Coffee: The World in Your Cup will explore how coffee — one of the world's most widely traded commodities — has had an impact on cultures, economies, and environments around the world. Engaging maps, photos, text, selected artifacts, and audiovisual presentations will illuminate the fascinating world of stories behind the coffee we drink and will enable visitors to become informed consumers. Visitors will learn about coffee's origins in Africa, its methods of production, and its impact on the environment — from backyard birds to global climate change. Coffee will also address the botany of coffee, the effects of caffeine on human health, and the art and science of producing a perfect cup. Glimpses into the role of coffee in our own popular culture and other cultures around the world will be presented along with stories of the people who produce coffee and the efforts to ensure that they earn a fair wage for their work.

Coffee: The World in Your Cup was organized by the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington, Seattle, in collaboration with a panel of advisors from the University of Washington, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Seattle University, the Seattle Audubon, and the Specialty Coffee Industry.  

Preliminary Exhibit Specifications

Additional Information

Exhibition Support and Supplemental Materials

As a host of Coffee, you will receive the following:

• Complete registrarial information
• Complete shipping, handling, and installation instructions
• Public relations support in the form of  digital press releases, images, and logos; digital graphic templates of promotional materials; and advice on promoting the show
• Educational and programming resources

Registrarial Requirements
Coffee: The World in Your Cup has been designated Moderate Security. This exhibition has not yet been fabricated. Additional requirements may be added to reflect the final exhibition.

Space

• Venues must have a limited-access gallery of sufficient area and wall space to accommodate the exhibition. An open mall, hallway, or lounge area is not acceptable.     
• Smoking, eating, and drinking are prohibited in the exhibition area (see note regarding exception), exhibitor receiving, and staging spaces. Exception: With advance approval by the Burke Museum, exhibitors may conduct coffee sampling events in a secure and monitored space within the exhibition area. Please contact the Burke Museum for further details, approval, and guidelines.
• No part of the exhibition may be stored, crated, or moved off the premises without prior authorization from the Burke Museum. Empty crates for all exhibit contents must be stored in secured, pest-free, and fire-protected storage.

Security

• Trained professional guards and/or personnel must be present in sufficient numbers to protect the exhibition adequately throughout the time it is on site (during truck off-loading, unpacking, installation, deinstallation, repacking, and truck loading) and on view.
• The exhibition area must be locked and secured during closed hours. Alarms and/or guards during closed hours are preferred but not required.
• Functioning fire-prevention systems and other fire-protection devices that meet local ordinances must be available in the exhibition, staging, and storage spaces.

Environmental Controls

• The exhibition, staging, and storage areas should have a temperature range of 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity range of 40-60% relative humidity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• There must be no direct sunlight in the exhibition, staging, or storage areas. It should be diffused or eliminated. Light levels must be limited to 20 foot-candles. Light must be filtered for UV.
• Additional environmental controls and/or information may be required depending on the artifacts that will travel in the final exhibition. Please contact the Burke Museum for further details.

Exhibition Care

• Handling of all exhibit contents during unpacking, installation, deinstallation, and repacking must be done by curatorial, registrarial, or by other trained and experienced museum professionals.
• The exhibition may contain crates weighing up to 400 pounds. Venues will need to have the facility and staff or the ability to hire skilled personnel for crate delivery and movement.
• The exhibition contents must be left in their crates for 24 hours before unpacking.

For more information, please contact:
Mark R. Hand
Traveling Exhibits Coordinator
Phone: 206-616-0268
Email: mrhand@u.washington.edu