One dinner served in 1910 forms the centerpiece–literally–of Resetting the Table: Food and Our Changing Tastes, the new exhibition at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. During this high-end restaurant meal, the probably all-male, and likely all-white, Harvard freshmen were served Cotuit Cocktail, beef, imported champagne, and an elaborate Eastern European cake called “Mocca Tree.” Cigarettes were also on the menu. Radcliffe “ladies” were not invited, enabling the young gentlemen to smoke freely, according to the social norms of the day. On view at the Peabody Museum until Sunday, November 28, 2021.

Now open at the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Visual Science: The Art of Research features images and objects drawn from a variety of disciplines and time periods that show the importance of visual experiences in science. Images have played many roles in scientific research. On display until September 7, 2020.

Lily Simonson: Painting the Deep presents six original mural-sized paintings that literally glow with luminescent pigments and together create an immersive visual experience where light and color materialize out of a sea of darkness, giving form to a hidden alien universe. Through her extraordinary art, Simonson envelops us in this astonishing world, invites us to share in the excitement of exploration and discovery, and challenges our preconceptions of what it is to be alive. On view at the Harvard Museum of Natural History until March 1, 2020.

The Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East is reimagining its grand third-floor atrium gallery, featuring the arts of ancient Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). This first installment showcases newly fabricated casts from the ancient scenes that once adorned Mesopotamian palace walls. Meticulously created by museum curators and Harvard students, these relief sculptures show how the ancient kings commemorated their military triumphs and civic achievements. On view at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East.