The Karshner museum, also known as Paul H. Karshner Memorial Museum , is a natural history museum

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...

 located at 309 4th Street NE, Puyallup, Washington

Puyallup, Washington

Puyallup, Washington is a city in Pierce County, Washington about five miles east of Tacoma. The population was 37,022 at the 2010 Census. Named after the Puyallup Tribe of Native Americans, Puyallup means "the generous people."-History:...

. It is one of the only museums owned by a local school district.

History

The museum was founded in 1930 by Dr Warner M. Karshner and his wife in honor of their son, Paul, who died of polio. It initially consisted of Karshner's private collection of 10,000 items including Native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 artifacts. It has grown to include items from South Pacific islands as well as a Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...

 glass exhibit.

The museum is managed by the Puyallup School District and is an active part of the curriculum through fifth grade. It is open during school hours and during monthly "Family Days" on weekends.

Repatriation

In 2009, the museum helped repatriate funerary items from its collections to the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington and the Wanapum Band.

External links

• Karshner Museum
• Puyallup School District museum page