Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture050

The state museum of natural and cultural history is an ideal place to come with kids.

The fascinating Life and Times of Washington State exhibit showcases the natural history of the state, and the state's only dinosaur skeleton. You'll also see a saber-tooth cat and giant sloth skeleton, marine fossils, and other curiosities of the dinosaur age.

Pacific Voices, located on the museum's lower level, focuses on Pacific Rim cultures and their ceremonies, art, and stories. A video storytelling area features engaging stories from Maori and Northwest Native American traditions.

The Burke Museum also hosts three to four changing exhibits throughout the year. Recent temporary exhibits have examined nature, culture, and the environment using the Burke's own collections as well as traveling collections from other museums across the globe.

The museum offers group tours, by appointment, for all of their exhibits.

The cafe downstairs serves coffee, drinks, and snacks to visitors in an ornately paneled indoor cafe or on the outdoor patio. Patrons here tend to have a book in hand - the atmosphere is academic and rather hushed.

The museum store features a small collection of books and gifts (including children's books) related to the museum's collections.

Activity days: The Burke hosts family-oriented activity days on weekends - these typically have great crafts and activities for kids and tie into some aspect of the museum's collections. Annual favorites include Dinosaur Day, Bug Blast, Archaeology Day, and Meet the Mammals.

The museum also offers summer camp programs for children ages seven to 14. The week-long, all-day programs focus on culture and natural history. See the website for details.

The Burke Kids website is for ages six to 12 and introduces children to geology, anthropology, and biology with fun interactive web games.