Science

2019 Nov 21

The Remarkable Nature of Edward Lear

6:00pm

Location: 

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge

Join the Harvard Museum Natural History for a public lecture with Robert McCracken Peck, Curator of Art and Artifacts, Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University.

Edward Lear (1812–1888), best known for The Owl and the Pussycat and other nonsense poetry, was also an accomplished painter of birds, mammals, reptiles, and landscapes, and an adventurous world traveler. His paintings of parrots, macaws, toucans, owls, and other birds are among the finest ever published. Robert McCracken Peck will discuss the remarkable life and natural history paintings of this...

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2019 Nov 13

Paleovirology: Ghosts and Gifts of Ancient Viruses

6:00pm

Location: 

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge

Join the Harvard Museum of Natural History for a public lecture with Harmit Malik, Principal Investigator at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Human genomes are ancient battlegrounds of arms races waged between viruses and their hosts for millions of years. Just as historians reconstruct battlefields to better understand historical battles, evolutionary biologists and virologists can reconstruct how ancient viruses affected their hosts by analyzing their “fossil” remains in our genomes. Paleovirology is the study of such extinct viruses. Harmit Malik will discuss...

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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 21

Native Woody Plant Materials

Repeats every week every Monday until Mon Oct 28 2019 .
10:00am to 3:00pm

10:00am to 3:00pm

Location: 

Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham

Explore the vast variety of native trees, shrubs, and woody vines. Learn which species grow well in shade, which support local wildlife, and how to stagger plantings for continuous bloom, fruit production, and fall color. The class discusses growth characteristics, cultural requirements, and best horticultural uses. It begins with lectures and walks at Garden in the Woods in Framingham and includes a field trip to the Arnold Arboretum in...

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2019 Oct 16

Smartphone Photography: Capturing the Colors of Autumn

Repeats every week every Wednesday until Wed Oct 30 2019 .
1:30pm to 3:30pm

1:30pm to 3:30pm
1:30pm to 3:30pm

Location: 

Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

Capture the drama of fall, when landscapes present a vivid array of colors and the palette is most striking. Professional photographer Nancy Katz will introduce fundamental concepts of landscape photography and then teach techniques for getting the best photographs from your smartphone camera. You will capture images in dynamic color and muted shades, then learn to enhance them using a host of editing tools provided in the Snapseed App. For best results, bring your smartphone and a commitment to completing the weekly homework assignments. Class will take place indoors and out.

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2019 Oct 25

Making the Cut: Promises and Challenges of Gene Editing

9:00am to 5:00pm

Location: 

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden St., Cambridge

Gene editing holds extraordinary promise but also raises serious legal and ethical issues. In this science symposium, leading scientists, clinicians, and ethicists will explore case studies of particular therapies and the legal and bioethical implications of gene editing.

...

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2019 Oct 30

The Peril and Promise of Solar Geoengineering

6:00pm

Location: 

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge

Solar geoengineering research aims to reduce the impacts of global climate change. One possibility is to put aerosols into the stratosphere to alter Earth’s energy budget. This emerging technology entails risks and uncertainties, along with serious challenges to global governance. The greatest threat, perhaps, is that it will be used as a technical fix and encourage people to avoid the emissions cuts that are fundamental to curbing long-term climate risks.

Lecturer David Keith will describe the simple physics underlying the climate’s response to stratospheric aerosols, the...

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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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2019 Oct 16

National Fossil Day

10:00am to 4:00pm

Location: 

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

Celebrate National Fossil Day with ancient trilobites, sea scorpions, saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, and more. Meet Harvard paleontologists and learn about the amazing prehistoric animals on exhibit. Bring your curiosity and questions to this event for all ages!

Note: Regular museum admission rates apply.

Learn more about National Fossil Day.

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2019 Oct 10

An Evolutionary Journey through Domestication

6:00pm

Location: 

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge

As the earliest farmers began to select wild plants and animals that had desirable traits, they initiated a series of genetic changes in these species that gradually made them more suitable for agriculture. Plants became easier to grow, had greater yields, and were of higher quality. Animal species exhibited favorable changes in behavior, coat color, and reproductive traits. Barbara Schaal will discuss how the artificial selection of these species—a pivotal technological achievement—has influenced their genetics, evolution, and capacity to flourish in the care of humans.

...

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2019 Oct 06

Reptile Day

11:00am to 1:00pm

Location: 

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

Celebrate reptiles! Join Harvard students from the Harvard College Conservation Society for a variety of reptile themed activities including a scavenger hunt, storytime, and crafts. Come learn about the history and diversity of reptiles, and why they need to be conserved! All ages are welcome.

Please note: Regular museum admission rates apply.

Learn more about Reptile Day.

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2019 Sep 25

Wildhood: Coming of Age on Planet Earth

6:00pm

Location: 

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge

Adolescence is dangerous, difficult, and destiny-shaping for humans and other animals. In Wildhood (Simon & Schuster, 2019), Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers look across species and evolutionary time to find answers to a single, consequential question: Why do some adolescents safely, successfully, and independently enter the adult world, while so many others do not? The authors apply the results of their five-year study of wild animal adolescence to our species, presenting a new understanding of the dangers, stresses, and challenges we face on our journeys to...

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2019 Sep 20

Exhibit: Visual Science: The Art of Research

Fri Sep 20 (All day) to Mon Sep 7 (All day)

Location: 

The Special Exhibitions Gallery, Science Center 251, 1 Oxford St., Cambridge

This exhibit features images and objects drawn from a variety of disciplines and time periods that show the importance of visual experiences in science. Images have played many roles in scientific research. Images can record fleeting observations, whether a painting of an animal glimpsed in the field or an interaction between sub-atomic particles that lasts a millisecond. They can also make unseen things visible.

Physical models can make abstract mathematical concepts into something that researchers can touch; properly arranged, sand, metal plates, and a violin bow can make...

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