Stories in Stone

Leader: David B. Williams

Bio: David B. Williams is an author, naturalist, and tour guide whose award-winning book, Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound is a deep exploration of the stories of this beautiful waterway. He is also the authorof the award-winning book Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography, as well as Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City. Williams is a Curatorial Associate at the Burke Museum and writes a free weekly newsletter, the Street Smart Naturalist.

Most people do not think of looking for geology from the sidewalks they travel, but for the intrepid geologist any good rock can tell a fascinating story. All one has to do is look at building stone in any large city to find a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics. Furthermore, building stones provide the foundation for constructing stories about cultural as well as natural history. In this 1.5-mile-long walk, Stories in Stone (which was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award) David will explore stone ranging from 3.5-billion years old to 120,000 years old, the most commonly used building stone in the country, and rock used by the Romans to build the Colosseum.

Transportation: Participants will take 1 Line Bus ($2.75 one way, $5.50 round trip) to a stop near downtown, which is an 8-minute walk from the meeting place. 25 minute commute total. Transportation to be paid by each participant on that day.

Number of tours: 2 (One morning and one afternoon)

Max Participants: 17

Fee: $25

Duration: 1 hour

Museum of Pop Culture

The Museum of Pop Culture’s mission is to make creative expression a life-changing force by offering experiences that inspire and connect our communities. MoPOP’s permanent collection — much of which is stored in a physical “vault” — spans the breadth of the pop culture canon and also features one of the finest assemblages of popular music-related artifacts in existence. This rich archive provides the foundation for exhibitions and programs that explore themes tied to popular culture.Participants will see the behind-the-scenes conservation and exhibit fabrication spaces of MoPop. The care and housing of film props is very different from the care of geological specimens. Film props are not produced with materials meant to last forever, and often contain volatile materials. Storing and displaying volatile materials, and conserving delicate textiles worn by movie and music stars, is an exciting challenge. Guests will also be able to see the world-class exhibits of MoPop, and enjoy the unique architecture of the building.

**Guests will be split from 20 into two groups: one group will tour behind-the-scenes while the other attends the galleries, then the groups will switch. Total time recommended at the museum is 2 hours, with 1.5 hours included in the two 45 minute tour slots, and half an hour at the end to reconvene and finish seeing galleries. Including travel time, this trip will take just a little over 3 hours. Adding time for lunch downtown, the tour could be 4-4.5 hours.

Transportation: Participants will take 1 Line Bus ($2.75 one way, $5.50 round trip) to Westlake Station, then walk to Monorail. Participants will then ride the historic Monorail ($3.75 one way, $7.50 roundtrip) to MoPop. Total roundtrip cost is $13 per person and it is a 33-minute commute. Transportation to be paid by each participant on that day. 

Number of Tours: 1 (afternoon)

Max Participants: 20

Fee:  $25

Duration: 2 hours

Extended Burke Paleontology Tour

Extended behind-the-scenes tour of the Burke Museum's Geology and Paleontology spaces by Kelsie Abrams. This tour will cover both laboratory spaces and fossil collections. The Burke's Geology and Paleontology collections contain the West Coast's second largest paleobotanical collection and the Burke has extensive laboratories dedicated to pollen and phytolith recovery. The Vertebrate collections showcase several holotype reptile, amphibian, and therapsid fossils from Africa and Antarctica. This tour will be a treat for anyone wishing to see the diversity of the Permo-Triassic fossil record and paleobotany.

Number of Tours: 2 (morning and afternoon)

Max Participants: 15

Fee: $0

Duration: 1 hour