Never a dull moment at our beloved Burke Museum…

Shortly after the advent of the New Year, the Burke hosted the UW Regents' meeting and with that event came a meeting between Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and UW President Mark Emmert. Burke staffers were treated to a glimpse of global diplomacy and a small army of secret-service officers speaking surreptitiously into their wrists.

Also since the first of the year, our education department assisted 220 boy and girl scouts (accompanied by their 70 parents) to complete their geology scout badge. At the end of a fun-filled Saturday members of an entire troop complete the work necessary to obtain the badge. While the scouts are busy with their required learning, family members are treated to interactive activities supplied by the UW undergraduates taking Burke 101. This Winter Quarter the UW students provided learning opportunities on dinosaurs (guided by Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology Liz Nesbitt) and Columbia River Plateau Native American cultures (guided by Curator of Native American Art Robin Wright). Saturdays at the Burke have never been better.

On March 1, a record-breaking 2000+ visitors came to Dinosaur Day, and met our latest Burke "rock star," the 160-million-year-old German Ichthyosaur ("fish lizard"), which regally adorns the western wall of the Burke Room. The most popular activity of the day was breaking rocks to discover plant fossils. These rocks were brought to the Burke by event partner, the Stonerose Interpretive Center.

All these events are enhanced by the wonderful contributions of our Burke Museum Association Board. In this issue I continue introducing the BMA directors who work steadfastly to build our annual fund:

Hugh Bangasser is a partner at Preston Gates and Ellis LLP. A longtime Burke supporter, Hugh serves as secretary of the board.

Mary Coney, a retired UW professor, brings great perspective and enthusiasm to the BMA, and is committed to strengthening the Burke's relationship with UW faculty and students.

Antje Frychel joined the BMA in 2007 and serves as treasurer, bringing financial perspective and sensibility to the board. She is an Assurance Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC.

Darcy Paschino works for US Bancorp, a generous sponsor of educational programs and exhibits at the Burke. Darcy has been with the BMA since 2004, and is a co-chair of the 2008 Curators Dinner Committee.

Linda Thompson-Black works as an organizational development specialist for Communities in Schools, to improve student attendance, behavior and achievement. She brings considerable insight to the Burke's educational outreach programs.

Jan Creighton is an historian (with a PhD from WSU – but we still like her) and local philanthropist. A board member since 2006, Jan serves on the Nominating Committee and is co-chair of the 2008 Curators Dinner Committee.

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