Burke Museum, Seattle

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is a museum in the northwest corner of the campus of the University of Washington, at the intersection of N.E. 45th Street and 15th Avenue N.E. in Seattle, Washington, USA's University District. It is the only major natural history museum in the Pacific Northwest. Its collection numbers over 5 million specimens, including totem poles, redcedar canoes, a dinosaur skeleton, fossils, and more.

The museum was founded by the Young Naturalists Society in 1885. In 1899 the legislature named it the Washington State Museum. Its present building was built in 1962 via a bequest from the estate of Caroline McGilvra Burke, at which point the museum was renamed in honor of her late husband Judge Thomas Burke.

Exhibits at the museum include "Life and Times of Washington State," which focuses of the natural history of the area. It includes discussion of geologic history, such as glaciation and volcanic activity, that have influenced the terrain and climate. It also includes specimens such as an allosaurus skeleton cast, a fossil giant ground sloth found during the construction of Sea-Tac Airport, and numerous animal pelts.

The museum also houses "Pacific Voices", an exhibit that focuses on both Native American cultures of the area and the cultures of Asian immigrants to Washington. In addition to cultural artifacts, the display includes audio examples and discussion of attempts to preserve dying languages.

There are also several galleries devoted to rotating collections. As of January, 2007, the museum is displaying a collection of Tibetan thangkas, and a collection of photographs from Janet E. and Frederick R. Wulsin's 1921-1925 National Geographic Society expedition to Tibet, Mongolia, and China.