Proposals

Abstract

The Archaeology Department at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture requests funding to facilitate student research. We are requesting ten mobile workstation kits, 3 imaging kits, and three specialized research stations The new Burke Museum opened in Fall 2020, and the Archaeology Department has increased student research space by 200%, providing undergraduate and graduate students with extensive direct access to collections-based research equipment and space. The Burke houses over one million archaeological artifacts and thousands of related archives from around the world with an emphasis on artifacts from the Pacific Northwest and the Western Pacific. These research collections provide vital data for Archaeology graduate and undergraduate students in their research, serve Museology students through internships and graduate research, and promote interdisciplinary research for students in many related departments including the iSchool, Anthropology, Art History, American Indian Studies and Geography. To successfully accommodate and provide for high-quality student driven research, the Burke Museum Archaeology Department requires new field and laboratory equipment. The proposed equipment will benefit dozens of Archaeology and Museology graduate students currently conducting research, as well as future graduate students and numerous undergraduate students by facilitating on-site and off-site access to collections and computing and other equipment necessary to conduct analyses. The proposed equipment will eliminate the need for loaning collections, providing greater access while simultaneously protecting collections from damage and loss. The above kits will also eliminate the need for students to provide their own work space and equipment. When not in use at the museum, the mobile research kits will be available for checkout for research conducted on non-Burke collections and in the field.