By Peter Woodburn

For Vashon Heritage Museum

From melting glaciers to storm-eroded beach bluffs and rain-filled aquifers, Vashon’s natural history has always been shaped by water.

The Vashon Heritage Museum’s upcoming exhibit “Natural Wonder: An Island Shaped by Water,” created in partnership with the Vashon Nature Center, is an interactive and collaborative experience that explores the island and all of its inhabitants’ relationships with water.

The full exhibit is scheduled to open on Nov. 5, 2021 — but parts of it have already started to roll out at the museum.

“We are in a pivotal moment in history when we are being called to question our dominant way of operating, especially with the environment, and to seek other stories to guide us,” said Vashon Nature Center Executive Director Bianca Perla. “Part of what “Natural Wonder” does is examine various stories of human connection to nature and stories of the incredible animals and plants that share this island with us.”

Outdoor portions of the exhibit are currently open to visitors on the rear grounds of the Vashon Heritage Museum.

On July 10, more than 500 community members attended the opening ceremony for “Whale People: Protectors of the Sea,” an outdoor exhibit featuring a 3,000-pound killer whale (orca) totem carved by the House of Tears Carvers of Lummi Nation alongside an immersive IMAX-style film installation, developed by The Natural History Museum.

The Natural History Museum is a Vashon-based traveling and pop-up museum led by artists, activists, and scholars. The “Whale People” exhibit is viewable every Friday and Saturday through Aug. 28, from twilight (about 8 p.m.) to 10 p.m.

In addition, visitors can also currently tour various outdoor exhibits organized by Vashon Nature Center including an outdoor geology exhibit, in partnership with the Vashon Union of Geologists, and the native habitat garden, in partnership with the Vashon-Maury Audubon Society. Outdoor installations also include a short salmon walk, displaying interpretive signs, and a public art installation of wood cut-outs of salmon created in collaboration with artist Britt Freda of Vashon Center for the Arts, and Garden Green.

Perla praised the community’s involvement in the exhibit, citing more than 60 local and regional organizations and sponsors, scientists, biologists, artists and historians who have joined in partnering to create “Natural Wonder.” Their involvement in the project, she said, will increase the “depth, beauty, and thoughtfulness of what is being created.”

The indoor portion of Natural Wonder will include sections about forest communities, streams, wetlands, the Puget Sound food web, and human connections to nature. The Vashon Nature Center and Vashon Heritage Museum plan on hosting special educational programs and events related to many of the “Natural Wonders” exhibit throughout its run, which will end in June 2023.

Elsa Croonquist, the executive director of the Heritage Museum, said that though the plans for the exhibit are expansive, it is her hope that it has a deeply personal impact on viewers.

“We encourage visitors to ask what is their place in our island’s story and lean into the geological history through experiencing the exhibit,” she said. “If we engage the visitor in Vashon’s natural wonder, we have succeeded in further understanding our past to help inform decisions about the future of our community.”

For information on Museum exhibits and programs, visit vashonheritagemuseum.org.