Join us for the first Lilac Sunday since 2019! We’ll be celebrating 150 years of Arboretum history and 112 Lilac Sundays.
Experience the springtime bloom of our renowned collection of nearly 400 lilacs. Visit for tours with Arboretum experts, hands-on children’s programming, and more.
Arnold Arboretum (Hunnewell Building), 125 Arborway, Boston
Ukrainian culture is rich with references to the natural world. Join a one-hour walking tour with Arboretum Horticulturist Brendan Keegan. Learn about plants within the Arboretum's collections that are notable in Ukrainian history, cuisine, agriculture, and more. The tour is in support of our colleagues at botanical institutions throughout Ukraine.
On this tour commemorating Native American Heritage Month, Jacqueline Zoeller ’23 will contrast colonial visions of the Western U.S. landscape, such as Albert Bierstadt’s Rocky Mountains, “Lander’s Peak” (1863), with the realities lived and portrayed by Native American artists. Stops on the tour will include Diné artist Will Wilson’s Mexican Hat Disposal Cell (2020), a landscape photograph of Halchita, Utah, the Navajo...
Immerse yourself in the deep beauty of trees in this story and music journey through the Arboretum. Led by Oracle award-winning storyteller Diane Edgecomb and Celtic harper Margot Chamberlain, this unfolding performance of ancient tales and songs from cultures around the world takes place in a variety of groves—birch, cherry, and evergreen—at some of the Arboretum’s loveliest spots.
This event is free, but registration is required and limited. Not designed for children under 12, and dogs are not allowed. COVID guidelines will be followed.
The "Resetting the Table: Food and Our Changing Tastes" exhibition at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology explores food choices and eating habits in the United States, including the sometimes hidden but always important ways in which our tables are shaped by cultural, historical, political, and technological influences.
Join us on this special virtual talk and tour at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology with Joyce Chapli, guest curator and Harvard University James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History; Janis Sacco, Director...
At the time of its founding in 1872, the land on which the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is sighted was a patchwork of farmland and forest. As the Arboretum was planted, pathways were developed to lead people through the picturesque landscape. As the landscape developed, economies shifted, wars took place, and directors changed. Each of these factors subtly influenced shifts in the park’s path system. Join the Arnold Arboretum on Zoom with Jared Rubinstein as he reveals the layers of change in this beloved landscape.
Mesopotamian Monuments is a 60-minute live-streamed museum visit to investigate monuments from Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria exhibited at Harvard University. Guided by a museum educator, visitors at home observe sculptures in the gallery to understand the characteristics of these ancient river civilizations. The tour introduces the Sumerian ruler Gudea, Hammurabi of Babylon and the Assyrian Kings Ashurnasirpal II and his son Shalmaneser III. The experience includes the monument of Hammurabis' code and some ancient music with time for questions and discussion.
Pour a libation of your choice–beer was popular in the Ancient Near East–and join this live virtual tour of the exhibition From Stone to Silicone: Recasting Mesopotamian Monuments. The museum showcases newly fabricated casts from the ancient scenes that once adorned palace walls in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). Meticulously created by museum curators and Harvard students, these relief sculptures show how the ancient kings commemorated their military triumphs and civic achievements. For ancient audiences, these scenes presented powerful royal propaganda. For modern audiences,...
Facilities director Peter Atkinson will take visitors on a 60-minute architectural tour of the museums, highlighting the strategies and stories behind the evolution of the recently renovated building, with a special focus on its environmentally conscious, certified LEED Gold design.
Free with museums’ admission (Note: Cambridge residents, all students, youth under age 18, and Massachusetts K-12 teachers get in free to the Harvard Art Museums). This tour is limited to 15 people and tickets are required. Ten minutes before the tour, tickets...
Edison and Newman Room, Houghton Library, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Join curator John Overholt for a guided tour of the exhibition Small Steps, Giant Leaps to learn about the ways early modern science inspired and made possible the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Edison and Newman Room, Houghton Library, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Join curator John Overholt for a guided tour of the exhibition Small Steps, Giant Leaps to learn about the ways early modern science inspired and made possible the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Tours are free and open to the public. No reservation is required.
Exhibition Tours are also offered on the following dates:
Edison and Newman Room, Houghton Library, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Join curator John Overholt for a guided tour of the exhibition Small Steps, Giant Leaps to learn about the ways early modern science inspired and made possible the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Tours are free and open to the public. No reservation is required.
Peters Hill Gate, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join our docent for a tour of the other end of the Arnold Arboretum, the southern end. Peters Hill became part of the Arboretum in 1894 and continues to charm with its special character, collections, and history. In summer, the amazing view from the summit takes in the Boston skyline and a rich and textured landscape spreading out below you. Learn the history of the land, along with information on the woody plants located here.
Edison and Newman Room, Houghton Library, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Join curator John Overholt for a guided tour of the exhibition Small Steps, Giant Leaps to learn about the ways early modern science inspired and made possible the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Following this tour will be a a screening of The Right Stuff (1983) at the Harvard Film Archive at 5:30pm
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
In 1911, Charles Sprague Sargent, the founding director of the Arnold Arboretum, began writing a serialized pamphlet titled the Bulletin of Popular Information, in which he described flowering and fruiting displays at the Arboretum. Because Sargent often focused on plants newly arrived from expeditions to Asia and elsewhere, many of his descriptions provided the first horticultural comparisons between species that had never been grown in the same garden.
On this tour, Jonathan Damery will revisit plants mentioned throughout Charles Sprague Sargent's sixteen years with...
Centre Street Gate, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
The Arnold Arboretum did not come into existence full-formed, but had a long adolescence before it (literally) blossomed at 50. Our first director, Charles Sargent, prepared a 50-year report in 1922, before the end of his own 54-year tenure. But, what about the first 25 years? We don't have a 25-year report, however, we do have photos and the engaging stories from that time.
Join our docent to hear those stories, as she takes you on a timeline...
Peters Hill Gate, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Join our docent for a tour of the other end of the Arnold Arboretum, the southern end. Peters Hill became part of the Arboretum in 1894 and continues to charm with its special character, collections, and history. In autumn, the amazing view from the summit takes on a new tapestry of color, spreading out in the landscape below you. Learn the history of the land, along with information on the woody plants located here, like the collection of crabapples fruiting in many colors on the northern slope.
Peer into an active archaeological excavation and learn about the oldest section of North America’s first college, founded in 1636. Harvard archaeology students will answer your questions, demonstrate archaeological methods, and display recent finds from the seventeenth century that reflect how Harvard College students—centuries ago—ate, dressed, and amused themselves, among other experiences. Drop by any time during this 90-minute event. The site is in Harvard Yard, steps away...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Enjoy a free guided tour of the Arnold Arboretum landscape with a knowledgeable docent. Tours are appropriate for adults and last approximately 90 minutes. History, highlights of the landscape, seasonal interest and more!
