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    2021 Apr 28

    What Spiders Have to Say

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    Consider the spider: eight legs, eight eyes, and a brain the size of a poppy seed. These are some of nature’s most amazing and charismatic creatures, and yet we know so little about their worlds. Paul Shamble will discuss the lives, habits, and marvelous morphologies of these animals—from sensory structures and cognition to locomotion and behavior. Understanding these creatures helps us better understand evolution and diversity—and leads us to ask what it means that even tiny animals inhabit complex lives.

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    2021 Apr 27

    Flap, Hop, Caw

    3:00pm to 4:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    Celebrate International Crow and Raven Appreciation Day by taking a virtual swoop through the Peabody Museum. These smart birds play games with each other, display anger and friendliness, and appear in cultural tales from around the world. Flap like a real raven with museum educator Javier Marin and learn more about the birds’ characteristics. Find ravens drawn or carved in Alaskan Native art, enjoy a read-aloud Tlingit tale and make a paper craft with Andy Majewski.

    Ages: 5–7 (with an adult, if needed)

    Cost: $3 members; $5...

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    2021 Apr 26

    Bark: Get to Know Your Trees

    6:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum—Online

    Due to popular demand, we are offering another session of this free webinar. Led by naturalist and conservationist, Michael Wojtech, you'll learn to identify tree species by their bark and discover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. Why do some species have smooth bark, while on others it is thick and broken? Why does bark peel? Join us to find out!

    Learn more about and RSVP for "Bark: Get...

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    2021 Apr 20

    After-School Animal Encounters: Humans and Animals

    3:00pm to 3:45pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    Life on planet Earth can sometimes seem unbelievably diverse and resilient, yet we’re more aware than ever of how connected all living beings are to one another. This special Earth Week edition focuses on some of the challenges animals face today, and on what we humans—young and old—can do to help. This event will be fun for the whole family so bring your questions and sense of wonder, and join Javier, Ryan, and some of our amazing animals as they lead you in a live 45-minute program.

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    2021 Apr 19

    A Week-Long Celebration of Earth Day

    Mon Apr 19 (All day) to Fri Apr 23 (All day)

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    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...

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    2021 Apr 15

    Virtual Glass Flowers Tour

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    Join us for a virtual tour of the famous Glass Flowers! This docent-led tour will delve into the history, artistry, and significance of the collection and give participants the opportunity to explore the gallery online. These interactive tours are approximately one hour long, and offer time for questions and discussion with your tour guide.

    Cost: $8 members/$10 nonmembers per registration.

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    2021 Apr 14

    Body Builders: How Animals Regenerate New Parts

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    Regeneration is a remarkable phenomenon in which an animal can regrow parts of its body that are lost or damaged by injury. Humans, for example, can repair some organs, but some animals can rebuild their entire bodies from small pieces of tissue. How do these animals accomplish this feat? And why is it that humans cannot regenerate as well as these animals can? Studies of how regeneration works at the molecular and cellular level are beginning to answer the first question. To answer the second question, we have to understand how regeneration has evolved.

    Mansi Srivastava will...

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    2021 Mar 30

    Members: Family Fun - Animal Problem Solvers

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    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...

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    2021 Mar 15

    Members: Not on Display! Treasures of the Mineralogical & Geological Museum

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    Visitors to the Harvard Museum of Natural History are dazzled by the Mineral Gallery’s beautiful specimens, yet the gallery displays only a fraction of the entire collection.

    While each of the collection’s 300,000+ specimens has great scientific value, a subset also has significant commercial value. Join Curator Raquel Alonso-Perez for a virtual behind the-scenes visit to view specimens that, for security reasons, are not typically on display. You’ll see a rare opal in matrix from Mexico, tourmalines from the first pegmatitic discovery in the U.S., and crystalline gold, among...

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    2021 Mar 09

    Beech Leaf Disease with Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens

    1:00pm to 2:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum—Online

    Beech leaf disease (BLD) affects and kills both native and ornamental beech tree species. It is associated with a nematode, Litylenchus crenatae mccannii. This disease has only been discovered in recent years and much about it, including the full cause and how it spreads, is still unknown. Experts from The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Drs. James LaMondia and Robert Marra, will share what is known of this recently discovered disease and discuss ongoing research to control spread of BLD. This free Zoom webinar is co-hosted by Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens and the Arnold...

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    2021 Mar 08

    "Every Pecan Tree": Trees, Meaning, and Memory in Enslaved People’s Lives

    7:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum—Online

    This is the third lecture in the Arnold Arboretum's 2021 Director's Lecture Series. Tiya Miles takes up the pecan tree as inspiration for exploring the meaning of trees in the lives of enslaved African Americans. Using a family heirloom, slave narratives, oral histories, and missionary records, her talk underscores the importance of trees in the Black experience of captivity and resistance, ultimately revealing the centrality of the natural world to Black, and indeed human, survival.

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    2021 Mar 06

    A History of Path-Making at the Arnold Arboretum

    2:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum—Online

    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.

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    2021 Mar 03

    After-School Animal Encounters: Weird Eaters

    3:00pm to 3:45pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—Online

    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.

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    2021 Mar 03

    2021 Arnold Arboretum Tournament of Trees

    Wed Mar 3 (All day) to Tue Mar 30 (All day)

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum—Online

    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.

    The tournament schedule is:

    • Sweet Sixteen Round: March 3-9
    • Elite Eight Round: March 10-16
    • Final Four Round: March 17-23
    • Championship Round: March 24-30
    • Winner Announcement: April 1

    Learn...

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    2021 Mar 02

    Members: Discover Oceania with Ingrid Ahlgren

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology—Online

    Join us for a casual evening of conversation with the Peabody Museum’s Curator of Oceanic Collections. Ingrid Ahlgren stewards one of the largest and most historically significant collections in the U.S. from the Pacific Islands, Australia, and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Hear her share some of her recent work, including the exhibit Uncovering Pacific Pasts and the important roles that Harvard University and the state of Massachusetts have played in the history of Oceania. Ingrid will also discuss her upcoming collaboration with Pacific Islanders living in Utah.

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    2021 Mar 01

    Virtual Self-Guided Tour: Nature as Artist

    Mon Mar 1 (All day) to Fri Apr 30 (All day)

    Location: 

    Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—Online

    Nature has long inspired we humans to imagine and create art. Dancers, designers, musicians, painters, and sculptors—they are all found in the natural world. Take this virtual journey through the exhibit galleries of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, where we will reveal intriguing, and often surprising, sources of creativity and connection between the realms of nature and art.

    Learn more about and take the Virtual Self-Guided Tour: Nature as Artist.

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    2021 Mar 01

    Everyday Nature Tasks: Simple Activities For Outdoor Fun and Learning

    Mon Mar 1 (All day) to Wed Mar 31 (All day)

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum—Online

    Shed the winter blues and head outdoors for a new season of exploration and nature noticing. EverydayNature Tasks, a calendar with daily activities to try outdoors, resumes its offerings on March 1. Do something natural every day! Free and open to all.

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    2021 Mar 01

    Over Time: Through Art, the Impact of Change in the Arboretum Landscape

    Mon Mar 1 (All day) to Fri Apr 30 (All day)

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum—Online

     

    Five decades of weekly walks in the Arnold Arboretum find expression in Ginny Zanger’s art. “Ambling” gives her time to sketch and paint. Using the unique possibilities of her favorite medium—watercolor—and printmaking, Zanger explores, with articulate interpretations, the Arboretum’s rich botanical display. In this online show, most of her work is on Yupo, a silky, polypropylene paper that enhances the flow of the watercolor.

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