Exhibit Highlights – Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments

The Putnam Gallery

Harvard has a rich history of scholarly contributions to the various natural, physical, and social sciences. “Time, Life, & Matter…” features many important instruments that helped make those contributions possible.

Five themes serve as the framework for exploring interconnected ideas across disciplinary and chronological lines:

Colonial Science
Natural Philosophy
Astronomer’s Time
Mind and Body
Physical Matters

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Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East

Egypt Eternal: 4,000 Years of Fascination

Pharaohs, pyramids, sphinxes, and hieroglyphs—ancient Egypt has captivated the world for millennia. Egypt Eternal explores our enduring interest. In a bright and refreshed gallery with an elegant arched window revealed for the first time in decades, the new exhibition showcases returning favorites such as the mummy case of Padimut (now able to be viewed in 360°), an elaborate teak and ivory reproduction of King Tutankhamun’s throne, the portrait of Idu in his underground tomb chapel, and the award-winning Dreaming the Sphinx augmented-reality experience for the Dream Stela of King Thutmose IV. Open at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East.

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Harvard Museum of Natural History

Emeralds

Emeralds is a new, intimate collection of stunning crystals, gemstones, and jewelry on display in the Earth & Planetary Sciences Gallery. Highly coveted by a wide variety of cultures, emeralds have played a significant role in shaping human history, helping to facilitate trade and even build empires. From rough stones to sophisticated jewelry, emeralds continue to captivate with their beauty and historical significance, symbolizing luxury and power across cultures and eras.

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Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology

Castaway: The Afterlife of Plastic

The art collective TRES shares its 2016 journey to document, collect, and photograph debris along the beaches of Australia. Evoking archaeology, marine biology, and cartography, their images summon us to more deeply engage with the natural vistas and objects they encountered, and to examine and interpret them with fresh perspectives.

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Exhibit Spotlights

HMSC Connects! Exhibit Spotlights offer a virtual window into intriguing cultural and scientific concepts with online exhibits, selections from gallery exhibitions, and more.

From the Hands of the Makers

This exhibit highlights the work of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, father and son, continually experimented with materials and methods that pushed the boundaries of glassworking.

The Groundbreaker: A Woman Archaeologist in a Field Led by Men

This exhibit highlights archaeological archives of Theresa B. Goell, director of an international field excavation site, detailing her travels and experiences as she worked in this male dominated field.

Black and white of Theresa B. Goell standing next to a large statue during an archaeological dig.

A cocoon with a bead of red liquid emerging.

Cochineal: How Mexico Made the World See Red

This is the story of a color—one that began as an evolutionary tale, and evolved to shape the course of human history.

Cochinilla: Cómo México Hizo que el Mundo Viera el Rojo

Esta es la historia de un color que comenzó como un cuento evolutivo y evolucionó para dar forma al curso de la historia humana.

Women of the Museum 1860-1920: Behind-the-Scenes at the Museum of Comparative Zoology

This exhibit highlights women’s expertise and extensive knowledge of the museum’s collections may not have been fully appreciated by their contemporaries but today we recognize how their work allowed the museum to grow into its role as a center for research, teaching, and public programs.