Reflecting on our Natural Wonder museum exhibit, closing Jan. 5.

Way back in 2018 BC (Before Covid), Kathryn True and I took a field trip to Puget Sound Natural History museum to connect with director Peter Wimberger and curator and VNC Science Advisor, Gary Shugart. After a tour of the museum, we went out for Thai food, and asked for advice on an opportunity that had been presented to us by the Vashon Heritage Museum – to create a museum exhibit on island natural history. They were generous with their expert advice and we left feeling more confident about this huge undertaking. So, with Maria Metler and I leading the effort, we all set to work. Little did we know how much work we were in for!

Here are a few photos of the installation:

In summer of 2021, we finally finished Natural Wonder: An island shaped by water. It has delighted locals and visitors for almost two years and we are grateful to Vashon Heritage Museum for keeping it up for this extended showing. Because the exhibit is closing Jan. 5, we invited the Puget Sound Natural History Museum team back for a tour as a thank you for their advice throughout the process. 

Walking through Natural Wonder with Peter and his team was a wonderful experience for me. It was the first time I allowed myself to flow through it and sink into this project we’d worked so hard to produce. I also had the chance to see it through others’ eyes. Our visitors were professionals and naturalists who noticed the nuances and details. I focused on telling the stories of what went into creating each section. And in sharing those memories, I felt a powerful wave of gratitude for the incredible community endeavor this exhibit turned out to be.

From the opening map by island artist Annie Brule, to the Spanish audio translation from islanders and science experts from as far away as Peru, I felt a renewed appreciation for the breadth and depth of the exhibit contributors. More than 40 local and regional artists, writers, poets, craftsmen, video-tech aficionados, nonprofit groups, scientists, editors, graphics designers, and construction experts lent a helping hand (contributors and sponsors). The immense talent and generosity of islanders crystallized as our visitors exclaimed over the labor of love behind each and every vignette.

The immense outpouring of community creativity gives Natural Wonder many layers and exquisite details, just like nature herself! You enter through an underwater ocean room with a video wall designed by islander Jason Jones and an octopus alcove featuring a photo by local Puget Sound diver Keith Clements. Upon exiting, if you are observant, you’ll find blown glass figurines depicting the life cycle of a jellyfish created by Chad Widmer, islander and aquarist at Point Defiance Aquarium. On the opposite wall are wood carvings of plankton created by Rebecca Welti and donated by Tag Gornall. At the naturalist’s desk are mammal skulls from local hunter and naturalist Lyndsey Braun Palmer, providing a backdrop for a recent mushroom display curated by local expert Hannah Morosoff. Just as in a real forest, your eye will catch sight of the occasional colorful bird, felted by island artist Stephanie Harlan.

As we toured the exhibit Peter asked, “How did you pull this part off? Who was able to do this?”

In developing Natural Wonder, Maria and I had only to voice an idea to find someone on Vashon who had the creativity, generosity, and skill to pull it off. A large tree to signify the immensity of Shinglemill forest? Enter woodworker Hans Nielsen. An enormous collection of rocks to build the “Garden of the Ancients” depicting the geologic diversity of our beaches? Steve Bergman had just such a collection, so big that it took multiple days of car trips to move, before the painstaking design began, all conceptualized by Steve. A poem to convey the feeling of water or the diversity of forest life? The island’s haiku group and poet laureate had just what we needed. An interactive felt board where children can create their version of a healthy stream? Cue retired teacher extraordinaire Geri Wilson. Everywhere you turn there is the product of a helping hand. Just as we highlighted island “Rock Stars” throughout the exhibit for environmental feats, these behind-the-scenes rock stars made Natural Wonder a stellar exhibit.

As on our original visit to Puget Sound Natural History museum, we ended the Natural Wonder tour with dinner (at May’s Kitchen to keep our Thai theme). While there, Diane Emerson and Michael Laurie came by to say “hi.” I introduced them to our visitors and explained that they too were essential to the exhibit, helping to design the outdoor salmon walk and tending the habitat garden designed and built by Vashon Audubon. “Was anyone not involved?” Peter wanted to know.

Natural Wonder is an exhibit about natural history and it is also the story of the humans who live here. Our imprints crisscross the walls, floors, and ceilings. The stories behind each small detail show the overlapping layers of our shared love for the island, for each other, for nature, and our willingness to lend a helping hand to create something unforgettable together. 

In gratitude for this incredible community effort, we will spend the last days of the exhibit honoring some of these many connections. Follow us on social media  (IG: @vashonnaturecenter, Facebook, Blog) as we share 12 days of Natural Wonder! Each entry will feature a part of the exhibit and tell the story of the people who made the magic happen. 

If you haven’t yet, or you want to return to take a deeper dive, see the exhibit before it closes, Jan. 5! Open and free to the public Wed.−Sun., 1-4 pm, Vashon Heritage Museum, 10105 Bank RD SW, Vashon.

Natural Wonder Features Section: Join us in celebrating the 12 days of Natural Wonder!

DAY 1:

On the first day of Natural Wonder, my true love gave me … maps! What would a natural history exhibit be without the power of visual illustration? Enjoy illustrator Annie Brule’s map at the start of the exhibit showing migratory species connected to our island. Dive into the history of habitats past with Annie’s annotated forest history map. Soar over the island and swoop down to each big tree, with the Big Trees of Vashon map by Damon Burgess. We are grateful to the skilled mapmakers who lent their time to help us create these fantastic exploratory visualizations. Explore all 17 maps in the exhibit!

Natural Wonder find of the day: Can you find your watershed address?

DAY 2:

On the second day of Natural Wonder my true love gave to me… two buffleheads. As you enter Natural Wonder, notice the windows in the main exhibit room. We have artist Sue Hardy to thank for these immersive scenes of iconic Vashon places. Each is placed in a geographic context that aligns with the island. Look out the northwest facing window onto Fern Cove in fall, east to KVI in winter, southeast to Maury Island Marine Park in spring, and southwest to Christensen Pond at the height of summer. Each painting portrays a different season and highlights the wildlife and plant phases you can expect to see This level of detail is inherent in all we did in Natural Wonder. 

Natural Wonder find of the day: Which of Sue’s window panels have buffleheads? Can you spot the blue darner?

DAY 3:

The children are all tucked into… the octopus den! Every time we visit Natural Wonder we find at least one child tucked in the rock pillows of the octopus den backed by a full-wall composite photograph of KVI reef taken by Keith Clements. Kids really enjoy the full wall kelp forest video created with guidance from videographer, Jason Jones. They also love to crawl inside the coyote den and use the forest floor exploration table (both constructed by @meadebuilding), or move stream bugs around the felt board creek created by Geri Wilson, play in the geology sandbox, and peer into the microscope at the naturalist desk. Look for more full-wall photographs by James Hyde and Susie Fitzhugh. Thanks to all of these generous artists!  

Natural Wonder find of the day: can you find the orca in the Puget Sound portal?

DAY 4:

When the weather outside is frightful … watch felted birds that are delightful! Island artist Stephanie Harlan carefully studied bird photos and museum specimens to accurately portray the birds of Vashon in felted form. We then placed these birds in their “natural” wonder habitat. 

Natural Wonder find of the day: Can you find the spotted towhee scratching the forest floor for food? What layer of the forest canopy do grosbeaks usually frequent?  

DAY 5:

A trip to Christmas past, well, way before Christmas past actually! We owe incredible gratitude to Vashon Union of Geologists, especially Tom Devries and Steve Bergman for the outdoor geology parts of this exhibit. Learn about earthquakes, ocean plates, glaciers and more. Tour the Garden of the Ancients to see Steve’s collection of rocks from Vashon beaches and learn to identify them and where they came from! We are also grateful for artist Paulina Barry who created a series of scenes from the same vantage point (central Vashon looking south) so that we can visualize changes in the landscape, flora and fauna here through deep time! 

Natural Wonder find of the day: Can you find the springsnails in Paulina’s drawings? 

DAY 6:

Natural Wonder, An Island Shaped By Water closes January 5th. Join us in celebrating the 12 days of Natural Wonder!

Greenery for the seasons! Do you need some native plant inspiration? Visit the outdoor Habitat Garden by Vashon Audubon @vashonaudubon and the salmon walk gardens created by Garden Green @dianeemersonvashon. Not only did the installation of these gardens bring native habitat to the museum grounds, they also got rid of a huge flooding problem in the backyard by increasing the capability of the space to soak in rainwater! These gardens are here to stay even after the exhibit is taken down. Artist Britt Freda @brittfreda created a cedar salmon installation with the help of public volunteers in a participatory art project. These salmon mark the headwaters of Vashon’s largest salmon-bearing watersheds: Shinglemill (which the museum is within) and Judd (at VNC’s wetland restoration project at @vashoncenterforthearts). 

Natural Wonder find of the day: Can you find the cattail plants? Can you find the wooden salmon?

DAY 7:

On the seventh day of Natural Wonder… Something even better than nutcrackers! Behold the amazing wood-based creations of Natural Wonder. The beautiful central cedar tree was carved by island wood artist Hans Nelson. It marks the high point of land which forms the headwaters of both Shinglemill and Judd Creeks, otherwise known as Vashon’s downtown. As you follow the salmon on the floor into the exhibit you are approaching the island through Fern Cove. When your salmon-self exits the ocean room, look down to the floor, you will see salmon swimming up from Fern cove to Shinglemill creek to the cedar tree headwaters. Past the tree, as you exit out the side door, look down again to see the juvenile salmon heading from Judd Creek headwaters out to Quartermaster harbor to begin life in the ocean again. Take a rest stop at the tree and enjoy the coyote den and forest floor exploration table built by @meadeconstruction. We are also incredibly grateful to Odin Lonning for his wood art honoring whales. And to John Burke, exhibit construction manager, who made us all manner of shelves, nooks, crannies, and supports and kept us from killing ourselves and our AV equipment while attempting to install things on the ceilings!

Natural Wonder find of the day: Can you identify which plankton grows up to be a crab? Wood plankton carvings by Rebecca Welti @oceansculptor 

DAY 8:

On the eighth day of Natural Wonder: Words of light and beauty! How does one capture the human experience of living within the natural world? Island poets and authors are treasures in their documentation of this lived experience. We called on many in this exhibit and they freely shared their words in places where photos, maps, and factual descriptions just didn’t cut it. We are grateful to the Island Haiku Club, Vashon Poet Laureate at the time Sandra Noel, and many others for gracing this exhibit with their words. 

Natural Wonder find of the day: Which Haiku speaks to the season of spring? 

DAY 9:

On the ninth day of Natural Wonder my true love gave to me: Ever changing delights! What would a natural history exhibit be without a naturalist’s corner? This office space replicates what many islanders may have in their own homes, a spot for field guides, books, feathers, bones, beach treasures, and more. Thanks to many island naturalists including: Lyndsey Braun-Palmer and Tag Gornall for their skull and bone collections, Ellen Kritzman for butterfly posters and for sponsoring this space, and Hannah Morosoff for keeping it fresh through the seasons by sharing mushroom displays and lichen specimens! A microscope lets you get up close and personal and VNC staff have shared books from our library to accompany the rotating themes! 

Natural Wonder find of the day: What is your favorite mushroom on the mushroom table?

DAY 10:

On the tenth day of Natural Wonder… Drumming Down the Details! It takes a lot to tie a natural history exhibit together. We are eternally grateful for the grace, expertise, and beauty brought to this exhibit by graphics designer Jenna Riggs. Her careful eye for detail, placement, and theme created the effortless flow of this exhibit. We also had the help of an incredible team at the Puyallup Tribe cultural and language departments who generously vetted this exhibit to make sure traditional ecological knowledge, history, and language were portrayed accurately throughout. Lastly, Kathryn True and Jean Findlay provided content and copy editing, and Vale Martinez, Lydia Aguilar and Manalo Castellote led the Spanish translation team. What is the Spanish translation for ‘forest’? How do you pronounce the name of the island’s First Peoples?

DAY 11:

On the 11th day of Natural Wonder… Experts  from afar! Some of the pieces of this local story traveled from distant places. Natural Wonder opened with an incredible event, The Whale People, in conjunction with The Natural History Museum and local tribes. We commissioned artist and naturalist Josie Iselin to create curtains of kelp, eelgrass, and sea glass framing the exhibits’s entrance and exit from. Towering above the exhibit you is a replica of the Southern Resident Orca J-pod matriarch Granny (J-2) who died in 2016 at over 100 years old. She is immortalized by Kristian Brevick’s incredible talent for lighted sculpture as she forever swims after chinook salmon. Look for incredible illustrations of fish species throughout the exhibit from the guiding floor salmon to the shoreline forage fish, licensed to us by Joseph R. Tomelleri, famous for his illustrations in Fishes of the Salish Sea. This is a reminder that our island community is connected to and blessed by being within a larger region called the Salish Sea from which creative sparks and ecological webs flow! 

Natural Wonder find of the day:  Can you find the shoreline zonation and other illustrations by our friend, scientist, and illustrator Simone Des Roches?

DAY 12:

Holiday spirit! Last but not least we want to thank the sponsors of this exhibit, including many island businesses and individuals. We could not have done this without their funding support. You can find a full list on the Natural Wonder page of the Vashon Heritage Museum website. In addition, thanks to museum staff and volunteers for their support of this exhibit, in particular volunteers, Laurie Tucker, Bruce Haulman, Carla Pryne, Rayna Holtz, Cyrus Anderson, John Burke, Jean Findlay, all the docents, and the museum staff led by Elsa Cronquist! 

Natural Wonder find of the day: Thank a docent or museum staff when you visit the exhibit!