View through the Birds Connect Seattle windows of a special art installation for Downtown Art Walk (May 2026).
This article was originally published in an abreviated version in the Summer 2026 issue of EarthCare Northwest, our quarterly member newsletter. Become a member today and receive our next issue.
by Hanae Bettencourt, Community Engagement Manager
One of the first comments we hear from visitors to our new downtown headquarters is how bright the space is. Even on cloudy days typical of our area, the space feels bright, airy, and welcoming, thanks to large, two-story windows that span the entire street front of our space.
Even for folks just passing by, these windows offer a welcoming glimpse into what we can offer as an organization. Whether they catch a glimpse of our preserved bird specimens or look longingly at a Swarovski spotting scope, we often see folks slow down and point, often with mouths agape.
These windows also offer first-rate people watching opportunities. On any given day, we’ll see folks with conference badges around their necks, sports fans with gear representing local teams, speed walkers with their morning coffees, families on vacation, cosplayers attending a weekend Comic-Con, and more.
Getting folks to take that extra step to come into the shop has been a fun challenge. As the Community Engagement Manager, I often ask myself how I can make birds relevant to different types of people. Our monthly social hours, which take place on the second Thursday of each month, usually combine bird interest with a specific hobby. We’ve had art enthusiasts sketching woodpeckers, fiber artists delighting in ducks, and crows combined with coffee tasting (what is more Seattle than that!), just to name a few.
Special Pokémon related displays with corresponding bird specimens were available during Comic-Con.
We’ve also taken opportunities to appeal to folks who are in the area for big events. We leaned in to the Osprey connection when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, even offering materials to make a Seahawks headband for the celebration parade. Anime and pop-culture fans enjoyed our real-life Pokémon display, where we compared Pokémon to their real-life counterparts, bringing out select specimens to display in our exhibit space.
Over the past year, I’ve enjoyed the various opportunities that have arisen to help connect people of all backgrounds to local wild birds. And, thanks in part to our windows, it seems to be working. We are always welcoming new people into the space, answering interesting questions, and connecting folks with birds who hadn’t really given them much thought before. We’re excited to keep finding these fun bird connections at future downtown events and to meet more people (hello, soccer fans!). If you haven’t visited us yet, we’re eagerly awaiting your arrival.
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