Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street
Shake off the winter blues and let your inner scientist loose. This popular annual event offers the opportunity to interact with professional scientists and amateur collectors while trying your hand at simple science explorations. Meet Harvard scientists who study extinct animals, zombie flies, and black holes! Learn from the Boston Mineral Club and MassWildlife. Bring your rock, mineral, or fossil samples to discuss with local collectors. Create colorful shadows while exploring light. Design a button portraying your favorite part of the natural world. This event has something for everyone and is appropriate for children and adults of all ages.
Regular museum admission rates apply.
Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.
See the activities in each location below, from minerals in the Earth & Planetary Sciences gallery to research talks by Harvard scientists in Classroom B.
EARTH & PLANETARY SCIENCES
Amazing Minerals
Meet members of the Boston Mineral Club! Learn about their passions, projects, and collections, and discover how you too can be a rockhound! website: bostonmineralclub.org
Greater Boston Geology
Explore the geological history of New England by closely examining clues in our local rocks.
Meet a Scientist
What is it like to be a scientist at Harvard? Meet Federica Calabrese, a scientist who studies microbes, and learn about her research and experiences.
SEA CREATURES IN GLASS
Rainbow Shadows
Ever seen a yellow, green, or magenta shadow? Explore the effects of mixing colors of light on shadows.
SPECIAL EXHIBITS (Sea Monsters)
Button-Making
What do you ♥ about science? Show off your love of science by designing and making your own button to wear!
ARTHROPODS
Exploring Local Fossils
What fossils do we have in New England? Meet Harvard paleontologists who will show off local fossils and share what the fossils tell us about our geological history.
VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
Dinosaur Balancing Act
Use physical and digital games to explore how dinosaurs like T. rex could stand on two legs. Can you discover what it takes to balance? Or will your dinosaur fall over?
Carnivorous Plants
Meet meat-eating plants with the New England Carnivorous Plant Society. website: necps.org
SPECIAL EXHIBITS (Sharks)
Mushrooms and More
Curious about mushrooms? Join the Boston Mycological Club to take a closer look at mushrooms and the larger world of fungi. website: bostonmyco.org
NEW ENGLAND FORESTS
Mass Fish and Wildlife
Coyotes, foxes, and bears, oh my! Join a MassWildlife biologist to explore mammal skulls and furs and to learn about New England wildlife.
World of Rot
Get up-close with decomposition and some of nature’s recycling helpers with author and educator, Dr. Britt Crow-Miller.
MARINE LIFE
Stone Living Lab
Boston Harbor has some exciting new habitats for marine life— Living seawalls! Come feel some seawall tiles for yourself and design your own tile for our marine neighbors.
Climate Conservation Corps
What are your hopes or fears about climate change? Write haiku-inspired poems and explore how melting rates between land and sea ice can differ in a small-scale experiment.
MUSEUM LOBBY (first floor)
Meet a Scientist
What is it like to be a scientist at Harvard? Meet Sonali Garg, a scientist who studies frogs, to learn about her research and experiences.
I♥SCIENCE SPEAKER SERIES IN CLASSROOM B
Research Talks by Harvard Scientists
2:00 pm ERNESTO CAMACHO INIGUEZ The Goldilocks of Black Holes
What exactly is a black hole? Do they come in different sizes? Are they dangerous? Join Harvard astronomer Ernesto Camacho Iniguez as he addresses these and other big questions while sharing his curiosity for the universe and his research on the elusive “Goldilocks” black hole.
3:00 pm JULIUS TABIN The Zombie Apocalypse Happening in Your Backyard
If you think zombies are just a work of fiction, think again! Every day, all around us, tiny fruit flies are being infected by a fungus that gets into their brain, takes it over, and controls their behavior. Join geneticist and Harvard graduate student Julius Tabin to learn more about this zombie infection.
