Stabig(w)sali

Funny how we can pass things without seeing them. In this case the plaque above went un-noticed by me until recently. It is placed in the sidewalk that runs in front of the Washington State Historical Museum where I have walked often.

I'm guessing the word you see at the top of the plaque MAY be written in Lushshootseed, the language of the North West Salish Tribes living in the Puget Sound region. Very few are left who speak the language but there are numerous efforts afoot to hand the language down to the next generation.

Stabig(w)sali...a place for the storage of important things/possessions.

The perfect definition for what goes on inside.

I've mentioned the museum before when writing about it's architecture.

I thought you might like to have a look inside

and meet some of the folks living there.

The journey through time, depicted in the various areas,

is revealed in conversations between the characters

and historical background.

The lighting is effective and draws you into the conversations.

As planned, history comes alive, right before your eyes.

Creating all the life size people depicted in the scenes

out of the same sculpting medium

really keeps things flowing without interruption.

And at some point you begin to feel

more like a participant than an observer.

As you walk along and realize this is only one portion of the museums offerings, the reality of all the hard and well done work really sinks in. We are very fortunate to have this stabig(w)sali nearby.

I have more photos from my short visit. For now, if you would like to know more about the Washington State Historical Museum in Tacoma go HERE. If you would like to listen to the pod casts developed for the museum go HERE. But to get the full effect, when in the area, be sure and make the museum one of your stops. It was really fun to hear the reactions of the visiting children.