Harvard Museum of Natural History facts for kids
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| Established | 1998 (by merger of 3 earlier museums) |
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| Location | 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 |
| Collection size | 12,000 |
| Visitors | 210,000 (2013) |
| Owner | Harvard University |
| Public transit access | Harvard (MBTA Red Line) |
The Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) is a cool place to explore nature's wonders. It's a natural history museum located at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The museum has 16 galleries filled with 12,000 amazing items. These items come from three important Harvard research museums: the Harvard University Herbaria (plants), the Museum of Comparative Zoology (animals), and the Harvard Mineralogical Museum (minerals).
The museum is physically connected to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. This means you can visit both museums with just one ticket! Harvard also created a group called the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture in 2012. This group includes the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, the Peabody Museum, and the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.
Museum History
The Harvard Museum of Natural History was created in 1998. It was made to be the "public face" of three older research museums. These were the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard Mineralogical and Geological Museum, and the Harvard University Herbaria.
The museum's exhibits use items from Harvard University's huge natural history collections. Experts from Harvard University also help with programs and share their knowledge. In 2013, over 210,000 people visited the museum. This makes it the most visited museum at Harvard University!
Awesome Exhibits
In the museum's main galleries, you can see all sorts of life from Earth. You'll find everything from dinosaurs to ancient fossils of invertebrates and reptiles. There are also huge mammals, birds, and fish. You can even see the only mounted Kronosaurus skeleton!
The mineral galleries show off a fantastic collection of meteorites, minerals, and sparkling gemstones. A very special part of the museum is the historic Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants. People often call these the Glass Flowers. There's also an exhibit called Sea Creatures in Glass. This shows some of the amazing Blaschka models of marine invertebrates from Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. Plus, the museum often has new exhibits that highlight the latest research at the university.
Educational Programs
The museum offers many educational programs. It works with public schools in Cambridge to help students learn about science. The museum also hosts public talks by Harvard biologists, people who work to protect nature around the world, and popular authors. They even have a travel program where small groups can go with Harvard science experts to places with lots of different plants and animals.
How the Museum Works
The museum has over 3,200 members, mostly from the Boston area. These members help support the museum. While Harvard University helps the museum a lot, most of its money comes from ticket sales, memberships, gifts, and money from its programs.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Historia Natural de Harvard para niños
