In Cambridge, just a short trip from downtown Boston, the Harvard Museum of Natural History invites families to walk from a towering Kronosaurus to a garden made entirely of glass. The museum, the public face of Harvard’s research collections, brings together specimens from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard University Herbaria and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum under one welcoming roof.
Its crown jewel is the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants – the beloved Glass Flowers. Between 1886 and 1936, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka crafted more than 4,300 glass models representing over 780 plant species, and they remain so lifelike that visitors lean in, certain the orchids and apple blossoms must be real. Nearby, the Great Mammoth and the 42-foot Kronosaurus, a giant marine reptile, anchor the fossil halls, while galleries of sparkling minerals, meteorites and New England wildlife fill the rest of the visit.
For Boston families it is a perfect half-day of wonder: big enough to feel like an expedition, compact enough for young scientists, and right next door to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology on the same combined ticket. Happy City News tip: start with the Glass Flowers before the galleries fill up, and let the kids pick their favorite gemstone on the way out.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
