The special new exhibit in the Glass Flowers Gallery opens in the Harvard Museum of Natural History on Apr 20, 2024
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 16, 2024—The famous Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants (the Glass Flowers) includes a series of models that illustrate the microscopic details of the life cycles of non-flowering, spore-forming plants and fungi. These models were produced between 1889 and 1893. The Glass Flowers were made by Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolf.
After nearly a quarter century, these remarkable state-of-the-art teaching models make a triumphant return in the new exhibit, The Blaschkas at the Microscope: Lessons in Botany, within the Glass Flowers Gallery at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The new exhibit opens on April 20th.
The Blaschkas used magnifying lenses and microscopes and consulted various contemporary scientific textbooks to create accurate models of the reproductive cycles of ferns and fern allies, mosses, liverworts, and fungi. This resulted in stunning enlargements of microscopic structures critical in understanding plant and fungal reproduction.
Visitors will be introduced to the intricate and complex microscopic structures involved in the reproduction of spore-producing plants and fungi. Interesting facts, such as how mosses can survive prolonged periods of dehydration and that ferns date back at least 358.9 million years, are sprinkled throughout the exhibit. The exhibit also explores pathogens that threaten the survival of all organisms.
The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants was made by Leopold (1822-1895) and Rudolf Blaschka (1857-1939), a father-and-son team of Czech glass artists. Over fifty years, from 1886 through 1936, the Blaschkas produced 4,300 glass models that represent 780 plant species exclusively for Harvard University.
The Glass Flowers gallery underwent a historic renovation in 2016. Improvements include restoring the original display cases, in use since the 1890s, and installing state-of-the-art lighting and climate control systems. The reconfigured gallery with updated scientific interpretation showcases the ongoing relevance of the collection and enriches the visitors’ experience of the models.
About the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture
The HMSC mission is to foster curiosity and a spirit of discovery in visitors of all ages by enhancing public understanding of and appreciation for the natural world, science, and human cultures. HMSC works in concert with Harvard faculty, museum curators, students, and members of the extended Harvard community to provide interdisciplinary exhibitions, events and lectures, and educational programs for students, teachers, and the public. HMSC draws primarily upon the extensive collections of the member museums and the research of their faculty and curators.
History
The Harvard Museums of Science & Culture (HMSC) partnership was established on July 1, 2012, by former Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Michael D. Smith, to develop a strong, coordinated public face for the six research museums that are within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard:
See hours and admission rates on each of the HMSC museum websites:
- Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
- Harvard Museum of Natural History
- Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology
Press contact:
Bethany Carland-Adams
Public Relations Specialist
Harvard Museums of Science & Culture
617 959 3481
bcarlandadams@hmsc.harvard.edu