided to resemble hair.

Later, at the DOA Fest, I carved linoleum blocks into designs and invited people to use them to stamp their own patterns onto small squares of fabric. It was so great to see people of all ages take so much interest in making little creations of their own. I want to thank everyone who stopped by!

I am also incredibly grateful for this opportunity at the Burke Museum. Thank you for supporting my work and allowing me to share these experiences with the community!" - Devika Ajith

05/12/2026

Rod Crawford is the leading spider expert in Washington state with more than 50 years of experience in the field. He is also the curator of arachnids here at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Is that spider dangerous? Giant house spider is the official common name for the species of spider you see in the video and while it is technically capable of biting, its venom is not dangerous to humans, and it is known to be docile. Rod has held many giant house spiders over the years in his bare hands and has used them as a hands-on demonstration with first graders in school programs.

Our very own curator of paleobotany, Caroline Strömberg, was featured on an episode of the podcast, Scientess! Listen at...
05/11/2026

Our very own curator of paleobotany, Caroline Strömberg, was featured on an episode of the podcast, Scientess! Listen at the link below:

https://www.scientess.org/subscribe

05/08/2026

Taha Ebrahamini is the author of “Street Trees of Seattle: An Illustrated Walking Guide” and will be giving a talk right here at the Burke on Thursday, May 14. Want to discover which neighborhood has the highest concentration of cherry street trees when cherry blossoms are at their peak? Curious how monkey puzzle trees made their way to the city? Get your tickets now: https://www.burkemuseum.org/calendar/author-talk-street-trees-seattle

Address

4303 Memorial Way NE
Seattle, WA
98195

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+12065437907

Website

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