Boston Flora

Tag: Harvard Museum Of Natural History

  • Friday, November 3, 6:45 pm – Green Eggs and A.m (Ambystoma maculatum)

    On Friday, November 3, Dr. Louise Lewis, Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, will present a lecture at the New England Botanical Club meeting entitled Green Eggs and A.m (Ambystoma maculatum).  Ambystoma maculatum is more widely known as the spotted salamander. Meetings at Harvard University are held in Haller Lecture Hall (Room 102), Geological Museum, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (door to right of Harvard Museum of Natural History entrance) Free and open to the pubic. For more information on the New England Botanical Club, visit http://www.rhodora.org.

  • 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.

  • Thursday, May 11, 6:00 pm – The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin’s Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Natural World – and Us

    Richard O. Prum, William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology and Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, will speak in the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge, on Thursday, May 11 at 6 pm as part of the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s Evolution Matters Lecture Series. Can adaptation by natural selection truly account for everything we see in nature? How do animal mating displays and mate choice drive evolutionary change? What insights can they offer about the evolution of human sexuality? Drawing from his new book, The Evolution of Beauty, Richard Prum will consider Charles Darwin’s long-neglected theory of sexual selection, in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons is an independent engine of evolutionary change. In a reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, Prum will reveal how mating preferences—what Darwin termed “the taste for the beautiful”—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the natural world.

    The Evolution Matters Lecture Series is supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. Free and open to the public.

  • Tuesday, May 2, 6:00 pm – The Evolution and Migration of the Irish Potato Famine Pathogen: Darwin’s Painfully Interesting Subject

    Jean Beagle Ristaino, William Neal Reynolds Professor of Plant Pathology and Director of Emerging Plant Disease and Global Food Security, North Carolina State University, will speak on Tuesday, May 2, at the Harvard University Science Center, 1 Oxford Street in Cambridge, in a Harvard Museum of Natural History program entitled The Evolution and Migration of the Irish Potato Famine Pathogen. The culprit behind the nineteenth-century Irish potato famine was Phytophthora infestans, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the disease known as “potato late blight.” New genetic tools have enabled scientists to piece together the evolution of this pathogen and the history of its outbreaks in Ireland. Jean Ristaino will discuss the latest research on P. infestans and describe Charles Darwin’s early role in the search for durable resistance to this serious plant disease. Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Free and open to the public.

  • Thursday, April 20, 6:00 pm – Ocean Evolution Today

    A Harvard Museum of Natural History Panel Discussion on Ocean Evolution Today will take place Thursday, April 20, beginning at 6 pm in the Science Center, Hall D, 1 Oxford Street. Participants will include:

    Samantha B. Joye, Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia

    Bruce H. Robison, Senior Scientist and Midwater Ecologist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

    Randi Dawn Rotjan, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Boston University Marine Program

    Moderated by Peter R. Girguis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University; Adjunct Research Engineer, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

    Human activities are causing changes in the ocean that could influence the evolution of its organisms. In this panel discussion, three marine scientists with expertise in chemistry, microbiology, geology, marine conservation, and the use of remotely operated vehicles to study deep-sea organisms will discuss the impact of human activity on ocean and coastal ecosystems and answer questions about actions that individuals and organizations can take to support the health of the ocean.

    Presented in collaboration with the Cambridge Science Festival. The Evolution Matters Lecture Series is supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit.  Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.Free and open to the public.

  • Thursday, April 13, 6:00 pm – Symbiosis and the Evolution of Life in the Ocean

    Peter R. Girguis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, will speak on Thursday, April 13 at 6:00 pm in the Science Center, Hall D, 1 Oxford Street, as part of the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s Evolution Matters Lecture Series, supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. The discovery of microscopic life forms in the seventeenth century led to humankind’s understanding of microbes as the biochemical innovators of our world. Microbes have evolved exotic metabolisms that enable them to live in seemingly inhospitable places, and they inhabit nearly every animal and plant on Earth. Peter Girguis will lead a virtual tour of ocean microbial life and discuss how marine microbes influence the evolution of all life on Earth, even playing a role in the geological and geochemical composition of our planet. Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Free and open to the public.

  • Saturdays, March 11 – April 1, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – The Art of Botanical Drawing

    Explore the beauty and variety of plant forms using pencil, watercolor, and colored pencil at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge. This four-week course on Saturdays from 9:30 – 11:30 on March 11, 18, 25 and April 1 will introduce botanical drawing techniques through close observation and practice with contour, gesture, foreshortening, shading, and color. All skill levels are welcome. Instructor: Erica Beade. Fees: $110 Arboretum members/$130 nonmembers. Advance registration required at www.hmnh.harvard.edu.  Image from www.science-art.com, copyright ENBeade 2000.

  • Wednesday, February 22, 6:00 pm – Next of Kin: Seeing Extinction Through the Artist’s Lens

    How do we understand complex ecological issues such as climate change and species extinction? What role do the arts play in this understanding, compared to — or in collaboration with — the sciences? What is the role of empathy or belief, as opposed to knowledge? This interdisciplinary panel discussion at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, on Wednesday, February 22 at 6 pm, will explore these important questions within the context of the new HMNH exhibition Next of Kin: Seeing Extinction through the Artist’s Lens, which uses special photography techniques, lighting and sound design, and specimens of extinct or endangered animals from Harvard collections to evoke empathy with our “next of kin.”

    Presented in collaboration with the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University. Panelists include Carrie Lambert-Beattie, Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies and History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, Christina Seely, Artist and Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Dartmouth College, and Ross Virginia, Myers Family Professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Uniderstanding, Dartmouth College. The panel will be moderated by Edward Morris, Artist and Professor of Practice, Department of Transmedia, Co-Director of The Canary Lab, Syracuse University.

    Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Free and open to the public. Presented in collaboration with the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University.

  • Thursday, February 16, 6:00 pm – Symbiosis and the Evolution of Life in the Ocean

    Peter R. Girguis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, will speak on Symbiosis and the Evolution of Life in the Ocean on Thursday, February 16 at 6 pm at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (place to be determined.)

    The discovery of microscopic life forms in the seventeenth century led to humankind’s understanding of microbes as the biochemical innovators of our world. Microbes have evolved exotic metabolisms that enable them to live in seemingly inhospitable places, and they inhabit nearly every animal and plant on Earth. Peter Girguis will lead a virtual tour of ocean microbial life and discuss how marine microbes influence the evolution of all life on Earth, even playing a role in the geological and geochemical composition of our planet.

    The Evolution Matters Lecture Series is supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Free and open to the public. Image from www.schmidtocean.org. For more information visit http://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/symbiosis-and-evolution-life-ocean.

  • Saturday, January 21, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Drawing Butterflies and Moths in Colored Pencil

    Explore the beauty of butterflies and moths on Saturday, January 21 from 9:30 – 12:30 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge, with Erica Beade. This three-hour 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. $45 for Museum members, $55 for nonmembers. Advance registration required at https://reservations.hmsc.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=11