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Burkemobile
 Burkemobile
Delivering a museum experience to Washington classrooms

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 Delivering a museum experience to Washington classrooms.



Introducing Burkemobile!

Burkemobile is the Burke's new outreach program, delivering a hands-on museum experience to your classroom — anywhere in the state! Burkemobile offers three different lessons. Each one-hour lesson includes fossils, cultural artifacts, or biological specimens, and is led by a Burke instructor. Choose one, two, or all three lessons for your school. A Burkemobile lesson is set up in a classroom, and up to four classes can participate during a day.

Burkemobile lessons:

  • Fossil Forensics
    teaches the rich fossil history of Washington, including what fossils can teach us about past environments. For Grades 4-6.
  • Living Traditions: Native Peoples of Washington
    explores connections between cultures and environments from the Northwest Coast to the Plateau. For Grades 3-5.
  • The What-If Ecosystem
    investigates four ecosystems of Washington and how they might respond to change. For Grades 5-7.

All lessons align with Washington State Standards and are supported by pre-visit and post-visit lessons.

Now scheduling for the school year!
For more information and to schedule a Burkemobile program, contact the Burke Education office by phone at (206) 543-5591 or email at burked@u.washington.edu


Museum educators. Artifacts. Fossils. Specimens. Hands-on lessons.



Burkemobile Hits the Road
University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences Newsletter – July 2009


Children looking at beaded bag
Ellensburg students examine artifacts – including this beaded bag – from the Burke's ethnology collections.
Photo by Keely Gnagy

Recommended by teachers.
"[Burkemobile] was awesome. The kids loved it, learned from it, and it tied to our standards."
5th Grade Teacher, Yakima

Applauded by students.
"If I could do it again, I would do it in a heart beat."
5th Grade Student, Ellensburg


Children using the collections
A team of 5th graders shows off their model of an Eastside Forest ecosystem. Students examine specimens of plants and animals found in their ecosystem, then predict what might happen when a change, such as increasing forest fires, is introduced.
Photo by Tim Stetter
Top shot of kids hands using the collection
Hands of elementary school students dive into the specimens in this interactive lesson, "Fossil Forensics." The first step: picking out the real fossils!
Photo by Dana Beaudry
ecosystem collection displayed
In March 2009, the Burkemobile made an appearance at the Washington Science Teachers Association Conference in Moses Lake. Science teachers across the state previewed the science lessons available for their classrooms through this new Burke outreach program.
Photo by Tim Stetter
Students handling fossils
Students at the Lummi Nation School handle real fossils and rock specimens from the Burke's collections.
Photo by Dana Beaudry
Burke Educators Pose inside of Tribal School
Burke Educators (left to right) Tim Stetter, Dana Beaudry, Keely Gnagy, and Maureen Carlisle delivered Burkemobile lessons at the Lummi Nation Tribal School in Bellingham.
Photo by Janice Hottman
The ecosystem collection
In the "What-If Ecosystem" lesson, students create a model of wetland ecosystem, displaying specimens such as a juvenile Chinook Salmon, pressed Cattail plant, Monarch butterfly, Muskrat skull, and Great Blue Heron feather.
Photo by Tim Stetter