Harvard Museum of Natural History

On Tuesday, December 8th, we made an excursion to the Harvard Museum of Natural History on the Harvard Campus in Cambridge. The whole family made the trip. Jennifer had taken the day off and my parents were making their annual holiday visit to exchange gifts and see their granddaughter. It was not our most enjoyable trip, though that was hardly the fault of the museum, which has some truly spectacular exhibits. I think we were all a bit tired, my father was not feeling well, and I was in a lousy mood. Still, I think we all enjoyed the time we spent at the museum

The trip started well with lunch at the John Harvard Brewhouse in Harvard Square. The food and the service were good and for the adults there was tasty microbrewery beer. I enjoyed mine immensely. The walk across the Harvard Campus to the museum was rather less pleasant since the day was rather raw and it was a relief to arrive and get inside out of the weather.

The HMNH has some fascinating collections. On this trip we skipped the Great Hall of Mammals, probably the museum’s greatest draw, because on our last visit the fumes from the preservatives made Maura ill. This time we gave more attention to the remarkable display of glass flowers, which are truly amazing. Copies in glass of botanical specimens, they are both beautiful and accurate; superb examples of both natural beauty and remarkable craftsmanship. I would love to return alone someday to spend more time admiring them and improving my knowledge of botany.

The other highlight of the trip for me was the brief excursion we made into the Peabody Museum of Ethnography and Archaeology, which is connected to the Museum of Natural History. We spent little time there because we were already at the end of our day but I found the exhibit of mural paintings from the southwestern United States and Mexico to be really fascinating. I would love to see more of the Peabody. Next time we make a visit to museums at Harvard we’ll have to go to the Peabody first. So far we’ve barely scratched the surface of it.

Jennifer had planned a side trip after the museum visit to Burdick’s, reputed to have the best hot chocolate in the Boston Metropolitan Area. I would have preferred to skip that part of the day, but Maura was excited about it so I didn’t say anything. When we found the place it was crowded and there was no chance of the five of us finding seats. I found the place uninviting and oppressive and wanted to leave. I managed to anger Jennifer by my expression of indifference to the idea of getting something to go and my refusal to make a decision about it. I didn’t want to be blamed for disappointing Maura. In the end Maura and Jennifer got some hot chocolate, the rest of us didn’t, no one but Maura was really happy and I’ll never know if the hot chocolate’s reputation is deserved or not.