The Harvard Art Museums will offer free admission to all visitors on Wednesday, May 18, in celebration of Art Museum Day and International Museum Day, organized by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
Take in the beauty of the Calderwood Courtyard before exploring three levels of magnificent art from around the world and across the centuries. Check out our special exhibitions Prints from...
Named after Washington Allston—a visionary painter and 1800 Harvard graduate—the town of Allston features vibrant, eclectic art that reflects the neighborhood's creativity and diversity. On this self-guided tour, you'll discover "can't-miss" public art installations along Western Avenue and learn the stories behind them and their artists. Follow along to explore hand-painted murals, sky-high sculptures, 25-cent art prints, and more!
Tour Stops: 27 Tour Length: 1 hour (shorter routes included) Tour Distance: Up to 2 miles...
Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge
Join us to hunt for mythical creatures across the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture. Can you find a genie, merfolk, or a centaur? What might have inspired a cyclops or a piranha plant? Travel through the galleries of four museums on your quest for these amazing creatures. Test your skills in the galleries of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.
On April 15, let the adventure begin! Time is limited, so plan...
Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge
Join us to hunt for mythical creatures across the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture. Can you find a genie, merfolk, or a centaur? What might have inspired a cyclops or a piranha plant? Travel through the galleries of four museums on your quest for these amazing creatures. Test your skills in the galleries of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.
On April 15, let the adventure begin! Time is limited, so plan...
Repeats every week every Saturday until Sat Apr 30 2022 .
10:30am to 12:00pm
10:30am to 12:00pm
10:30am to 12:00pm
10:30am to 12:00pm
Location:
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
On Saturdays and Sundays in April, join us for a 90-minute walk through the Arboretum! Tour seasonal plant highlights and learn about Arboretum history from a trained docent.
Repeats every week every Sunday until Sun Apr 24 2022 .
1:00pm to 2:30pm
1:00pm to 2:30pm
1:00pm to 2:30pm
1:00pm to 2:30pm
Location:
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
On Saturdays and Sundays in April, join us for a 90-minute walk through the Arboretum! Tour seasonal plant highlights and learn about Arboretum history from a trained docent.
Experience an epic day of archaeological events with the family! Activities are scattered across two museums so explore Native North American, Central American, Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Mediterranean archaeology. Throw a spear with a spear thrower. Talk to student archaeologists who excavate in locations around the world.
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 1 Divinity Ave., Cambridge
Stop by the Peabody Museum for a short moment of personal reflection on the past year which brought losses to so many. The front steps of the museum will be set up as a simple outdoor altar and staff will distribute lighted candles to visitors in observance of those we have lost. Pause and remember as you place your candle in our community display. Post a Message of Love to our online Virtual Altar before attending. And join us next year when our annual fiesta returns to the Peabody galleries! Rain or...
Arnold Arboretum (125 Arborway, Boston) & American Repertory Theater
Visitors are invited to experience the natural beauty of the Arnold Arboretum on an outdoor, self-guided journey that centers resilience, healing, wellness, and joy. This collaboration between the American Repertory Theater and the Arboretum features multi-genre audio plays for various ages, interactive movement maps, and pop-up performances, all set against the 281-acre backdrop of one of the jewels of Boston’s Emerald Necklace.
The Arboretum is open daily, sunrise to sunset. Visitors entering via the Arborway, Bussey Street, Forest Hills, Centre Street, Walter Street, Peters...
Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge
Awaken your love of science with activities led by Harvard scientists, graduate students, and enthusiastic explorers. Meet scientists who investigate fossils, microbes, and carnivorous plants. Hear short talks on current research at Harvard. Explore fermenting microbes in action as they perform in a musical art installation! Bring your own collections to show to local shell and minerals clubs. This program has something for everyone and is appropriate for children and adults of all ages.
Between the paws of the great Sphinx is the Dream Stela, a monument which describes how a young prince fell asleep in the shadow of the Sphinx by the Giza Pyramids. Visitors to the Harvard Semitic Museum galleries will be able to experience the iconic Sphinx and its Dream Stela in 3D augmented reality.
A gallery facilitator will use a tablet to allow the Sphinx to loom above and around a real life-size cast of the monumental stela. With a tap, the ancient hieroglyphs will be highlighted and translated into English. Another tap to adjust the timeline later, and a pyramid will...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Families need nature at all times of the year! Meet inside the main gate at the Visitor Center. We’ll learn how Arboretum animals get ready for winter. Go on a StoryWalk, get a tattoo, and make a winter home for your favorite animal!
Free and open to all, this event is most suitable for children ages four through ten.
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge
Remember and celebrate your departed loved ones at this year’s Día de los Muertos altar, savor traditional Mexican hot chocolate and pan de muerto, and enjoy live music.
"Travel" in fifteen minutes to an archaeological site in Ashkelon, Israel to explore the first-ever excavation of a Philistine burial ground. For years archaeologists have searched for evidence of these Biblical people. Transport yourself to the center of 360° scenes of an archaeological expedition while your gallery facilitator explains what you are seeing. Borrow a device from the museum or download the virtual reality app on your smart phone and bring it to place in a 3D viewer at the museum for an immersive experience.
Bradley Rosaceous Collection, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join the Arnold Arboretum for tours, family activities, and festivities inviting you to discover the diversity of the rose family (Rosaceae) which includes more than four thousand species. Many of the rose family taxa are of great importance to humans and the agricultural economy, and are vulnerable to extreme weather that is becoming the new norm. Come learn more about the many fruits of the rose family, a welcome buffet for our local wildlife.
Join the Harvard ArtLab, Harvard’s new laboratory for art and research, for an opening celebration on September 21! Allston-based tap dance company Subject: Matter will kick off the celebration with a performance beginning promptly at 10:00am accompanied by a live jazz band. Visitors can have their portrait taken by Boston-based photographer OJ Slaughter and experience the ArtLab’s sound studio and A*, the multi-channel art installation by Harvard Film Study Center Fellow Andy Graydon.
Watch a vibrant collection of animated shorts narrated in some of the 68 Indigenous languages of Mexico. Created by visiting Mexican designer Gabriela Badillo and selected from her project 68 Voices, 68 Hearts, these films foster pride, respect, and the use of Indigenous Mexican languages among speakers and non-speakers.
The family-friendly stories are subtitled in English and are based on legends and poems from native communities. The event includes a lively Q&A with Badillo in English and Spanish, an authentic Mexican snack, and a chance to learn phrases in one of Mexico...
Hunnewell Lawn, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
This is part of the new Science in Our Park Series. Come to the Arnold Arboretum and be a scientist! Get your hands onto scientific tools, use your observation skills, and share your findings with others.
Dissection Dramatics will give you ample opportunity to fiddle with microscopes, hand lenses and digital scopes. Discover the secrets contained in a flower as you pull it apart piece by piece. Then test your puzzle making abilities as you attempt to put it back together.
One adult may bring a maximum of three children; suitable for children ages...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Families need nature at all times of the year! Meet inside the main gate at the Visitor Center. We’ll look at buds and blooms and learn how bees find flowers. Go on a StoryWalk®, get a bee tattoo, and look at flowers under microscopes.
Free and open to all, most suitable for children ages four through ten.
Each ARTS FIRST festival is unique, but every year combines the exuberance of Harvard students, faculty and affiliates who are passionate about the many art forms presented in four rousing days of performances, exhibitions and community.
Enjoy free, family-friendly performances, dance styles from around the world, public art walks, hands-on artmaking, and much more! We look forward to celebrating the artists of Harvard community with you during ARTS FIRST on May 2–5, 2019.
