On Saturday, May 21, 2011 the Harvard Museum of Natural History will debut the new Zofnass Family Gallery with the opening of New England Forests, a permanent multi-media exhibition that explores the natural history and ecology of our regional forests, their responses to human activity, and their environmental significance. The museum will offer a special preview of the new gallery with a reception for museum members on Thursday, May 19, 2011. To complement the exhibition, the museum will sponsor a fall 2011 series of public lectures, workshops,...

The “Glass Flowers” at the Harvard Museum of Natural History are Always in Bloom

Even in the icy cold of winter, a garden of flowers is blooming in Cambridge, Massachusetts. You can find iris, water lily, cashew, and coffee plants, and even the crimson leaves of fall foliage. No visit to New England is complete without exploring the remarkable collection of ‘glass flowers’ at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, MA. Officially entitled the Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants, the collection was made possible by the generosity of a mother and her daughter,...

The Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) today (February 17, 2011) named as interim executive director David W. Ellis. Ellis is the former president of Lafayette College and the Museum of Science, Boston. He will temporarily replace Elisabeth Werby, who is slated to become chief of staff to the president of Northeastern University. The museum will conduct a national search for a new, permanent executive director.

“Since Liz became executive director in 2005, the museum has enhanced its visibility both on and beyond the campus, partnering with faculty and students in a wide range...

The Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants: The “Glass Flowers” at the Harvard Museum of Natural History are Always in Bloom

No matter what time of year you visit, a garden of flowers is blooming in Cambridge, Massachusetts. You can find iris, water lily, cashew and coffee plants, and even the crimson leaves of the red maple’s fall foliage. No visit to New England is complete without exploring the remarkable collection of 3,000 models of ‘Glass Flowers’ on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, MA. Officially entitled the Ware Collection of Glass Models...

Opening Friday, December 2, in the Glass Flowers Gallery will be a sculpture display by Scottish artist Siobhan Healy entitled Ghost Orchids. The inspiration for the artist's subtle and thought-provoking piece is the ghost orchid (Epipogium aphyllum), a rare British wild flower recently rediscovered after it was thought to be extinct for 23 years. Healy depicts the orchid in transient and ethereal clear glass, encouraging the viewer to reflect on the...

The Harvard Museum of Natural History announces the completion in late December of the renovated permanent Africa gallery. This historic gallery has been renovated and reinterpreted, with new energy-efficient lighting and colorful graphic displays. The installation of a new interactive video display addressing endangered species completes the upgrade. Visitors will see impressive mounted specimens of African wildlife, collected over a century ago, including hippopotamus, lions, ostrich, gorillas, hyena, plus a variety of rare animals from the island of Madagascar.

The specimens have...

The Harvard Museum of Natural History announces a week of programs and exhibitions in celebration of Earth Science Week, beginning the week of October 10, 2010. Earth Science Week is sponsored by the American Geological Institute in partnership with the National Park Service, which has also named Wednesday, October 13, National Fossil Day. In conjunction, the museum will offer two special programs for the public, both free with museum admission, and a special Teacher Professional Development program for educators. 

Wednesday, October 13, Fossil Day ...

Opens May 22, 2010 at Harvard Museum of Natural History 

Headgear now extended through January 18, 2012. 

The Harvard Museum of Natural History announces a new multi-media exhibition, Headgear, an in-depth look at the natural history of horns and antlers. The exhibition opens to the public on May 22, 2010, and runs through January 2, 2011.  Showcasing an astonishing collection of unique specimens—some on exhibit for...

Jane Wolff (Harvard GSD, ’92), director of the landscape architecture program at the University of Toronto, will be the annual speaker in the endowed lecture series "New Directions in EcoPlanning" at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Ms. Wolff’s lecture, "Defining an Environmental Vocabulary " will take place on Wednesday, April 28, at 6:00 pm in the museum’s Geological Lecture Hall at 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Ms. Wolff’s lecture will address the intersection of ecology, design, public education, and grassroots advocacy in...

On the evening of March 26th, artists will overrun the Harvard Museum of Natural History for a special evening of performance, sound, and video throughout the galleries. For two and half hours, twelve artists from across the country—including many Harvard alumni and several current students—will transform the museum into laboratory, library, exploratorium, and stage. Through thoughtful interventions and captivating experiments, viewers will experience new ways to engage with the museum's spaces, its collections, and its history.

Participating artists include: Lucky Dragons, Noah...

The Harvard Museum of Natural History announces a new exhibition, opening January 22, 2010, of striking, large-scale color photographs by New York–based visual artist Amy Stein. Domesticated: Modern Dioramas of our New Natural History: Photographs by Amy Stein explores the tenuous relationship between humans and animals as human civilization increasingly encroaches upon nature. Domesticated: Modern Dioramas of Our New Natural History: Photographs by Amy Stein will be on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History through April 18, 2010.

Informed by...

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard Museum of Natural History unveils Phase I of the renovation of the historic Great Mammal Hall, which reopens to the public on October 16, 2009. In addition, the museum will present a series of free public lectures focusing on the past, present, and future of natural history museums.

Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology was founded by the Swiss geologist and ichthyologist Louis Agassiz, then a professor at Harvard, in November 1859, the same...

(Cambridge, MA) Harvard Museum of Natural History will present Looking Back, Looking Forward: A Conversation with James  D. Watson and Edward O. Wilson on Wednesday September 9, 2009 at 5:30 pm. The event will be held in Sanders Theatre at Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.  

James D. Watson, a Nobel Prize winner for his role in the discovery of the of the structure of DNA, and Edward O. Wilson, a pioneer in the...

New Exhibition Opens April 18 at Harvard Museum of Natural History

On Saturday, April 18, 2009, the Harvard Museum of Natural History will open EVOLUTION, a new permanent exhibition dedicated to the concept that revolutionized biology and continues to inform current research. Harvard scientists have been leaders in the debate and study of evolution since the time of Charles Darwin, and the University remains a center of some of the most important and exciting new research in the field.

Leveraging the latest in this research and...

Harvard Museum of Natural History announces Russell Mittermeier as the 2009 Roger Tory Peterson Medal Recipient and Guest Speaker on Sunday, April 5th, at 3:00 p.m.

(Cambridge, MA) Russell Mittermeier, renowned wildlife biologist and president of Conservation International has been selected to receive the 12th annual Roger Tory Peterson Medal presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Dr. Mittermeier will deliver the Roger Tory Peterson Memorial Lecture on Sunday, April 5th, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. in the Harvard University Science Center, One Oxford Street, Cambridge....

Kristina Hill to Present Inaugural Lecture on March 18, 2009

Kristina Hill, Director of the Program in Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia will be the inaugural speaker in a new annual lecture series New Directions in EcoPlanning at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Hill’s lecture, “Designing the Urban Ark: Biodiversity and the Future of Cities" will take place on Wednesday, March 18th at 6:00 pm. in the museum’s Geological Lecture Hall at 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge. The lecture is...

Opens on February 12th, 2009, at Harvard Museum of Natural History

The Harvard Museum of Natural History opens a new exhibition Egg & Nest: Photographs by Rosamond Purcell on February 12th, 2009. World-renowned photographer Rosamond Purcell's photographs of exquisitely elegant eggs and remarkable nests present an artist's view of natural history.

Purcell has worked in museum collections in the United States, Europe and Russia in search of the visual wonder that comes from contemplating venerable natural history specimens. With the help of the curatorial staff at...

 (Cambridge, MA; November 18, 2008)  Distrigas/GDF SUEZ has announced its support as the lead corporate sponsor of WoW, Wonder on Wednesdays, an out-of-school-time program for urban youth at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. New for 2009, Charlestown youth groups are invited to participate along with those from Distrigas/GDF SUEZ communities of Everett, Chelsea, Malden, and East Boston. In addition, in an expansion of the former ‘Wild Wednesdays’ program, this year for the first time the museum will reach out to a few select community organizations in these...

New Exhibition Opens September 26, 2008, at Harvard Museum of Natural History

Whether it’s the brilliant blue wings of a butterfly, the scarlet feathers of a tanager, or iridescent beetles that shimmer purple and green, animals display color in vastly different ways. Language of Color, a new exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History will explore how animal colors are produced, the varied ways in which color is perceived, and the diverse messages that animal colors can convey. The exhibit will open September 26, 2008, and will be on display through September 6, 2009....