After visiting the Burke Museum for the first time with my 8-year-old son, I wondered what took us so long to check it out!
While we were looking forward to seeing all that the museum is known for, like the dinosaurs, fossils, Northwest native art, and animal pieces as part of their permanent exhibits, we were drawn in this weekend to check out the museum’s newest exhibit Rare Air: Connecting with Species of Flight, which opened Oct. 19 and will stay through March 31, 2025. The exhibit is housed on the museum’s second floor, where you will discover a multi-dimensional experience.
“We always want to think about not only looking at but also doing and hearing. So bringing interactive activities emphasizes the point [that] we’re not only learning about these awesome creatures we live with but [also] emphasizing that humans have a part in both the negative and positive relationships,” said The Burke Museum’s Director of Interpretation, Melissa Kennedy.
Rare Air: Connecting with Species of Flight: Speaking with the author
Based on the book Rare Air: Endangered Birds, Bats, Butterflies & Bees by Sarah Kaizar with writings by A. Scott Mesier, the museum’s newest interactive exhibit aims to show how humans are an inextricable part of the environment and have a profound impact on winged creatures whether they mean to or not.
“I think it’s very cool to have it in this space and interpreted by a natural history museum that brings collections in,” said Kaizar, who greeted visitors at the Burke during opening weekend. “They brought regional partners in to tell the conservation story that was kind of a thrust of the whole book, and it’s cool to see it take on this whole different dimension.”
According to Kennedy, in addition to the work displayed in her book, Kaizar created seven new artworks for the Burke Museum that are more specific to the region. Some of the pieces reflect regional partnerships, like the one with Woodland Park Zoo on its conservation efforts with butterflies. A University of Washington research project monitoring bird strikes on glass is also part of the exhibit.
The exhibit was designed to accommodate families and visitors of all ages. For example, there is a carpeted play corner for gross motor play and a table set up for guests to draw their own art inspired by the art from Kaizar.
Burke installs a temporary gallery with a traveling exhibit a couple of times a year, so don’t miss Rare Air while it’s here.
Beyond Rare Air
Beyond the new exhibit, there were plenty of other exhibits and activities for kids. Currently, there is a scavenger hunt underway to try to find all the hidden UW Husky stuffed animals around the museum. You can go to the check-in desk for a prize if you find all seven.
The first floor is dedicated to arts and culture, where my son and I played a fun game of Mancala.
The second floor is dedicated to biology. In addition to the new Rare Flight exhibit, you’ll find Amazing Life, which reveals a global life-support system. We also found themed stations for puzzles and frog-stuffed toys primed for dissecting.
The third floor is for archaeology and paleontology, where you’ll see what the museum says is the only real dinosaur fossils on display in Washington state, including one of the best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex skulls in the world.
Throughout the floors, you’ll also notice workstations behind the glass, where you might see research in action.
“We want every time people come to the Burke, not only do they see the stuff on the wall, which is beautiful, but they get a sense of the connection between the collections, the thousands and hundreds of thousands of objects that are not on the walls but are instead in storage in these storage rooms right behind the wall,” said The Burke Museum’s Collection Manager of Mammals, Jeff Bradley.
Know before you go
- Location: 4300 15th Ave. NE Seattle, WA
- Hours: Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Last admission at 4:30 p.m.); the first Thursday of each month from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Tickets: Adult tickets are $22, youth tickets 4 to 17 are $14, and children 3 and under are free. The first Thursday of the month is free. All of the exhibits are included in the ticket prices.
- Parking: A few different parking options exist, including a paid lot adjacent to the museum in the N1 lot. It’s $4/hour on weekdays, $6 until noon, and free after on Saturdays, and free all day Sundays.
- Food/Drink: You may bring snacks to the museum and store them in the free lockers on the first floor. Also, don’t miss Off the Rez cafe, located just outside the entrance, which offers tasty native foods like fry bread, rice bowls, Indian tacos, pastries, coffee, and more.
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Free admission to museums on the first Thursday of the month
