All upcoming Science & Nature programs

Art played a pivotal role during the dawn of European natural history in the 16th and 17th centuries. Advancements in scientific technology, trade, and colonial expansion allowed naturalists to study previously unknown and overlooked insects, animals, and other beestjes: “little beasts” in Dutch. Curators of the National Gallery of Art’s exhibition “Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World,” share an exhibition overview and a closer look at the artists and ideas that it highlights. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The largest museum library system in the world, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives holds more than 2 million items. Guided by Smithsonian librarians Jane Quigley and Leslie Overstreet, visit three research collections normally accessible to members of the public by appointment only: the National Museum of Natural History Library, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, and the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. In addition to brief presentations about the collections, selected books—from 16th-century illustrated herbals and accounts of Captain Cook’s voyages to 21st-century works naming new species of plants and animals by Smithsonian scientists—are on display for browsing, questions, and discussion.

The largest museum library system in the world, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives holds more than 2 million items. Guided by Smithsonian librarians Jane Quigley and Leslie Overstreet, visit three research collections normally accessible to members of the public by appointment only: the National Museum of Natural History Library, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, and the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. In addition to brief presentations about the collections, selected books—from 16th-century illustrated herbals and accounts of Captain Cook’s voyages to 21st-century works naming new species of plants and animals by Smithsonian scientists—are on display for browsing, questions, and discussion.

The largest museum library system in the world, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives holds more than 2 million items. Guided by Smithsonian librarians Jane Quigley and Leslie Overstreet, visit three research collections normally accessible to members of the public by appointment only: the National Museum of Natural History Library, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, and the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. In addition to brief presentations about the collections, selected books—from 16th-century illustrated herbals and accounts of Captain Cook’s voyages to 21st-century works naming new species of plants and animals by Smithsonian scientists—are on display for browsing, questions, and discussion.

The largest museum library system in the world, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives holds more than 2 million items. Guided by Smithsonian librarians Jane Quigley and Leslie Overstreet, visit three research collections normally accessible to members of the public by appointment only: the National Museum of Natural History Library, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, and the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. In addition to brief presentations about the collections, selected books—from 16th-century illustrated herbals and accounts of Captain Cook’s voyages to 21st-century works naming new species of plants and animals by Smithsonian scientists—are on display for browsing, questions, and discussion.

In-person Program: Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums! Geared for children ages 8 to 14 years old, accompanied by an adult.

Galileo, Leonardo, Newton, and Tesla revered Archimedes of Syracuse—an engineer who defied the world’s most powerful army and a mathematician who knew more in 212 B.C.E. than all Europe would for the next 17 centuries. Novelist and science writer Nicholas Nicastro shines a new light on Archimedes’ life and work to reveal an ambitious, combative, and fiercely competitive man who is far from the aloof, physically inept figure of historical myth.

Today’s coral reefs are threatened by a wide range of human-made problems. As predictions about the future of these ecosystems grow increasingly dire, scientists are looking in an unlikely place for new ways to save corals: the past. Geoscientist Lisa S. Gardiner discusses how studying the fossilized limestone cities left behind by ancient corals can uncover lessons that may help reefs survive the environmental challenges of the present.

In-person Program: Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums! Geared for children ages 8 to 14 years old, accompanied by an adult.

The capital of the United States is underlain by rocks that have a history as turbulent as that of the nation itself. Geologist Callan Bentley explores the variety of rocks found in Washington, D.C., area, and what they tell us about geologic events stretching back a billion years into Deep Time.