Boston Flora

Tag: Charles Darwin

  • Now Open – Making the Invisible Visible: Digitizing Invertebrates on Microscope Slides

    Imagine studying a pseudoscorpion, a tiny arachnid that is almost too small to see. In 1891, Harvard curator Nathan Banks mounted such a creature on a microscope slide. Over 130 years later, that same specimen is still carefully preserved in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ).

    In trays, boxes, and drawers in the museum’s collections spaces, there are around 50,000 tiny treasures in the form of invertebrate specimens mounted on microscope slides, some more than 150 years old. Under magnification, these slides reveal fascinating anatomical details, such as the delicate veins of a dragonfly’s wing or the symmetry of a beetle antenna.

    The slides are colorfully and ornately labeled and transport the viewer to a time when Harvard graduate Addison Emery Verrill etched on a slide featuring a Leptogorgia soft coral specimen, “sent to James Dwight Dana by Charles Darwin.” The slide is on display in the exhibit. Also on display is a slide made by William Morton Wheeler for his 1893 thesis study on insect embryos. This is paired with a microscope that Wheeler, who became a Harvard professor, used at the MCZ in the 1920s.

    In the mid-19th century, microscopes offered scientists a means to study the details of invertebrates, opening up a world of scholarship. The MCZ’s incredible slide collection spans species and continents, decades and collectors. It’s still growing today as Harvard researchers continue to mount new specimens on slides.

    In 2024, Mansi Srivastava, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Curator of Invertebrate Zoology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Co-Chair of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, joined with curatorial staff from across Harvard’s Entomology, Invertebrate Zoology, and Malacology collections to embark on a massive digitization project. The goal: to locate, restore, rehouse, and digitize these slides that had been largely overlooked for over a century.

    The project includes securing high-quality images of some 3,000 slide-mounted type specimens: the examples on which scientific names and descriptions are based. When the project is complete, a treasure trove of digital data to be shared with researchers and the public online.

    Through the new exhibit Making the Invisible Visible: Digitizing Invertebrates on Microscope Slides, visitors will discover how digitizing slide-mounted specimens brings information from the collections to the wider world, truly making the unseen seen! At an Interactive microscope station, visitors can zoom in to explore a series of slides and compare a before-and-after example to see how MCZ staff cleaned and preserved a slide.

    In the gallery, a wall of oversized images highlights the beauty and diversity of the slide-mounted specimens found at the microscope. This smaller-scale exhibit will be on display in the Arthropods gallery, which also features the new Velvet Worms exhibit and the famous Rockefeller Beetles.

    This exhibition was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to Mansi Srivastava, Naomi Pierce, Adam Baldinger, Crystal Maier, and Jennifer Trimble. High-resolution images were taken by Amelia Lawson, Even Dankowicz, and Jenni Nelson.

    Making the Invisible Visible: Digitizing Invertebrates on Microscope Slides opened December 12 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. For museum hours and visitor information, please visit hmsc.harvard.edu/visit.

  • Friday, October 28 – Sunday, November 6, – Ecuadorian Cloud Forest & Galapagos Islands

    The Galápagos Islands were Charles Darwin’s “Living Laboratory of Evolution,” named for the tortoises that roam the lush landscapes of the small archipelago. This Pacific Horticulture Society active learning adventure on October 28 – November 6, is an opportunity to experience the islands’ highly specialized and endemic flora, fauna, and environments in a way that most visitors to the Galápagos seldom do—through fun activities like snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, and biking. You’ll learn about the natural and human history of the islands during visits to North Seymour, El Chato Tortoise Reserve, Mosquera Islet, Punta Carrion, Cerro Mesa, and a host of other highlights on the Enchanted Islands. The Ecuadorian Cloud Forest awaits; brimming with floral species of epiphytes, ferns, palms, and nearly 50 species of hummingbirds. The enormous biodiversity of this region is like none other!

    For information, visit https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/tours/ecuadorian-cloud-forest-galapagos-islands/

  • Tuesday, March 15, 6:45 pm – 8:45 pm – Charles Darwin in Context: Evolution of Dangerous Ideas, Online

    Charles Darwin has long been put on a pedestal and idolized as an objective, rational thinker who challenged the theist views of his day and changed for the better how we see the world. The truth, however, is a lot more complicated. Not all of Darwin’s ideas are as original or unique as was widely believed. Many are drawn from the false assumptions and prejudices of his (Victorian) era, and then restated as factual scientific observation. They helped buttress racist and sexist worldviews in ways that continue to haunt us to this day.

    Rui Diogo, an evolutionary biologist and associate professor of anatomy at Howard University’s College of Medicine, has extensively reviewed Darwin’s books, diaries, notebooks, and letters. Diogo shares an unflinching look at how the acclaimed naturalist’s racism and sexism undermined his work.

    The goal is not to completely jettison Darwin’s work: He was in fact right about some important things. Instead, Diogo seeks to offer a more complete, nuanced, and clear-eyed assessment of his work that might better equip us to reject prejudices and false assumptions and evolve in our own thinking. This Smithsonian Associates online event will take place March 15 beginning at 6:45, and is $25 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org

  • Thursday, October 29 – Sunday, November 8 – Ecuadorian Cloud Forest & Galapagos Islands

    Thursday, October 29 – Sunday, November 8 – Ecuadorian Cloud Forest & Galapagos Islands

    The Galápagos Islands were Charles Darwin’s “Living Laboratory of Evolution,” named for the tortoises that roam the lush landscapes of the small archipelago. This Pacific Horticulture Society active learning adventure is an opportunity to experience the islands’ highly specialized and endemic flora, fauna, and environments in a way that most visitors to the Galápagos seldom do—through fun activities like snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, and biking. You’ll learn about the natural and human history of the islands during visits to North Seymour, El Chato Tortoise Reserve, Mosquera Islet, Punta Carrion, Cerro Mesa, and a host of other highlights on the Enchanted Islands. The Ecuadorian Cloud Forest awaits; brimming with floral species of epiphytes, ferns, palms, and nearly 50 species of hummingbirds. The enormous biodiversity of this region is like none other! Land cost $6,580 per person, with single room supplement of $995. For complete brochure visit Holbrook Travel, https://www.holbrooktravel.com/where-we-travel/galapagos-islands/pacific-horticulture-society-20

  • Monday, February 3, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, and the Discovery of Intercontinental Disjuncts

    William “Ned” Friendman, PhD, Arnold Arboretum Director and Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, will kick off the 2020 Director’s Lecture Series on Monday, February 3 at 7 pm in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum. The Director’s Lecture Series is a benefit of membership, so if you are not already a member, join the Friends of the Arnold Arboretum now.

    “Eastern Asia – eastern North America temperate woody disjuncts” is a mouthful. But, once you get the hang of it, you will discover the fascinating evolutionary stories of botanical emigrants that have journeyed from Asia to North America and evolved into much of what now makes up forest ecosystems in the eastern United States. You will also discover that the Arnold Arboretum holds one of the most important collections of such disjuncts, and that for nearly a century and a half, has been facilitating family reunions between such long-separated evolutionary cousins. This biogeographic story of temperate trees and shrubs began to unfold in the mid-nineteenth century with none other than Charles Darwin and Asa Gray, then Harvard Professor of Natural History. Wait until you hear about their correspondence!

    Fee Free. Members only. Registration required as seating is limited. Register at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=1

  • Monday, April 30, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – When Darwin Met Thoreau

    Each winter, Director William (Ned) Friedman and the Arnold Arboretum present the Director’s Lecture Series, featuring nationally recognized experts addressing an array of topics related to Earth’s biodiversity and evolutionary history, the environment, conservation biology, and key social issues associated with current science. The Director’s Lecture Series is open to current Arnold Arboretum members only; visit http://arboretum.harvard.edu for information on becoming a member. Lectures take place in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall. Parking will be available along the Arborway and in front of the Hunnewell Building on lecture nights.

    Randall Fuller, PhD, Herman Melville Distinguished Professor of American Literature, University of Kansas, will speak on Monday, April 30 at 7 pm. On January 1, 1860, Henry David Thoreau learned about a new work of science entitled On the Origin of Species. Within a month, he had read the book, taken extensive notes, and begun to incorporate Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection into his understanding of nature. In this talk, Professor Randall Fuller will recount Thoreau’s deep engagement with what remains one of the most important concepts of the nineteenth century. Fuller is the author of The Book that Changed America.

    Register online at https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/directors-lecture-series/

  • Friday, April 6, 10:00 am – Charles Darwin

    Carol Govan talks about the personal life, unusual philosophy, and important works of Charles Darwin on April 6 at 10 at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden. English naturalist, geologist and biologist Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) rocked the world when he published his thesis that plants evolve and change to adapt to their changing habitats. He established that the vast diversity of life on Earth has all descended from common ancestors. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, free. Nonmembers $10. Register by calling 781-283-3094 or email bcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

  • Thursday, September 14, 6:00 pm – Darwin’s Backyard: How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory

    James T. Costa, Professor, Department of Biology, Western Carolina University Executive Director, Highlands Biological Station, University of North Carolina, will give a free lecture at Harvard Museum of Natural History’s Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, on Thursday, September 14 at 6 pm, as part of the Evolution Matters Lecture Series, supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. Charles Darwin, iconic evolutionary biologist, was a naturalist with a passion for experiments. Sometimes quirky, always illuminating, Darwin’s experiments were an ever-present part of his home life, taking over his house, garden, and greenhouse, as well as surrounding meadows and woodlands, while often involving family, friends, and neighbors as research assistants. James Costa will discuss this inventive side of Darwin, detailed in his new book, Darwin’s Backyard: How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory. Following the lecture, visit the museum galleries, where Harvard students and museum educators will demonstrate a selection of Darwin’s experiments. Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

  • Saturday, November 5, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon – Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins: An Introduction to the Shelled Reptiles

    Using preserved specimens from Harvard University’s Herpetology collection, as well as live animals, participants in this Harvard Museum of Natural History class on Saturday, November 5 from 9:30 – noon will learn basic turtle anatomy, determine the primary characteristics of the most common turtle families, consider the unique adaptations of some individual species, and view several historically significant specimens. Participants can look closely at iconic specimens, including a Galápagos tortoise collected by a whaler in the Galápagos Islands in 1835, the same year of Charles Darwin’s visit there, and a turtle collected by Henry David Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts.  Instructor: Joe Martinez, Curatorial Assistant Herpetology Department Museum of Comparative Zoology

    Fees: $40 Museum members/$50 nonmembers.  Register online at http://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/turtles-tortoises-and-terrapins-introduction-shelled-reptiles

  • Monday, January 12, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Mutants in Our Midst: Darwin, Horticulture, and Evolution

    Each year, Director William (Ned) Friedman and the Arnold Arboretum present the Director’s Lecture Series, featuring nationally recognized experts addressing an array of topics related to Earth’s biodiversity and evolutionary history, the environment, conservation biology, and key social issues associated with current science. Lectures take place in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall. Parking will be available in front of the building and along the Arborway. Free. Member-only registration through December 15; general registration after December 15.

    Ned Friedman, PhD, Director of the Arnold Arboretum and Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University will present the first talk on Monday, January 12, from 7 – 8:30. Although often overlooked as such, many of the horticultural varieties that we grow in gardens are premier examples of the ongoing process of evolution: random mutations that lead, on the rarest of occasions, to novel and desirable biological characteristics. Throughout his life, Charles Darwin (as well as other nineteenth century evolutionists) looked to the world of horticulture and plant domestication to gain critical insights into the generation of variation and the process of natural selection that underlie evolutionary change. Come see how horticulture played a central role in laying the foundations for discovering evidence of evolution as well as the process of evolution. Professor Ned Friedman will also argue that modern botanical gardens can and should become a leading force for the promotion of evolutionary thinking by highlighting the very kinds of mutations observed and described by Darwin as well as new examples of monstrosities and mutants that continue to be found in the Arboretum and other living collections around the world. Image from www.thunderboltkids.co.za.

    Register online at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=1.