WEB SITES

Had a great E-mail conversation with Blue, the Director of Communications at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, this month.  Seems we had a mistake in our listing of them a few months ago.  Blue is very, very eager to start some program for Scouts.  Especially Cub Scouts!!  I sent in some ideas from other museums and gave Blue contact info at the Boston Minuteman Council for help in getting it going and getting publicity out to units.  So, I hope some units from that area see this and set up trips.  Say Hi to Blue for me, too.  And if you are from Massachusetts, you can go for free on Wednesdays!!  CD.

Harvard Museum of Natural History

www.hmnh.harvard.edu

26 Oxford Street

Cambridge, Massachusetts  02138

The museum is on the Harvard University campus, just a short, 7-10 minute walk through historic Harvard Yard from the Harvard Square MBTA Red Line ‘T’ station. 

Phone: (617) 495-3045

Email: hmnh@oeb.harvard.edu

Check it our for changing exhibitions, dozens of lectures, events, classes for all ages, year round.

Hours

Open 361 days a year, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Handicapped accessible.

Admission:

$9.00 - General Admission

$7.00 - seniors and students

$6.00 - ages 3-18;

Free - under 3

Free for Massachusetts residents on -

Wednesdays. 3:00-5:00 pm (September thru May)

Sunday mornings year round, 9 a.m.-noon.

Ticket includes Admission to the adjacent Peabody Museum -- archaeology and cultures of six continents.

«  Explore 12,000 specimens drawn from Harvard’s vast research collections at the University's most visited museum -- dinosaurs, meteorites, gemstones, and hundreds of animals around the globe.  Get close to the world’s only mounted Kronosaurus, a 42 ft-long marine reptile; One of the first Triceratops ever discovered; a 1,642 lb. Amethyst geode; and Whale skeletons. 

«  Don’t miss the world famous exhibit of 3,000 ‘Glass Flowers’, amazingly realistic models of plants, fruits and flowers created by father-son glass artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka from 1886-1936.  You won’t believe they’re not real.

Currently On Exhibit

P Language of Color  Explore how color is produced and how and why color variation has evolved in an amazing variety of animals. Opening Sept. 26, 2008 – thru August 2009

P Sea Creatures in Glass   58 spectacular glass models of jellyfish, anemones, octopus -- animals crafted by the same renowned artists who created Harvard’s ‘Glass Flowers’. Thru Jan. 4, 2009

P Looking at Leaves: Photographs by Amanda Means - These detailed blow-ups by New York artist Amanda Means, created by using the leaf itself in the same way as a photographic negative, offer new ways to think about the form and function of leaves, as well as compelling beauty.  Thru Feb. 8, 2009

P Arthropods: Creatures that Rule - Evolving for more than 500 million years, arthropods, such as lobsters, beetles, silk worms, and butterflies, represent over 80% of all animal species and have colonized every habitat on the planet.

P The Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants  -- “The Glass Flowers” - 3,000 amazingly realistic models of plants, flowers and fruits, painstakingly crafted in glass from 1886 to 1936 by German glass artists, father and son Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka. 

P Dodos, Trilobites, & Meteorites:  Treasures of Nature and Science at Harvard - Showcases never-before-seen treasures from historic expeditions to remote environments then unknown to science, 

P Climate Change: Our Global Experiment - An insider’s look at the scientific study of climate, presenting the latest research from renowned experts at Harvard and around the world.

P Zoological Galleries - Hundreds of animals ranging from the earliest prehistoric creatures to today’s mammals, birds, and fish from around the world. More than 500 mammals are on display including tigers, lions, giraffe, elephant, rhino, three huge whale skeletons.

P Mineralogical Gallery - Extensive mineral collections, sparkling displays of both rough and cut gemstones, and a stunning display of meteorites from around the world.  Admire the 1,642 pound amethyst geode. Touch meteorites from outer space. 

For more information, please contact Blue Magruder, Director of Communications, Harvard Museum of Natural History, bmagruder@oeb.harvard.edu , 617-496-0049

 Alice, Golden Empire Council

www.earthsky.org/shows/earthcare
Features stories about conservation and earth stewardship; each story’s “More Information” page includes background materials and related links

http://www.omniglot.com/links/yournamein.htm
You can see your name written in many different scripts from around the world – a fun way to get familiar with the look of a book written in another language – the Arabic script below spells out “Cub Scout”

www.butterflyalphabet.com 
Just for fun, see the letters of the alphabet as found on real butterfly wings.

www.myhomelibrary.org
All kinds of great ideas, tips for reading books, various size bookplates to download, book reviews – under Fun Stuff, there are some great jokes, and competitions kids can enter

www.trelease-on-reading.com/
Home page of Jim Trelease, who has traveled to all 50 states since writing his Read Aloud Handbook – lists of great books for all occasions, various read aloud sections and a GREAT idea on making bookshelves out of raingutters!

 http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/kids/
Exciting graphic designs and extensive links make this a friendly and useful page. Check your local library system as well!

www.schoyencollection.com 
Kind of scholarly, but great pictures of books from the earliest times and the various equipment used to create books; go to scribes to see a Viking stylus, Dead Sea Scroll images

http://history-world.org/Free%20E-Books.htm
Free e-books that can be downloaded