Press

Harvard Museum of Natural History public relations staff is available to assist you by providing background information, coordinating on-site photography and videography requests, and in servicing the news media with images of exhibitions, lecturers, or special programs. Join our mailing list to receive the latest exhibition and event releases.

Press Releases

Swimming with Sharks: A Deep Dive into Shark Biology and Behavior reveals the mysterious lives of sharks in the wild

November 3, 2022

The exhibition opens November 12 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., November 3, 2022—Nearly half a billion years ago, the first ancestors of a remarkable group of fishes exploded from the ocean’s tree of life, forever transforming the world’s marine ecosystems. Equipped with lighter cartilage instead of denser bone, armed with microscopic skin teeth instead of scales, and optimized for speed and mobility in a variety of habitats, sharks are an evolutionary success story pivotal for maintaining the health of...

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Henry David Thoreau’s vast botanical collection inspires the new exhibition In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers: An Exploration of Change and Loss

April 20, 2022

The visually compelling and immersive exhibition opens May 14 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 20, 2022—A close reflection on Henry David Thoreau’s legacy brings into sharper focus his deep commitment to environmental conservation and civil disobedience, as well as his trove of treasured poems and essays. His decision to make his home at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts solidified Thoreau’s devotion in his role as a naturalist. Through his close relationship with the woods of Walden he observed the ebb and flow...

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The Harvard Museum of Natural History Picks Seasonal “Fruits in Decay” as the New Focus of the Glass Flowers Gallery

August 7, 2019

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., August 7, 2019— Imagine an orchard, lush and bursting with ripe fruit in the sweltering summer sun. Not all of the fruit weighing down the branches and vines will be fit to consume. Some strawberries will dampen and shrivel with mold, some peaches will be blighted in the shade, and some pears will become pockmarked with age.

However, there is a beauty in this natural decaying process that repeats with each season. Perhaps the rot...

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The Harvard Museum of Natural History Presents a New Climate Change Exhibit Exploring the Global Impact of the Warming Climate on the Planet

January 31, 2019

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 31— The Harvard Museum of Natural History announces the new Climate Change exhibit that draws on the latest scientific information about our warming climate, the global and local consequences, and how to both reduce the fossil fuel emissions that cause it and prepare for its effects. 

This multimedia exhibit includes engaging video and storm simulations, a “check your knowledge” interactive station, and a dramatic inside look at a high-tech Argo float...

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The Rockefeller Beetles Exhibit Opens Saturday, October 20, 2018 at Harvard Museum of Natural History

September 10, 2018

“The collection is superb, worldwide, and the biggest collection ever donated to Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology as far as we know,” said the MCZ’s entomology curator Brian D. Farrell.

Over the 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...

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Harvard Museum of Natural History Admission Rates Increase September 4, 2018

August 1, 2018

Effective September 4, 2018, the admission price at the Harvard Museum of Natural History will increase. The new admission rates are: adults, $15; seniors (65 and over), $13; college students and youth (3-18 years old), $10.

Rates for groups of ten or more will also increase: Adults, $12.00; Seniors: $10.00; Non-Harvard college students: $7.00. Youth (ages 3–18) admission rates will remain unchanged at $7.00.

Admission is free for Massachusetts residents who present Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards at the admission...

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Lily Simonson: Painting the Deep Exhibition to Open June 30, 2018 at Harvard Museum of Natural History

May 17, 2018

(CAMBRIDGE, MA) Glowing under black lights, California artist Lily Simonson’s luminescent paintings embody a synergy between art and science that reveals new ways of seeing and understanding life forms in the deep ocean.

“Being in the deep sea feels like being inside of a painting,” says Simonson, who embedded as an artist-in-residence on three different oceanographic...

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“Microbial Life: A Universe at the Edge of Sight” Exhibition to open February 17, 2018 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

December 18, 2017

(CAMBRIDGE, MA) Thriving all around, and even within us, is a minute universe of astonishing and diverse lifeforms so small, they cannot be seen by the human eye. Microbial Life: A Universe at the Edge of Sight explores the fascinating realm of microbes, Earth’s first inhabitants, as they continue to engage with the planet’s biosphere in ways science is only beginning to uncover and understand.... Read more about “Microbial Life: A Universe at the Edge of Sight” Exhibition to open February 17, 2018 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

World in a Drop: Photographic Explorations of Microbial Life Opens August 26 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

August 3, 2017

The Harvard Museum of Natural History announces a new photographic exhibition, World in a Drop: Photographic Explorations of Microbial Life, to open Saturday, August 26, 2017 and to extend through January 7, 2018.

The minuscule ecosystem within a single drop of water is home to an astonishing diversity of organisms busily living out their...

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What’s in a Name? The Process of Naming Species

January 6, 2017

Why are there Fried Egg and Purple People Eater jellyfish? How did the Johnny Cash tarantula get its name? Why do some species have multiple common names, and why do they all have Latin names? What’s in a Name? shows how scientists identify and name species, how names relate to scientific research and the progression of knowledge, and how collections play a crucial role in the process of naming.

What’s in a Name is a Harvard Museum of Natural History project that explores the world of species identification and naming through interactive exhibits and online...

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Next of Kin: Seeing Extinction through the Artist’s Lens, a new exhibition to open December 17 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

December 5, 2016

The Harvard Museum of Natural History announces a new experiential art exhibition, Next of Kin: Seeing Extinction through the Artist’s Lens opening December 17, 2016, featuring new photographic work by visual artist Christina Seely and an installation made in collaboration with the arts collective The Canary Project. Next of Kin will be on display through June 4, 2017. 

We live in a time when an alarming array of plants and animals struggle to even exist in a world that is increasingly dominated and altered by an exploding human...

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Travel through time with new natural history collections on Google Arts & Culture

September 13, 2016

A new online experience by Google, the Mineralogical and Geological Museum at Harvard in partnership with the Harvard Museum of Natural History and some of the most loved natural history institutions in the world, allows people to come face to face with Jurassic Giants and browse through the most spectacular collection of natural history available in one place

Tuesday, September 13th: The Mineralogical and...

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Harvard Museums of Science & Culture Partner with the Highland Street Foundation to help Massachusetts Families See More Summer

June 13, 2016

Harvard Museum of Natural History to provide free admission on August 5, 2016

(Cambridge, MA)  June 13, 2016 – Harvard Museum of Natural History announced today that it will provide free admission on Friday, August 5, 2016 as part of Highland Street Foundation’s 8th Annual ...

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Glass Flowers Gallery to Open May 21, 2016 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

April 4, 2016

Cambridge, MA The Harvard Museum of Natural History announces the renovation and remodeling of its signature gallery exhibiting the internationally acclaimed Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, popularly called the Glass Flowers.  The Glass Flowers gallery, which first opened in April 1893, has been closed to the public since late November 2015, and will reopen on Saturday, May 21, 2016. The ...

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New exhibition Marine Life in the Putnam Family Gallery opens Saturday, November 21 at Harvard Museum of Natural History

September 23, 2015

On Saturday, November 21, 2015, the new Marine Life in the Putnam Family Gallery will open at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The centerpiece of the new Marine Life exhibition – a floor to ceiling re-creation of life in New England’s coastal waters –will immerse visitors in the astounding diversity and dynamic interplay among animals in marine communities just off local shores. As models of glowing jellies, a giant sea turtle, and other sea animals appear to swim above their heads, museumgoers will learn...

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Islands: Evolving in Isolation Opens April 25 at Harvard Museum of Natural History

March 23, 2015

On Saturday, April 25, 2015, Islands: Evolving in Isolation will open at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. With bizarre woodpecker-like primates, dwarf humans, and flightless birds over nine feet tall, islands are havens for some of the most unusual creatures on our planet. Why are islands such hotspots of biodiversity and 
how does evolution work within these isolated pockets of life?
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Rare Stibnite Specimen Goes on Display at Harvard Museum of Natural History

October 16, 2014

On June 3rd, six strong men carried a stunning, nearly 400-pound specimen of stibnite crystal into the Harvard Museum of Natural History, where the new specimen is now on display on the third-floor landing. Visitors to the museum are intrigued to see one of the largest stibnite specimens on display anywhere in the world. Named the Swords of China, the crystal was discovered in 2003 in the Wuning Mine of the Jiangxi Province in the southeast of the People’s Republic of China.

The mineral is comprised of antimony and sulfur, and boasts delicate, knife-like crystals. This crystal...

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