Island stories are the wealth that fills the treasure chest we call the Vashon Heritage Museum. This treasure chest overflows with exhibits and programs that are free and open to everyone.

The Museum had a busy 2021, saying goodbye to the nationally award-winning exhibit “In and Out: Being LGBTQ on Vashon,” opening exciting new exhibits, hosting more than 6,000 visitors, managing the safety protocols of life during COVID, strategic planning to take us through the next decade, and continuing the ongoing work of realizing our mission to honor all Vashon stories.

Telling our island’s stories is an undertaking we could not do without your help and the help of Vashon residents, partnering organizations and generous sponsors.

Walk through the museum’s doors and you are greeted by the first of many treasures — our volunteers, who will welcome you to our museum, our permanent exhibit, our research room, and our latest exhibit, “Natural Wonder: An Island Shaped by Water,” created and curated in partnership with another island treasure, the Vashon Nature Center.

As you enter the world of “Natural Wonder” you will first encounter a “Movement and Migratory Map,” by Annie Brule, that asks you to reflect on your own migration, and what brought you to Vashon. Next, travel through the main gallery of four window panels, all set off by natural light and depicting seasonal ecosystems: Winter at KVI Beach, Spring at Maury Marine Park, Summer at Christensen Pond, and Autumn at Fern Cove. The screens were created by more island treasures: artist Sue Hardy, haiku by Ann Spiers, Jeanne Ameluxen, Mike Feinstein, and Bonny Kelly, and calligraphy by the late Kaj Wyn Berry.

Take an undersea dive into the kelp bed portal of Puget Sound and the salmon spawning waters of Quartermaster Harbor, look into the deep dark water to catch a glimpse of a shy octopus in its den. Emerge out of the undersea world to the forest and a magnificent cedar, firmly rooted in the rich humus forest floor and reaching up to a Salish Sea cloudy sky. Take a moment to identify plant cells at the naturalist’s desk or identify and appreciate which watershed supplies your household drinking water. Follow the salmon path to Shingle Mill Creek. Discover that we are an island and a people defined by water and the importance of the health of the Salish Sea.

As you walk outside to the shoreline exhibit you cannot help but be impressed by the immense photo of the Vashon Glacier. Take time to identify specimen rocks in the Garden of the Ancients, to learn the geology of the Island, and to learn how the island was formed by tectonic and glacial forces. Walk through the Audubon Naturalist Garden and out along the salmon path to a water conservation native species garden. End your tour with an examination of human impact on the changes to our island and our environment.

As museum docent, Karen Bray observed, “Visitors should come away with a new reverence for earth and an appreciation that all creatures, the microscopic plankton, the salmon that feed on them, and the apex predators that feed on the salmon, live in balance, and dependence on the health of the ocean, which needs our care.”

The Museum’s treasure trove of programs is bursting with exciting exhibits and talks that support “Natural Wonder,” — our permanent exhibit, and our history programming. Watch for announcements about our pop-up mini exhibits, our Museum Talk Series, History Worth Hearing Radio Show, History Contest, and the recently released video series, “A Contemporary Exploration of Vashon Island and Maury Islands,” created by Barbara Gustafson.

We cannot tell these Vashon stories without the support of those we treasure most: our volunteers, exhibit curators, partners, sponsors, and generous donors.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this past year. We could not have made it through COVID without your generous support. Your end-of-year donations will jump-start us into 2022 with a treasure trove of programs to support a year of “Natural Wonder,” and help us to continue to develop and finalize our new permanent exhibit that will tell the Vashon story in new and exciting ways.

We know that there are many important non-profit organizations on the island that need your support. We hope that you will continue to support them and continue to support the Vashon Heritage Museum so that we can share the treasures that are our island’s history and stories.

Thank you! Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year. See you at the museum in 2022!

For more information on exhibits and museum hours, visit Vashonheritagemuseum.org. Elsa Croonquist is the executive director of the Vashon Heritage Museum.