Six Years on Mars

Lecture by Andrew Knoll

Thursday, December 10, 6:00 PM

Andrew Knoll, Professor of History and Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard, hasn’t actually been to Mars, but he has spent a lot of time examining its rocks, including four-billion-year-old salt deposits investigated by the rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Knoll will reflect on six years of NASA Mars Rover exploration; what the evidence tells us about the history of water and its implication for life on the ancient surface of the Red Planet. Intended audience is teens and older. Free and open to the public in the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street.  

Note: The museum's galleries will be open both before and after the lecture. See Night at the Museum below.

Night at the Museum

Thursday, December 10, 5:00 - 8:00 PM

Free admission from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. Check out  the newly restored Great Mammal Hall and visit the Evolution and Language of Color exhibitions. Take 20% off your purchase at the Museum Shop (not to be combined with other discounts.)

Note: Free public lecture at 6:00 pm by Harvard Professor Andrew Knoll. See above.

Domesticated: Modern Dioramas of Our New Natural History

Artist's exhibition opening talk by Amy Stein

Friday, JANUARY 22, 4:00 PM

New York photographer Amy Stein will talk about her unique process of creating and photographing modern dioramas inspired by true encounters between humans and wildlife in rural Pennsylvania. Free with museum admission. See exhibition description for more information.
Photograph by Amy Stein.

Coyote at the Kitchen Door

A conversation with Stephen DeStefano and Amy Stein

Saturday, JANUARY 23, 2:00 PM

Bears, deer, fox, coyote, and birds are increasingly encroaching upon areas considered to be "ours." Wildlife biologist Stephen DeStefano’s newest book, Coyote at the Kitchen Door, and the work of photographer Amy Stein both address the blurred boundary between human life and wildlife in modern society. They will discuss how they approach this intersection— from the perspective of a wildlife manager and a visual artist. A booksigning will follow the talk. Free with museum admission. 

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human

Program with Richard Wrangham

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 6:00 PM

In his latest book, Catching Fire, Harvard biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham puts forth the bold theory that our Paleolithic Homo ancestors tamed fire and began cooking 1.8 million years ago, much earlier than conventionally believed. Wrangham will discuss how cooking started a revolution in human evolution, which drove large-scale changes in our physiology, behavior, and cognition and has defined our species to this very day. The program will include a discussion moderated by Noel Michele Holbrook, Professor of Biology and Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry at Harvard. Free and open to the public in the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street.