Burke Museum
The Burke Museum is a Seattle-based natural history and cultural museum operated by the University of Washington. It holds 18+ million collection objects and serves visitors, K-12 schools, academic researchers, and Indigenous communities through exhibits, education, and research programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1885
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Burke Museum does
The Burke Museum is the Washington State Museum of Natural History and Culture, operated by the University of Washington's College of Arts & Sciences in Seattle. Founded in 1885 and reopened in a new building in 2019, the museum maintains biological, geological, and cultural collections of more than 18 million objects, with over 10 million accessible through online databases. It serves general public visitors, K-12 educators and students, academic researchers, Native American and Indigenous communities, and private event hosts. Core activities span exhibit curation, scientific research (paleontology, biology, archaeology, heritage), collections stewardship, and educational programming including school outreach and youth camps.
The museum's underlying technology is its physical collection base combined with digital infrastructure — searchable online databases, publicly visible working labs, and specialized research methods including laser-stimulated fluorescence imaging for fossils and foraminifera-based environmental monitoring of Puget Sound. Research output is substantive, with 98 documented projects spanning vertebrate paleontology, paleobotany, Native American art, arachnology, and cultural revitalization (such as Coast Salish weaving exhibitions and tribal canoe restoration grants).
Revenue is generated through a diversified non-profit model: daily museum admissions with advance ticketing and free admission days, annual membership subscriptions, private event and birthday party rentals, on-site café and store sales, and grants from funders including 4Culture, the National Endowment for the Arts, and tribal organizations. The museum's go-to-market is direct-to-consumer for visitors and direct sales to schools and event clients, supplemented by grant-funded programming. Pricing is tiered (e.g., $500 / $650 birthday packages; subscription memberships) with discounted rates for non-profits, tribal groups, and University of Washington affiliates.
Burke Museum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Burke Museum
- Legal name
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
- Website
- https://burkemuseum.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1885
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The Burke Museum is a Seattle-based natural history and cultural museum operated by the University of Washington. It holds 18+ million collection objects and serves visitors, K-12 schools, academic researchers, and Indigenous communities through exhibits, education, and research programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Burke Museum industry classification
Industry- NAICS
- Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD), Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)
Keywords
Where Burke Museum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Burke Museum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Museum Admission: Daily admission fees for museum visitors with advance reservation options and free admission events (Free First Thursday). Revenue from general admission tickets.
- Membership Program: Annual membership subscriptions offering unlimited free admission, members-only events (Behind-the-Scenes Night), and discounts at Off the Rez Café and Burke Museum Store. Gift memberships available.
- Private Event Rentals: Birthday party packages, corporate events, weddings, and meeting space rentals. Includes featured event spaces (Cascade Room, Grand Atrium, galleries) and daytime meeting spaces.
- Facility Add-on Services: Additional revenue from facilitated activities like fossil digs, selfie photo booths, and party favor packages from the Burke Store.
- Grant Funding: Research grants from organizations including 4Culture, National Endowment for the Arts, and various tribal organizations supporting specific projects and visiting researcher programs.
- Museum Store and Café: Onsite Burke Store and Off the Rez Café with 10% member discount on café purchases. Off the Rez Café also provides catering services for private events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Large Burke Birthday - 40 guests, $650 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Small Burke Birthday - 25 guests, $500 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Private Event Venue Rental |
| Subscription | Annual | Museum Membership |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Burke Museum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Burke Museum is a public natural history and culture museum operating paid exhibit admissions, annual memberships, private venue rentals, and on-site retail and café services. It also delivers structured educational programs for K-12 schools, youth, and families, supported by a research and collections infrastructure of more than 18 million biological, geological, and cultural objects.
Product overview
The Burke Museum is a single unified museum institution offering admission-based access to natural history and cultural exhibits, educational programs, and research collections. The core offerings include general museum admission and annual memberships for visitor access, supplemented by venue rental services (birthday party packages and private event rentals), structured educational programming for schools and families (school programs, youth & family programs, camps, DIG Field School), and online/digital resources (collection databases, Burke from Home, Education Fun Packs). Research initiatives like the Puget Sound Foram Research Project, The Waterlines Project, and Coast Salish Art resources extend the museum's scholarly mission. The museum maintains extensive collections in archaeology, biology, and geology & paleontology, with over 18 million objects and 10 million accessible through online databases.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 46 foraminifera species discovered in initial Puget Sound study
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Burke Museum
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Burke Museum technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Burke Museum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and preferred.
- Smithsonian InstitutioncoreThe Burke Museum is designated as a Smithsonian Affiliate, providing museum network recognition and collaborative opportunities within the Smithsonian museum system.
- Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT)coreBill Holm Center awarded grant to UCUT for shovelnose canoe revitalization project. The project brought together five Inland Northwest tribes (Colville, Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Kalispel, Kootenai) to rebuild traditional dugout canoes and conduct a canoe journey to Kettle Falls.
- Washington State Department of EcologycorePartnership with WA State Dept. of Ecology to study foraminifera samples collected across Puget Sound (from Canadian border to Olympia) to investigate and monitor the health of Puget Sound.
- Muckleshoot Indian TribecoreSouthern Lushootseed research supported by Muckleshoot Indian Tribe for the Waterlines Project, including place name documentation in Coast Salish language.
- Bekins NorthwestminorBekins Northwest, the official mover of the Seattle Seahawks, provided transportation services for the Native mask artifact from Maine to Seattle.
- Bay Laurel CateringpreferredPreferred catering partner for private events at the Burke Museum, operated by UW Housing & Food Services.
- Off the Rez CafépreferredPreferred catering partner for private events and café services. Members receive 10% discount. Also provides catering contact for event bookings.
- Dsquared Hospitality CompanypreferredPreferred catering partner for private events at the Burke Museum.
- Tuxedos and Tennis ShoespreferredPreferred catering partner (division of Dsquared Company) for private events at the Burke Museum.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Burke Museum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- California Academy of Sciences: San Francisco-based natural history institution combining research, aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum operations. Direct peer to the Burke in blending biological and geological research with public-facing exhibits and education.
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: LA-based natural history museum with extensive biological, geological, and cultural collections and active research programs. Direct peer in combining large-scale collections with university-affiliated research output.
- Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Regional natural history and science museum with comparable collections in paleontology, geology, and anthropology. Closest size and scope peer to the Burke among US regional natural history museums.
- University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History: University-administered natural history museum with comparable biological, anthropological, and paleontological collections, plus a Pacific Northwest / regional Indigenous focus. Closest direct structural and geographic peer to the Burke as a university-operated natural history museum.
- American Museum of Natural History: New York-based natural history museum with deep research, exhibition, and education programs spanning biology, paleontology, anthropology, and earth science. Direct peer to the Burke in mission, scale of collections, and Smithsonian-affiliated positioning.
- Field Museum: Chicago-based natural history museum with comparable large-scale biological, geological, and cultural collections. The Field is a direct structural peer to the Burke as a research-driven natural history institution with active research, exhibitions, and education programs.
Broad incumbents
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: The flagship US natural history museum and the parent of the Smithsonian Affiliations program of which Burke is a member. Overlapping scope across collections, research, and exhibitions, but operates at a vastly larger scale and as a federal institution.
Regional players
- Pacific Science Center: Seattle-based science center focused on interactive STEM experiences and IMAX programming. Regional competitor for family, school, and tourist visitation spend, though positioned as a hands-on science center rather than a natural history museum.
- Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI): Portland-based science and industry museum with comparable hands-on STEM education, planetarium, and submarine-tour programming. Regional peer competing for Pacific Northwest school field-trip and family visitation dollars.
- Seattle Art Museum: Major Seattle cultural institution operating complementary (rather than overlapping) collections and programming. Regional peer competing for the same cultural-tourism, membership, and event-rental wallet.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Burke Museum social profiles
Digital presenceBurke Museum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Burke Museum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Burke Museum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Burke Museum M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Burke Museum
What does Burke Museum do?
The Burke Museum is a public natural history and culture museum operating paid exhibit admissions, annual memberships, private venue rentals, and on-site retail and café services. It also delivers structured educational programs for K-12 schools, youth, and families, supported by a research and collections infrastructure of more than 18 million biological, geological, and cultural objects.
Is Burke Museum a public or private company?
Burke Museum is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was Burke Museum founded?
Burke Museum was founded in 1885. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Burke Museum based?
Burke Museum is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Burke Museum make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Museum Admission is the primary driver. The others are membership Program, private Event Rentals, facility Add-on Services, grant Funding and museum Store and Café.
Who are Burke Museum's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are California Academy of Sciences, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, American Museum of Natural History and Field Museum. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is listed as a broad incumbent. Regional players are Pacific Science Center, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and Seattle Art Museum.
Does Burke Museum have an API?
No public API is recorded for Burke Museum.
What industry is Burke Museum in?
Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAC, Natural History Museums, with a secondary code of THAJADAD, Science & Technology Museums. Its NAICS code is 712110 and its SIC code is 7900.