Past Exhibits

Our Birds: Through a Lens of Hope
A stunning new photographic exhibition in the museum lobby captures North American bird life. The photographs come from Gonzalo Giribet, Professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard and Director of the Museum of...

Sea Monsters: Wonders of Nature and Imagination
On view through May 17, 2026. Embark on a daring voyage into the depths of human imagination at the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s new special exhibition, Sea Monsters: Wonders of Nature and Imagination. Featuring ancient mariners' maps, literature...

From the Hands of the Makers
Closing April 14, 2024 Over their fifty years creating the Glass Flowers, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, father and son, continually experimented with materials and methods that pushed the boundaries of glassworking. Years later, their complex and varied...

World in a Drop: Photographic Explorations of Microbial Life
The minuscule ecosystem within a single drop of water is home to an astonishing diversity of organisms busily living out their lives and interconnected by myriad complex relationships. The photographic exhibit World in a Drop is an aesthetic journey into...

Next of Kin: Seeing Extinction through the Artist’s Lens
This exhibition will be closed Tuesday, July 11 from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm Exhibition on view through July 16, 2017 We live in a time when an alarming array of plants and animals struggle to even exist in a world that is increasingly dominated and altered by...

Nests & Eggs
May 2007 - August 2008 Nests & Eggs is a HMNH exhibition that draws on the University’s extensive collections. Visitors of all ages will enjoy learning some of the myriad ways that birds nurture and protect their young. The exhibition features stunning...

Looking at Animals: Photographs by Henry Horenstein
September 28, 2007 - April 27, 2008 With the vision of both an artist and a scientist, acclaimed Boston photographer Henry Horenstein has created haunting images of creatures from land and sea. His photographs offer new ways to see and think about animals...

Looking at Leaves: Photographs by Amanda Means
May 8, 2008 - February 8, 2009 Dramatic black and white images of single leaves by New York photographer Amanda Means are a monument to the remarkable diversity and beauty of nature's botanical forms. These detailed blow-ups, some printed as large as 38 x...

Egg & Nest: Photographs by Rosamond Purcell
February 12 - March 15, 2009 World-renowned photographer Rosamond Purcell captures the perfection of eggs and the diversity of bird nests with stunning images from her newest book Egg & Nest. Featuring images of specimens from the ornithological holdings...

Headgear: The Natural History of Horns and Antlers
Through January 18, 2012 Discover how and why horns and antlers evolved through dramatic displays and video presentations illustrating their use in combat. Visitors are invited to touch specimens, compare their body height to the world's largest antlers...

The Language of Color
Through October 6, 2013 Whether it’s the brilliant blue wings of a butterfly, the scarlet feathers of a tanager, or the stripes of a zebra, animals display color in vastly different ways and for different reasons. Combining dramatic specimens with video...

Climate Change: Our Global Experiment
Developed in collaboration with the Harvard University Center for the Environment, Climate Change: Our Global Experiment will help you separate truth from spin and provide a basis for making informed decisions affecting the future of our planet. The...

Mollusks: Shelled Masters of the Marine Realm
Through September 8, 2015 Mollusks explores the amazing diversity and history of mollusks–snails, clams, squid, and other invertebrates–that comprise almost a quarter of all known marine species. Featuring the research of Professor Gonzalo Giribet...