Events

    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 Feb 13

    I Heart Science: Tiny Creatures

    1:00pm to 2:30pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—Online

    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...

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    2020 Dec 14

    Members: Digging Harvard with Trish Capone & Nam Hyun Kim

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Online Event

    Students have been digging up and learning about Harvard's past through the Harvard Yard Archaeological Project. Meet the Peabody's Trish Capone and current Harvard student Nam Hyun Kim as they talk about the objects they have found and the larger history of what has been uncovered in this long-standing dig on campus.

     

    To register, send an email to members@hmsc.harvard.edu. If possible, please include your member number. A...

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    2020 Dec 10

    What Old Chimps Can Tell Us About Healthy Aging

    3:00pm to 4:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Alumni Association—Online

    Humans are living longer lives than ever before and so it is critical to understand the process of aging. It has become increasingly recognized that successful aging is not just about physical health but also about our social lives.

    Chimpanzees are our closest living relative and also lead long and complex lives. In this talk, you’ll learn what chimpanzee aging can tell us about human aging.

    Learn more...

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    2020 Oct 15

    Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier

    7:00pm

    Location: 

    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...

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    2020 Oct 14

    Wonderful Cambrian Beasts

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History—Online

    Earth is home to a vast diversity of organisms that collectively define the modern biosphere. How did this diversity come to be? Javier Ortega-Hernández will discuss his approach to answering this question by studying organisms that lived more than half a billion years ago in the Cambrian Period (485–541 million years ago). By focusing on the earliest-known animals—some of the most versatile to ever exist—Ortega-Hernández aims to reconstruct the early evolutionary history of major animal groups and contribute to our understanding of Earth’s biodiversity.

    ...

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    2020 Sep 23

    Animal Snack Time: Meet the Arthropods

    2:00pm to 2:45pm

    Location: 

    Online—Harvard Museum of Natural History

    Ever wonder what tarantula’s hair feels like? Curious about what vinegaroons smell like? Want to get up close and personal with the business end of a scorpion? If so, then grab a snack and join human museum staff Javier and Ryan as they spend thirty minutes feeding, interacting with, and discussing the museum’s many live arthropods!

    Register by 1:00pm on September 23. After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to participate using Zoom.

    ...

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    2020 Aug 28

    Sharks: Streamlined Swimmers

    Fri Aug 28 (All day) to Fri Oct 30 (All day)

    Location: 

    Online—Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

    Ongoing Online Exhibit

    Sharks are some of the oldest and, from an evolutionary perspective, some of the most successful marine vertebrates ever to have lived. They have spent their entire evolutionary history in the aquatic environment, and the body design in many species has been honed over hundreds of millions of years to increase swimming performance. Learn how body form, fins and even the skin, work in concert, enabling sharks to slice through water and execute complex maneuvers with startling speed and precision.

    ...

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    2020 Aug 17

    Virtual Summer Science Week: Ins & Outs of Skeletons (Session 2)

    Repeats every day until Fri Aug 21 2020 .
    9:30am

    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am

    Location: 

    Online via Zoom

    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...

    Read more about Virtual Summer Science Week: Ins & Outs of Skeletons (Session 2)
    2020 Aug 04

    Animal Snack Time: Marine-Tank Edition

    2:00pm to 2:30pm

    Location: 

    Online Event

    Interested in what a spider crab eats? Want to see a sea star up close? Curious about what a horseshoe crab does with that long tail? Grab a snack and join human museum staff members Javier and Ryan as they spend thirty minutes feeding, interacting with, and discussing these amazing animals. This event is free and will be hosted on the Zoom webinar platform.

    Register by 1:00 pm on August 4. After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to participate using Zoom.

    This even is free and open to the public, but registration...

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    2020 Aug 03

    Virtual Summer Science Week: Spineless Wonders (Session 2)

    Repeats every day until Fri Aug 07 2020 .
    9:30am

    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am

    Location: 

    Online via Zoom

    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);...

    Read more about Virtual Summer Science Week: Spineless Wonders (Session 2)
    2020 Jul 27

    Virtual Summer Science Week: Ins & Outs of Skeletons (Session 1)

    Repeats every day until Fri Jul 31 2020 .
    9:30am

    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am

    Location: 

    Online via Zoom

    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...

    Read more about Virtual Summer Science Week: Ins & Outs of Skeletons (Session 1)
    2020 Jul 24

    Urban Ponds: Essential Ecosystems for the Enjoyment and Discovery of Nature

    Fri Jul 24 (All day) to Sun Oct 11 (All day)

    Location: 

    Online Event

    Ponds are one of many beautiful features of the Arnold Arboretum’s ecosystem and landscape. The Bradley Rosaceous Collection garden is the setting for three eco-rich ponds—Dawson, Faxon, and Rehder—named for former Arboretum staff. Photographer Bruce Wilson brings his now practiced eye to the discovery of shadows, reflections, visitor interaction, and flora in those ponds, as well as in an urban pond in Newton. His pond images complement the trees, emphasize the subtle or saturated colors of water, and capture interactions between visitors and the scenes of rich pondlife.

    This...

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    2020 Jul 20

    Virtual Summer Science Week: Earth Explorers (Session 2)

    Repeats every day until Fri Jul 24 2020 .
    9:30am

    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am

    Location: 

    Online via Zoom

    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...

    Read more about Virtual Summer Science Week: Earth Explorers (Session 2)
    2020 Jul 13

    Virtual Summer Science Week: Earth Explorers (Session 1)

    Repeats every day until Fri Jul 17 2020 .
    9:30am

    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am

    Location: 

    Online via Zoom

    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...

    Read more about Virtual Summer Science Week: Earth Explorers (Session 1)
    2020 Jun 22

    Virtual Summer Science Week: Spineless Wonders (Session 1)

    Repeats every weekday until Fri Jun 26 2020 .
    9:30am

    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am
    9:30am

    Location: 

    Online via Zoom

    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);...

    Read more about Virtual Summer Science Week: Spineless Wonders (Session 1)
    2019 Nov 07

    Adversity, Belonging, and Survival Among Baboons

    6:00pm

    Location: 

    Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge

    Join the Harvard Museum of Natural History for a public lecture with Susan Alberts, Robert F. Durden Professor of Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University. 

    The social environment—both in early life and adulthood—has major effects on human health and survival. But how and why does the social environment get “under the skin” to also affect our physical health? Susan Alberts pursues this question by studying wild baboons in Kenya. Baboons, like humans, evolved as savannah dwellers. They rely on social relationships to solve problems and—like humans...

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    2019 Oct 26

    Fabulous Fungus Fair

    2:00pm to 4:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge

    Explore the wondrous world of fungi! Join Harvard students for a closer look at the mushrooms, yeasts, and molds found in gardens, forests, and labs—even in our own refrigerators. This is an opportunity to investigate fungal diversity and participate in hands-on activities led by Harvard students.

    Note: Regular museum admission rates apply.

    Learn more about Fabulous Fungus Fair.

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