Harvard Museum of Natural History

Recently I visited the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) with a man of many talents. He plays the cello, sails, is a ski instructor in the winter, and is an informal science educator. Also being an avid gardener, he was very interested in the glass flower collection. About a hundred years ago, a German father and son team made exquisite reproductions of flowers using blown glass and wire for Harvard. The flowers are surprisingly realistic and a delight to see.

The comparative zoology collection features mammals as large as a giraffe and a tiger as well as vultures, songbirds and numerous other animals. We briefly looked at minerals and the climate change section before crossing over for a fifteen minute walk through the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology In ninety minutes we just did a brief overview of all of the collections of the Museums. The HMNH is a Museum worth visiting several times. There are just too many specimens to admire in one visit. It is free on Sunday mornings as well as to Harvard employees and those with a valid Cambridge Library Card.