Local

New, larger Burke Museum opens doors to public

SEATTLE — After three years of construction, the doors to the state’s oldest museum reopened to the public Saturday.

The 134-year-old Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle opened its doors to its new home, which is bigger than its previous site. “This is so much bigger and there’s so much stuff to explore,” visitor Ella Nestignen said.

“When I walked into this museum, I wasn’t sure what to expect and then my eyes blew up. It was so amazing, so big and exciting,” Willa Nestignen said.

The new museum opened on the day after Gov. Jay Inslee, along with other local and state leaders. cut the ribbon on the new facility.

“I cannot tell you how exciting it is. We are thrilled to finally have visitors here,” said Julie Stein, the museum’s executive director.

The new 113,000-square-foot building cost $106 million and is 66% bigger than the old museum and has three floors.

Among the Burke’s 16 million objects, visitors will find Northwest native art and a T-rex, which was recently declared by the director of the Smithsonian as the “finest” in the world.

And there are also the bones of the SeaTac sloth, unearthed in 1961 at Sea-Tac Airport.

Not only will visitors find the old, but there’s a new “inside out” concept that includes working labs people can see into.

“You can see world-famous researchers, artists and scholars doing their work, real work, at the same time you see the objects they’re working on,” Stein said.

At the biology prep lab, visitors can watch scientists dissecting and examining animals, and even talk to researchers about their work.

“You actually get more of the insight behind the scenes of what happens in a museum,” visitor Ken Shreve said.

There’s also a new play area for the little ones, experiencing and honoring our past with a new beginning.

More news from KIRO 7

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP