Exhibit Survey
 

1. Washington State History Museum Exhibit Topics and Themes

 
We would like your input on the upcoming exhibition schedule for the Washington State History Museum. This survey should take less than 10 minutes, and will provide valuable guidance as we plan for the coming years. Please review the six proposed exhibit topics below, as well as the possible focus areas for each. Please rate your interest in the focus areas using a scale from 1 to 7 (1 being least interested and 7 being most interested). Thank you for your time, we value your input.

1. Captain Cook in the Northeast Pacific

James Cook’s explorations in the South Pacific are well known, but this exhibit unveils his activities in the area between Hawaii, the Northwest Coast, and Alaska. Original journals, art, and objects he collected will show his accomplishments in our home waters.

Which focus areas would you like to know more about?

 1- Least interest 7- Most interest
Cook as mapmaker
Shipboard conditions
Encounters with natives
Cook’s findings regarding the Arctic ice pack and related issues of climate change
Cook and the European Age of Enlightenment

2. David Douglas, Extraordinary Botanist

The Douglas fir is named for this man, who traveled through the Northwest in the 1820s in the footsteps of path finding naturalists such as Archibald Menzies and Meriwether Lewis. But there’s more to his story: mountain climber, associate of leading scientists, friend to the Indians, and, like Captain Cook, a controversial death in Hawaii.

Which focus areas would you like to know more about?

 1- Least interest234567- Most interest
Douglas as scientist
His encounters with Native Americans
His personal story in Scotland, America, and Hawaii
Techniques of travel in the 1820s
Seeing objects collected by Douglas and brought back from Europe

3. The Federal West

The third great era in the history of the American West, after the explorers and railroads, was the era of massive federal intervention starting in the 1920s: conservation and hydroelectric projects, World War II home front, Hanford, Cold War era military contracts, the Interstate Highway system and much more.

Which focus areas would you like to know more about?

 1- Least interest234567- Most interest
Development of the Columbia River
Highways and the growth of cities
Activities in the Southwest (California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona …)
Aircraft industry
Japanese-American internment

4. The Civil War in the Northwest

Washington Territory participated in the Civil War, even without battles between Union and Confederates. Surprising new evidence will illuminate race relations, politics, and personal stories.

Which focus areas would you like to know more about?

 1- Least interest 234567- Most interest
Slaves and free African Americans
Dissent and disloyalty
Weapons and fighting
War’s effects on economic development
Daily life in Washington Territory during the War.

5. Mount Rainier and Climate Change

The specter of global climate change is looming over Mount Rainier. As glaciers begin to melt and the poles suffer extreme shifts in temperature, scientists suggest that parts of the world, including the Cascade Mountain Range, are in danger. What does this theory mean to the people of Washington state? This exhibit investigates this controversial topic, asking whether Rainier is, in fact, the canary of the Cascades.

Which focus areas would you like to know more about?


 1- Least interest 234567- Most interest
Historic perspectives on the mountains
How climate change affects local conditions
Periods of past climate change
How we can impact the environment
Native interaction with the mountain- past and present

6. Ice Age Mammals and Clovis Culture

Long ago, in North America, lived giant mammals reminiscent of creatures from the “Jurassic Park” movies. Why did these creatures suddenly disappear at the end of the Ice Age? Was it due to mass extinction caused by the arrival of human hunters or was it due to climate change? See and hear these creatures as they come back to life with the help of robotics. Also included is the largest collection of Clovis tools ever displayed from Washington’s East Wenatchee Clovis Site.

Which focus areas would you like to know more about?

 1- Least interest234567- Most interest
Ice age mammals- anatomy and animal behavior
Causes for extinction- environment vs. man
Ice Age floods
Culture of the Clovis people
Discovery of the Clovis points in East Wenatchee

7. Please rank the exhibits 1 through 6, with 1 being the exhibit you would most like to see and 6 being the exhibit you would least like to see.

 1- Most like to see23456- Least like to see
Captain Cook in the Northest Pacific
David Douglas, Extraordinary Botanist
The Federal West
Civil War in the Northwest
Mount Rainier and Climate Change
Ice Age Mammals and Clovis Culture