Boston Flora

Category: Movie Recommendations

  • Saturday, July 11 & Sunday, July 12, 10:00 am – 5:30 pm – Butterfly and Caterpillar Weekend

    On Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, meet an amazing array of native New England caterpillars in various stages of development, and learn more about caterpillars and butterflies through live presentations and interpretations throughout the Museum of Science.

    On Saturday and Sunday from 10 – 3 there will be a Caterpillar Lab. This one-of-a-kind experience is a celebration of the impressive diversity of New England caterpillars. Each individual display includes a variety of caterpillars, in various stages of development and on their local host plants. With no glass between you and the displays, you can experience caterpillars up close — eating, pooping, camouflaging, or defending themselves with clever adaptations such as warning coloration, inflatable horns, strange smells, and squeaking mandibles.

    From 1 – 3 on both days you may Create Your Own Butterfly Habitat. With your paid admission to the Butterfly Garden, learn how to create and plant your own butterfly habitat. We’ll discuss the importance of using native plantings and how to get your garden started. Get your hands dirty planting native seeds and take them home to help start attracting butterflies!

    On Saturday at 11:30 hear Dr. Gerard Talavera from Harvard University describe the amazing migration of the Painted Lady butterflies, Vanessa cardui. Learn more about the challenging task of studying this beautiful insect, which is found on five continents. Also on Saturday, at 12:30, Dr. Naomi Pierce, curator of Lepidoptera at Harvard University, will introduce you to the insect-eating predators and their nourishing ant prey. Dave Champlin from the University of Maine unravels the amazing transformation of how the butterfly gets its wings on Sunday at 11:30, and finally, on Sunday at 12:30, Norah Warchola from Tufts University discusses the fascinating relationship between an endangered species of caterpillar and the ants that protect it from predators in exchange for a sugary bribe.

    Also on Saturday and Sunday there will be presentations on Gardening for Butterflies at 1:30 in the Shapiro Family Science Live! Stage, Green Wing, Lower Level. As a bonus, The Secret Lives of Fireflies will be featured both days at 3:30 pm. Watching fireflies is a special part of warm summer nights in New England. We watch and we enjoy, but do we really know what they are saying? This program sheds a little light on the secret lives of fireflies. You’ll also learn how you can participate in a scientific research effort to find out if these magical insects are disappearing from our landscape, and if so, why and what can be done about it. Solitary Bees: The Other Bees will be discussed at 5:30 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Honey bees are in decline. Since they are responsible for pollinating one third of our food crops, their disappearance threatens our food supply. While scientists try to find out why and how to reverse this trend, our crops still need to be pollinated. Find out how you can help by becoming a “solitary beekeeper.”

    While you are at the Museum, don’t miss Flight of the Butterflies at the Mugar Omni Theater each day at 1 pm. Weighing less than a penny, the monarch butterfly makes one of the longest migrations on Earth. Follow this perilous journey and join hundreds of millions of real butterflies in the remote mountain peaks of Mexico, with breathtaking cinematography from an award-winning team. Be captivated by the true, compelling story of an intrepid scientist’s 40-year search to find the monarchs’ secret hideaway. Purchase of separate timed ticket required for Omni film. You may buy these tickets on line at www.mos.org.

  • Wednesday, March 25, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – FED UP

    Traditional wisdom prescribes a relatively simple course for weight loss: eat less and exercise more. But what if the modern food industry has learned to manipulate the prescription? FED UP takes on industrial food giants and the products causing millions of Americans to become obese, diabetic, and difficult to treat.

    Join Mark Hyman, a physician featured in the film, for a screening and discussion of the defining public health issue of our time, at the Museum of Science on Wednesday, March 25 from 7 – 9 in the Cahners Theater.

    Free but advance registration begins at 9:00 am, Wednesday, March 11 (Monday, March 9 for Museum members).

    This program is free thanks to the generosity of the Lowell Institute. Additional funding provided by the Richard S. Morse Fund. For more information visit http://www.mos.org/public-events/fed-up

  • Friday, December 5, 7:15 pm – 9:15 pm – Chasing Ice and Birds in a Changing Climate

    The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem has announced a special event to take place Friday, December 5, from 7:15 – 9:15.  Attend a special screening of the award-winning film Chasing Ice by environmental photographer James Balog, a featured artist in the Museum’s Branching Out exhibition. His videos of Arctic glaciers reveal ancient mountains of ice disappearing at a breathtaking rate. Following the film, researcher and author Trevor Lloyd-Evans presents the effects of climate change on migratory birds. Chasing Ice, 2012, 75 minutes. Book signing follows. Co-sponsored by Mass Audubon and Essex County Ornithological Club. A brief business meeting of the E.C.O.C. is held 7-7:15 pm. Reservations not required.  For directions, visit www.pem.org.

  • Wednesday, October 22 – Deadline for Orchard House’s Kickstarter Campaign

    Last fall, The Garden Club of the Back Bay traveled to Concord for a tour of Orchard House’s museum and gardens as part of our Author Year programs.  We received the following notice from them, and share it with you:

    Guess what? Orchard House is making a movie – the first documentary about the 350 year history of the house – and we want YOU to be involved in creating the film.

    We’ve launched a fundraising campaign on the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter.com to raise the $150,000 needed for production of Orchard House – Home of Little Women!

    For those who may not be familiar, Kickstarter is dedicated to fundraising for creative projects just like this. Funding is all-or-nothing, which means we need to raise every penny of our goal by October 22, 2014 through pledges to our online campaign.

    Click here and take just 10 minutes out of your day to visit our page, watch the beautiful 4 minute video, make a donation (called a pledge), and share the campaign with friends and family.

    Everyone has a special place – a mountaintop, a cathedral, a beloved home – that makes them feel safe, connected, and inspired. For millions of people from all over the world, Orchard House is that place: a gathering place, where people from many backgrounds have come together for over 350 years to count themselves part of a community – a community steeped in hope, courage, and perseverance.

    Many who wish to experience Orchard House may never be able to visit in person, and there are millions more that do not realize the house exists. Together with your pledges and our dedication, this film will change that.

    Pledges of all amounts are welcome and encouraged, and there are even some great rewards for our backers. #PledgeYourLove to Orchard House and become part of our legacy!

  • Saturday, October 25, 2:00 pm – Remembering North America’s Extinct Birds

    Join the Harvard Museum of Natural History at 2 pm on Saturday, October 25 for a screening of The Lost Bird Project, a film that honors five extinct North American birds: the Labrador Duck, the Great Auk, the Heath Hen, the Carolina Parakeet, and the Passenger Pigeon. Directed by Deborah Dickson, the film follows sculptor Todd McGrain as he sets out to create large bronze memorials to these lost birds and to install them in the locations where they were last seen in the wild. A discussion with McGrain and Andy Stern, the executive producer of the film, will follow the screening. A book about the project will also be available for purchase at the museum store. Free with museum admission.
    Haller Hall, enter at 26 Oxford Street. Free event parking available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

  • Wednesday, April 23, 8:00 pm – Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America

    The Emerald Necklace Conservancy will host the Boston premiere of the new film Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America, on Wednesday, April 23 at 8 pm at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Tickets are $11 general admission, $9 MFA members and Emerald Necklace Conservancy donors.

    The new, one-hour documentary chronicling the career and lasting influence of America’s premiere landscape architect who designed Boston’s Emerald Necklace, New York’s Central Park, Biltmore in Asheville, NC among other public and private spaces throughout the United States. The film’s producer, Lawrence Hott will be in attendance for a brief Q & A with the audience.   The film’s co-producer is Diane Garey, and is a co-production of WNED-TV, Buffalo/Toronto and Florentine Films/Hott Productions, Inc.  Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America has been made possible by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor, and The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, with funding provided by HSBC, The Tiffany & Company Foundation and The C.E. & S. Foundation. Additional support provided from The Peter C. Cornell Trust and Mass Humanities.

    Tickets can be purchased at any MFA ticket desk, by calling 1-800-440-6975, or online.

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  • Saturday, March 29, 7:00 pm, and Sunday, March 30, 10:00 am – 10:00 pm – Project Native Film Festival

    Project Native will kick off its 4th Annual Environmental Film Festival on Saturday, March 29 at 7 pm with a special screening of Revolution, an award winning film by Rob Stewart, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  Free, and recommended for grade 5 and up.

    Then, on Sunday, March 30, from 10 – 10 at the Triplex Theatre in Great Barrington, the films begin with Flight of the Butterflies in 3D (10 am), Salmon Confidential (10:10), Carpe Diem: A Fishy Tale (11:45), Have You Seen Arana? (1:00), GMO-OMG (3:00) Backyard & Tar (5:05), Gold Fever (6:25), and Bringing It Home (8:00).  Free Admission, but seating is limited.  Tickets will be available at the box office the day of the festival.  For more information visit www.projectnative.org/Film_Festival.html.

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  • Wednesday, March 19, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – People of a Feather

    On Wednesday, March 19, from 7 – 8:30 at Fruitlands Museum, 102 Prospect Hill Road in Harvard, watch a film about survival in a changing Arctic environment. This award-winning film, People of a Feather, takes you into the world of the Inuit on the Belcher Islands in Canada’s Hudson Bay. Their traditional life is juxtaposed with modern challenges as they confront changing sea ice and ocean currents disrupted by the massive hydroelectric dams powering New York and eastern North America. Soup will be provided by Harvard’s own Chef Paul and lively discussion by the audience! Admission is free, and a bowl of soup is $5. Visit www.fruitlands.org for complete details.

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  • Wednesday, February 26, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Food for Thought Film Series: Eating Alabama

    Join the Fruitlands Museum on Wednesday, February 26 at 7 pm for Eating Alabama, a documentary about why food matters. This is the story of a young couple who return home to Alabama where they set out to eat the way their grandparents did. A thoughtful and often funny essay on community, the South and sustainability. Free (bowl of soup $5). For more information visit www.fruitlands.org.

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  • Wednesday, January 29, 7:00 pm – Symphony of the Soil

    Join The Arnold Arboretum on Wednesday, January 29 at 7 pm to explore the complexity and mystery of the miraculous substance, soil. Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science and filmed on four continents sharing the voices of some of the world’s most esteemed soil scientists, farmers and activists, the film Symphony of the Soil, by Deborah Koons Garcia, portrays soil as a protagonist in our planetary story. By understanding the elaborate relationships between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, including humans, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource. Soil is alive, and its health and survival are intricately connected to that of all life. The free program will take place in the Cahners Theater, Museum of Science, Boston, and will feature a panel consisting of Thomas J. Akin, Conservation Agronomist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service;  Serita D. Frey, PhD, Professor of Soil Microbial Ecology, University of New Hampshire and Research Faculty, The Harvard Forest ; Jim Ward, Farmer and Owner, Ward’s Berry Farm, Sharon, Massachusetts.  Registration for this program begins on Wednesday, January 15 at 9:00 am at www.mos.org.  Presented with the Museum of Science. This program is free thanks to the generosity of the Lowell Institute.

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