Events

    2024 May 08

    Sketching Animals

    9:30am to 11:30am

    Location: 

    Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—Online

    Capture the diversity of animal forms using pencil and paper. Learn techniques for quickly sketching animals, closely observe the details of fur and feather textures and draw eyes in a way that brings animals to life.

    Cost: $30 members / $35 nonmembers

    Learn more and RSVP.

    Read more about Sketching Animals
    2024 Apr 27

    Capturing Butterflies and Moths in Colored Pencil

    9:30am to 12:30pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge

    Explore the beauty of butterflies and moths using preserved museum specimens. This three-hour workshop will introduce observational drawing techniques with pencil, and then dive into colored pencil techniques to create a rich, vibrant image.

    Cost: $50 members / $60 nonmembers

    Learn more and RSVP.

    Read more about Capturing Butterflies and Moths in Colored Pencil
    2024 Mar 28

    Public Observatory Night at the Harvard College Observatory| Stars

    7:00pm

    Location: 

    Phillips Auditorium, Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge

    Born from vast clouds of gas and dust, stars embark on a fascinating life cycle, evolving from brilliant birth to fiery demise. As these stellar furnaces forge elements, they seed the cosmos with stardust, the very essence from which we arise. Our connection to the stars is profound—we are all made of stardust, a testament to the universal magic woven into the fabric of our existence.

    Embark on an evening with two captivating talks delving into the mesmerizing world of stars. Following discussions, elevate your experience with rooftop stargazing using powerful telescopes,...

    Read more about Public Observatory Night at the Harvard College Observatory| Stars
    2024 Mar 13

    Landscape Sketching

    9:30am to 11:30am

    Location: 

    Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—Online

    Landscapes are an appealing subject for drawings, but it can be difficult to know where to start. In this program we will learn how to select a landscape, create a sense of depth and volume, and use a variety of marks to capture a dynamic variety of textures.

    Cost: $30 members / $35 nonmembers

    Learn more and RSVP.

    Read more about Landscape Sketching
    2024 Mar 03

    How to Re-Wild Your Lawn

    2:00pm to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Weld Hill Lecture Hall, 1300 Centre St., Boston (Arnold Arboretum)

    This program has reached capacity---Join Aboretum Horticulturist Brendan Keegan, to learn how to transformation your own lawn. This primarily indoor class will cover how to remove your current turfgrass, select the right plants, plant your meadow, and keep it flourishing for years to come.

    Free, Registration Required 

    Learn More & Register

    Read more about How to Re-Wild Your Lawn
    2024 Feb 07

    Ocean Fever: Deep Thoughts on Water, Culture, and Climate Resilience

    12:00pm

    Location: 

    Virtual -- registration required for zoom link

    Robert Verchick is a legal scholar in climate change and disaster policy who designed climate-resilience programs in the Obama administration. In this lecture, Verchick will explore how we can harness the power of government, science, and local wisdom to rescue the oceans from climate breakdown. Verchick has written more than 60 articles and four books, including the award-winning Facing Catastrophe: Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina World. His podcast, Connect the Dots, is in its seventh season. Contact events@radcliffe....

    Read more about Ocean Fever: Deep Thoughts on Water, Culture, and Climate Resilience
    2024 Feb 07

    Drawing Plants and Flowers in Colored Pencil

    9:30am to 11:30am

    Location: 

    Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—Online

    Explore the beauty and variety of plants using colored pencils. This course will focus on a diverse range of techniques for using colored pencils to capture flowers, leaves, fruits, and vegetables, from quick monochrome sketching to richly layered, full-color images.

    Cost: $30 members / $35 nonmembers

    Learn more and RSVP.

    Read more about Drawing Plants and Flowers in Colored Pencil
    2024 Jan 17

    Inspired by Nature: Drawing from Your Imagination

    9:30am to 11:30am

    Location: 

    Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—Online

    Looking closely at nature can inspire a broad range of imaginative artwork, from abstraction and decorative work to illustration and cartooning. In this workshop, we will use a variety of examples from nature as inspiration, and then explore techniques for unleashing our creativity through the drawing process.

    Cost: $30 members / $35 nonmembers

    ...

    Read more about Inspired by Nature: Drawing from Your Imagination
    2024 Jan 16

    Hybrid Lecture: The Fascinating Feathers of the Sandgrouse

    6:30pm to 8:00pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    The birds that populate the Arnold Arboretum rarely have to go far to find water. In the deserts of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, it's a different story, and the sandgrouse that lives in these arid environments has developed a fascinating adaptation to stay hydrated: these birds have a unique ability to absorb and hold water inside of their feathers. The chicks can't yet fly the long distance from their nests to the watering hole, so adult males make the long journey with the lifesaving water secreted away in their feathers. But how do their feathers hold water so efficiently? Dr...

    Read more about Hybrid Lecture: The Fascinating Feathers of the Sandgrouse
    2023 Dec 16

    Nature Journaling: A Creative Exploration of the Winter Landscape

    12:30pm to 3:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Bring your enthusiasm for the natural world and leave with a creative nature journal, inspired by the trees of the Arnold Arboretum. Nature journaling is all about expressing your curiosity and wonder through sketching, calligraphy, writing, or other forms of art-making. Tap into your creativity and let yourself be surprised by the diversity of forms on display in the winter landscape.

    Learn more and RSVP....

    Read more about Nature Journaling: A Creative Exploration of the Winter Landscape
    2023 Dec 09

    Foraging Walk: Tea Time at the Arboretum

    2:00pm to 3:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join us for a winter foraging walk to learn what wild plants can be foraged and brewed into tea. Visit some of the Arboretum's tastiest winter plants, from sweet birch and sweet fern to sassafras and spicebush. You may even get to taste some of the teas yourself! Led by Manager of Adult Programming and Events Sarah Nechamen and Horticulturist Brendan Keegan.

    Learn more and RSVP.

    Read more about Foraging Walk: Tea Time at the Arboretum
    2023 Dec 03

    Great Horned Owl Walk

    4:00pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Dusk in December is a perfect time to look and listen for Great Horned Owls, often heard calling throughout the Arboretum’s collections. Join Horticulturist Brendan Keegan and Zoo New England's Matthew Kamm to hear about the owls' breeding and nesting behavior, learn how to go owling ethically, and possibly hear and see a few owls as well.

    Learn more and RSVP.

    Read more about Great Horned Owl Walk
    2023 Dec 02

    Conifer Walk

    2:00pm to 3:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    What is a conifer, exactly? How is it different from an evergreen, or a gymnosperm? Join docent Paul Eldrenkamp as he leads us through the different types of conifers and how to identify them, the reasons behind their distinctive needle-like forms, and their rise and fall in evolutionary history.

    Learn more and RSVP.

    Read more about Conifer Walk
    2023 Nov 18

    Arboretum Tour for Blind Participants

    2:00pm to 3:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join us for a tour of the Arboretum, designed for a blind or visually impaired audience. Tour seasonal plant highlights and learn about Arboretum history from a trained docent, as you experience the Arboretum through smell, touch, sound, and detailed verbal descriptions.

    Accessibility: This tour will take place entirely on paved roads inside the Arboretum. The route is relatively flat and is accessible to wheelchairs and walkers. The tour will cover one mile or less, depending how quickly the group moves. Service animals are welcome.

    ...

    Read more about Arboretum Tour for Blind Participants
    2023 Nov 18

    Water Stories with the Artist Evelyn Rydz

    1:00pm to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery, Byerly Hall, 8 Garden St., Cambridge

    Join the artist and educator Evelyn Rydz for an afternoon of conversation and collective artmaking within the exhibition Water Stories: River Goddesses, Ancestral Rites, and Climate Crisis, on view September 18–December 16, 2023.

    The exhibition presents artworks that tell alternative stories of water experience in the context of climate change, while encouraging viewers to appreciate the multivalent meaning of water and their own relationship to it. Rydz has repeatedly observed the increasing impacts on natural and cultural ecosystems throughout her various field...

    Read more about Water Stories with the Artist Evelyn Rydz
    2023 Nov 08

    On-Site Tree Mob: Urban Wilds

    2:00pm to 2:45pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Bussey Brook Meadow is left mostly untouched by human management and interference, creating a flourishing urban wild with wildflowers, wetland, and both native and introduced plants and animals. Join Dr. Peter Del Tredici to explore this unique space and learn about the history of the meadow, the plant patterns that appear there, and the long-term ecology of the site.

    Learn more and RSVP.

    ...

    Read more about On-Site Tree Mob: Urban Wilds

Pages