For the first time in the museum’s history, women who labored in the collections, offices, and labs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology in the late 19th century are being revealed in a unique online exhibit from the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture. The exhibit is curated by Reed Gochberg, Assistant Director of Studies and a Lecturer on History and Literature at Harvard University.
Women like Elizabeth Hodges Clark, Elizabeth Bangs Bryant, and Elvira Wood persevered diligently behind-the-scenes, gaining unparalleled expertise in what were previously thought to be men’...
Join the Harvard Museum of Natural History in celebrating Earth Day with engaging sustainability-themed virtual events and activities for all ages. Join the conversation as Harvard students and experts weigh in on our most pressing environmental challenges, on cutting-edge research, and on promising paths to a more sustainable future. Introduce young minds to environmental science with our live museum animals and HMSC Story Time. Find out how to reconnect with nature and record the biodiversity in your local area. Or, simply indulge in our staff recommendations for...
Animals develop special characteristics that help them survive in their environments. From keeping warm to staying hidden, animals solve problems every day. Have you ever thought about how we humans do the same?
Get ready for a lively night of fun, games, and surprises when Javier Marin transports you back inside the Harvard Museum of Natural History. He will broadcast from the galleries pointing out some of the ways animals adapt to challenges they face in the wild. Then, you will look through your own homes in a problem-solving scavenger hunt. Your family will work together...
Have you ever thought about the way you eat, or even how you chew? Now, imagine that you are a huge bullfrog, a sea star, or even a scorpion. How would you eat? As March is Nutrition Month in the U.S., it’s the perfect time to meet some of our live animals and explore our creatures’ diets and eating habits. Join human museum staffers Javier and Ryan in this 45-minute program for families and get a close look at some weird eaters.
Participate in the Arnold Arboretum’s 2021 Tournament of Trees! Get to know this year’s Sweet Sixteen contenders (March 3–9) and cast your votes in this fun bracket style tournament. Let the March Tree Madness games begin.
A plant that generates heat and attracts pollinators with its stink? Learn more about skunk cabbage in the Arnold Arboretum’s newest winter Wonder Spot, at the Arboretum meadow’s edge or online. Free and open to all.
Break out of the winter doldrums and welcome Harvard science into your home with the all-virtual I Heart Science festival lasting from Friday, February 12 to Monday, February 15. This day’s “Faraway Worlds” theme looks at exploration of places hard to get to such as space, deep oceans, and the distant past.
During the live webinar, starting at 1:00 pm ET, meet Harvard researchers studying how we study the sun and what we hope to learn from missions to Mars.
At home, try your hand at investigating light, explore what we know about coelacanths and hear the story...
Break out of the winter doldrums and welcome Harvard science into your home with the all-virtual I Heart Science festival lasting from Friday, February 12 to Monday, February 15. This day’s “Love the Earth” theme looks at how we are taking care of our planet and the geology that makes it all possible.
During the live webinar, starting at 1:00 pm ET, meet Harvard researchers studying how we can design batteries large enough to power a building and investigate what it takes to save endangered species.
At home, try your hand at growing crystals, modeling volcanos, and...
Break out of the winter doldrums and welcome Harvard science into your home with the all-virtual I Heart Science festival lasting from Friday, February 12 to Monday, February 15. This day’s “Tiny Creatures” theme looks at bacteria, viruses, and other microbial creatures.
During the live webinar, starting at 1:00 pm ET, meet live tardigrades, also known as water bears. Watch recorded videos featuring Harvard scientists who study bacterial resistance, ways to test for viruses, and how bacteria grow.
At home, try your hand at making a water-drop microscope, comparing...
Break out of the winter doldrums and welcome Harvard science into your home with the all-virtual I heart Science festival lasting from Friday, February 12 to Monday, February 15. Today’s “Incredible Evolution” theme looks at ways that animals have adapted to their environments.
During the live webinar, starting at 1pm ET, meet Harvard researchers studying how brains evolve and how stress can enhance performance.
At home, watch recorded videos by Harvard scientists studying mice behavior or try your hand at comparing bone structures, collecting...
Celebrate National Fossil Day—a celebration organized by the National Park Service—by taking a closer look at museum fossils with Harvard paleontologists. What can we see on ancient seafloors? How do modern animals help us understand extinct animals? What fossils still amaze scientists? What is it like to be a practicing paleontologist? Bring your curiosity and questions to this online event for all ages!
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian—Online
The first person who will set foot on Mars is alive right now. We believe this, but even if we're wrong we know the first crew to arrive there will look nothing like the ones that landed on the Moon fifty years ago.
Our world has changed for the better, and ASTRONAUTS tells the story of the women who built this better world. The main character and narrator is Mary Cleave, an astronaut you may not have heard of. It's not because so many people have been to space; only a few hundred have! It’s because this graphic novel isn’t about fame. No astronaut you'll ever meet took the...
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian—Online
Join the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian for a virtual Public Observatory Night with guest lecturer Donavan Moore, author of "What Stars Are Made Of: The Life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin."
It was not easy being a woman of ambition in early twentieth-century England, much less one who wished to be a scientist. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin overcame prodigious obstacles to become a woman of many firsts: the first to receive a PhD in astronomy from Radcliffe College, the first promoted to full professor at Harvard, the first to head a department there. And, in what...
Come explore the amazing world of insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, virtually, at the museum! During the live Zoom sessions, see a tarantula up close, help find millipedes, and listen to the hiss of a giant cockroach. Complete your own investigations at home as you learn how to collect and study creepy crawlies. A small packet of special...
Investigate the ins and outs of skeletons through a virtual museum experience. Using observations of skulls, bones, and live animals, we will explore how animals use their skeletons for support, protection, and movement, and see how bones and fossils can help us solve ancient mysteries. Extend the fun at home with daily activities. A small packet of materials will be sent to your home upon registration.
Additional supplies needed: Thin cardboard-like poster board about 11" x 11" or two cardboard paper towel rolls, kitchen string, strong tape 3/4" wide or narrower (electrical...
Look up! How do we explore beyond planet Earth? With live Zoom sessions, we’ll compare moon rocks to ones on Earth, explore how light helps us understand what stars are made of, discuss what signs of life we might see on Mars or Europa, and meet a scientist from Harvard who is studying space. At home, you’ll search out “secret” light, create your best Mars lander, safely observe the sun, map out astronomical distances, and chart constellations. A small packet of special materials will be sent to your home to help with your explorations.
Come explore the amazing world of insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, virtually, at the museum! During the live Zoom sessions, see a tarantula up close, help find millipedes, and listen to the hiss of a giant cockroach. Complete your own investigations at home as you learn how to collect and study creepy crawlies. A small packet of special collecting materials will be sent to your home to help with your discoveries.
Additional supplies needed: An empty clear plastic jar with a lid and holes for insect collecting (for example, a cleaned peanut butter or mayonnaise jar);...
Investigate the ins and outs of skeletons through a virtual museum experience. Using observations of skulls, bones, and live animals, we will explore how animals use their skeletons for support, protection, and movement, and see how bones and fossils can help us solve ancient mysteries. Extend the fun at home with daily activities. A small packet of materials will be sent to your home upon registration.
Additional supplies needed: Thin cardboard-like poster board about 11" x 11" or two cardboard paper towel rolls, kitchen string, strong tape 3/4" wide or narrower (electrical...
Dig into Earth Science with this virtual museum experience. Explore volcanoes, crystals, and fossils! During the live Zoom sessions, experiment with “lava,” solve a sandy mystery, and see real museum specimens. Continue your investigations at home as you grow crystals, collect rocks, and make your own fossils! A small packet of special materials will be sent to your home to help with your discoveries.
Additional supplies needed: An empty clear plastic jar with a lid (for example, a cleaned peanut butter or mayonnaise jar), a handful of small rocks (will be used for an activity...
Dig into Earth Science with this virtual museum experience. Explore volcanoes, crystals, and fossils! During the live Zoom sessions, experiment with “lava,” solve a sandy mystery, and see real museum specimens. Continue your investigations at home as you grow crystals, collect rocks, and make your own fossils! A small packet of special materials will be sent to your home to help with your discoveries.
Additional supplies needed: An empty clear plastic jar with a lid (for example, a cleaned peanut butter or mayonnaise jar), a handful of small rocks (will be used for an activity...
