Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is the state natural history museum of Washington located on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. It was founded in 1899 and serves as both a public museum and a research institution for natural history and cultural heritage.

The museum’s holdings span paleontology, archaeology, ethnology, botany and zoology, with more than 16 million specimens and artifacts in its collections used for research and rotating public exhibitions. Permanent and temporary galleries present regional fossils and natural history material alongside Native American cultural collections and themed exhibitions for general audiences and schools.

Established as the university’s natural history collection at the end of the 19th century, the institution has evolved into a combined research and public museum. In 2019 the museum moved into a new building on the UW campus designed to increase gallery space, improve collections storage and support active research programs.

Located on the University of Washington campus in Seattle’s University District, the museum is within walking distance of campus facilities and a few kilometres north of downtown Seattle.

• Founding: Founded in 1899 as the University of Washington's natural history collection and designated the state natural history museum of Washington.
• Collection size: Housed more than 16 million specimens and artifacts across natural history and cultural collections, supporting research and exhibitions.
• New building (2019): Opened a new purpose-built building on the University of Washington campus in 2019 to expand exhibition, storage and research space.

What to See #

• Paleontology collections: Holds the museum's paleontology holdings, including vertebrate fossils and research material used for regional and national scientific study and display.
• Archaeology and Ethnology collections: Contains archaeology and ethnology collections focused on Northwest Coast and other indigenous cultural materials, used for research and public exhibitions.
• Botany and Zoology collections: Maintains botanical and zoological research collections, including herbarium specimens and vertebrate zoology holdings that support university and museum research.