Boston Flora

Tag: Harvard Museum Of Natural History

  • Saturday, September 13, 9:30 am – 11:00 am – Illuminating Life: The Science of Bioluminescence and Fluorescence

    In the dark depths of the ocean, light flickers where you least expect it. This hands-on Harvard Museum of Natural History workshop on September 13 will explore the radiant worlds of bioluminescence and fluorescence—where creatures from bioluminescent marine microbes to fluorescent jellyfish shed light without a bulb in sight. We’ll zoom in to symbiotic microorganisms that use bioluminescence to camouflage their hosts from predators, and then zoom out to examine bioluminescent and fluorescent specimens from the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s collections. Along the way, we’ll uncover how organisms use this natural glow for communication, camouflage, and predation, revealing a hidden language of light in the natural world. To wrap up the experience, you will have the opportunity to create “living art” in a petri dish using fluorescent microorganisms as paint. Participants will receive high-resolution images of their art after the artwork has grown overnight. No prior science background is required to participate in this class. All attendees must be 18 or older. $35 for Museum members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at www.hmnh.harvard.edu

    Ellie Rand is a recent graduate and Sophia Wiesenfeld is a current student in the Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology PhD program at Harvard Medical School. They both research microbiology and utilize fluorescence for a variety of experiments. Understanding where bioluminescence and fluorescence arose in the environment and how to manipulate it in the lab is a lot of fun, and they can’t wait to share it with you!

  • Wednesday, May 14, 9:30 am – 11:30 am Eastern – Landscape Sketching, Online

    Landscapes are a wonderful subject for drawings, but it can be difficult to know where to start. In this Harvard Museum of Natural History online workshop on May 14 with artist and educator Rachel Mirus, we’ll discuss how to select a composition, create a sense of depth and volume, and use a variety of marks to capture a dynamic variety of textures in a landscape. We’ll look at examples and have plenty of time for drawing and individualized feedback. The group will be limited to 12 participants, allowing ample time for individual feedback. All skill levels are welcome. This class is for adults. $30 for Harvard Museum members, $35 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/event/landscape-sketching-1

  • Saturday, February 1, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Holographic Chocolate: The Secrets of Structural Color

    In nature, brilliant colors appear in myriad places—along the surface of a bubble, on butterfly wings, after a rainy day, or through a windowpane. Remarkably, many of these hues don’t involve any chemical dyes or paints. Instead, these colors originate from the internal material structure and their interactions with light. This Harvard Museum of Natural History workshop on February 1 from 2 – 3:30 pm will dive into the world of “structural color,” zooming in on fascinating structurally-colored materials in nature with microscopes and zooming out to applications of structural color for next-generation materials. As the finale, workshop attendees will craft holographic rainbow chocolate to take home. No prior science background is required to participate in this class. All attendees must be 18 or older. $30 Harvard Museum members, $35 nonmembers. Register at https://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/event/holographic-chocolate-secrets-structural-color

  • Saturday, December 14, 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Science Spotlights: Sweaty Shrubs

    On December 14 at 2 pm, meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks. Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture. The talk takes place in the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Classroom B on the third floor. No advance registration required.

    Sweaty Shrubs

    Speaker: Melissa Mai, Graduate Student, the Holbrook Lab

    How do plants deal with too much salt? From the world’s driest desert and tropical coastlines to your own neighborhood, plants get exposed to more salt than they’d like. Some plants have developed unique adaptations to handle extra salt, including a shrub that sweats! Join Harvard scientist Melissa Mai as she explains how multiple branches of science come together to help unearth this shrub’s secrets. Regular museum admission rates apply.

  • Wednesday, September 25, 9:30 am – 11:30 am Eastern – Sketching Plants and Flowers, Online

    Learn how to capture the beauty and variety of plant forms with pencil and paper in this two-hour online workshop with the Harvard Museum of Natural History on September 25 at 9:30 am Eastern. With a focus on close observation, we’ll explore a range of techniques for achieving more accurate drawings and delve into contour, foreshortening, and shading to create volume and depth. The class will be limited to 12 participants, allowing ample time for individual feedback. All skill levels are welcome. $30 for Museum members, $35 for nonmembers. Register at https://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/sketching-plants-and-flowers-0

    Image Credit: Erica Beade

  • On View: The Rockefeller Beetles

    Over a span of 90 years, banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller collected beetles from around the world, eventually building a personal collection of more than 150,000 specimens. In 2017, his longstanding support for the entomology department of the Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology culminated in a gift to the museum of this extraordinary collection. Join the Harvard Museum of Natural History in celebrating this invaluable gift. The small exhibit features hundreds of specimens from Rockefeller’s collection and recounts the story of a man whose childhood pursuit grew into a lifelong passion. Exhibit is on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge,  in Arthropods: Creatures That Rule.

  • Wednesday, June 21, 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Summer Solstice Celebration at the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture

    Kick-off the summer in style at HMSC’s 10th annual Summer Solstice Celebration. Explore—free of charge—Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, and the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. Then step outdoors to enjoy live music and circus performances, make flower crowns, and try out snacks at food trucks. Don’t miss this wildly popular event for all ages. Picnic blankets welcome.

    Free event parking starting at noon at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

    This program is part of HMSC’s 10-Year Anniversary celebration.

  • Saturday, June 3, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Preserving Plant Diversity

    Join The Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge, on June 3 from 10 – noon for an exploration of plant diversity and an introduction to methods of plant preservation. Using plant cuttings brought from home and some collected near the museum, participants will employ the powerful art of observation to identify and compare morphological characteristics of plants and discuss why they may have been favored over evolutionary time. They will learn how herbarium specimens are prepared, and prepare their own pressed specimens using these techniques. Instructor: Andrea Appleton, Harvard PhD candidate in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. $54 for Museum members, $60 for nonmembers. Registration required at https://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/preserving-plant-diversity

    vintage herbarium background on old paper

  • Wednesday, October 19, 9:30 am – 11:30 pm – Drawing Butterflies and Moths in Colored Pencil, Online

    On Wednesday, October 19 from 9:30 – 11:30, explore the beauty of butterflies and moths. This two-hour online workshop will introduce observational drawing techniques with pencil and then dive into colored pencil techniques used to create a rich, vibrant image. All skill levels are welcome.   Fees: $30 HMNH members/$35 nonmembers. Advanced registration is required at https://reservations.hmsc.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=11

  • Tuesday, September 20, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Preserving Plant Diversity, Canceled

    Join the Arnold Arboretum and Andrea Appleton, Harvard PhD candidate in Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, on September 20 at 10 am for an exploration of plant diversity and an introduction to methods of plant preservation. Using plant cuttings brought from home, we will carefully observe and compare morphological characteristics, discuss why they may have been favored over evolutionary time, and learn how to press specimens for scientific study. Following the workshop, we will tour the Harvard University Herbaria, where we will learn about the importance of preserved specimens and see how scientists use them for scientific research. Meet at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge.

    This program had to be canceled but contact the Arnold Arboretum if you are interested in learning about a rescheduled date.

    Advance Registration Required.