Celebrate the glamour, labor, humor, and discoveries of archaeology at Harvard. Join student archaeologists as they share their experience with an Irish castle, a shaft tomb in western Mexico, monuments on the Giza plateau in Egypt and drones used to study El-Kurru in ancient Nubia, among other locations. Place a friendly wager on an atlatl (spear throwing) demonstration, observe chew marks on bones from the Zooarchaeology Lab and experience a virtual-reality view of the Great Sphinx.
Join the Ed Portal online with two of Boston's most impactful artists, Chanel Thervil and Sabrina Dorsainvil, to celebrate the virtual unveiling of Fresh Breaths: Portrait of Sabrina.
In an intimate conversation and Q&A on Instagram Live, these artists will explore ways they and other creatives of color are navigating the nuances of self-care, survival, and the new normals as a result of COVID-19.
Get cozy and experience the newest piece in Thervil's Quarantine Self-Care Portrait series, a multi-media project that combines interviews, portrait...
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...
Nancy Sableski, Arnold Arboretum Manager of Children’s Education, is also an artist who has been painting in the Arboretum since 1988, finding inspiration throughout the landscape. Join us for a virtual viewing of her work followed by a short discussion via the meeting app, Zoom.
Nancy Sableski, Arnold Arboretum Manager of Children’s Education, is also an artist who has been painting in the Arboretum since 1988, finding inspiration throughout the landscape. Join us for a virtual viewing of her work followed by a short discussion via the meeting app, Zoom.
The Office for the Arts offers a daily dose of artistic inspiration for anyone looking to find a moment of beauty, comfort and connection. Alumni, faculty, staff, and visiting artists are sending in short videos showcasing their music, poetry, dance, and more. New videos are posted every weekday around 1:00pm.
The outdoors can be a powerful antidote to all the uncertainty and disruptions that we find ourselves living in at the moment. The Arnold Arboretum's Everyday Nature Tasks online calendar is filled with simple, varied, and open-ended nature activities for children of all ages, every day of the week!
Simply choose a date, follow the activity details and have fun. Then, share your discoveries on social media, and tag @ArnoldArboretum.
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.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Winter is the barest of times in the Arboretum; however, there is much to see and much happening in the landscape. Join a docent for a walk on the bare side—notice shapes, textures, even the personalities of plants that are often missed when the land is heavy with green. You will see buds already forming and the dried seeds that are more visible when leaves are gone.
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 Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
The Caterpillar Lab, from Keene, New Hampshire, comes to the Arnold Arboretum for 5 days of astonishing exhibits. Explore the amazing world of caterpillars on a whole new level. There will be live caterpillars, cocoons, hatched eggs, shed skins, and much more. Visitors of all ages will be amazed!
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.
Catch Some Rays! will let you harness the power of the sun. Help to create solar ovens, test the ability of various garden bed coverings to keep roots cool, and plant a sunflower seed that will follow the sun.
Please note: One adult may bring a maximum of three children; suitable for children ages five and up.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Sarah Cross, the Arnold Arboretum's exhibiting artist of Between the Leaves, will hold a cyanotype printing workshop for families. Join Sarah to make beautiful blue prints of leaves and blooms found at the Arboretum, while you learn about this alternative printing technique. After making your own unique cyanotype photogram, you will be able to take it home. All materials will be provided.
Please note: This free drop-in activity is appropriate for ages 7 and up.
Arborist Station: Meet an Arboretum arborist and see them in action. Try on arborist protective gear and get up close and personal with the special tools used by arborists.
Watercolor Station: Become inspired by the beauty of the Arboretum and use...