Meteorites, massive dinosaur skeletons, dodo remains, and giant whale skeletons adorn the Harvard Museum of Natural history. One of Boston’s best kept secrets, the Victorian-era museum also houses perfect glass replicas of botanically accurate plants. Jaw-droppingly realistic, the “Glass Flowers” are worth the price of admission alone. Animals long-extinct (Triceratops!) are on display mere feet from animals that are currently gravely endangered (Mountain Gorillas), and others you’ve seen in your backyard (American Beaver).
The museum grew up during the “wild west” of specimen hunting, and the unique treasures in Harvard’s collection include a replica of the world’s largest confirmed Gold Nugget, a woodpecker collected by Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark), and a mastodon that played a part in the most scandalous murder in the university’s history.
This 90-minute tour is great for science geeks, curious minds, or anyone looking for a perfect activity on a freezing or blazing-hot Boston day (as the museum is inside, and climate controlled!). Please note that museum admission is not included in the price of this tour. Admission will be a modest additional cost upon arrival
Highlights
- Oldest Rock you’ll ever touch
- Giant Amethyst
- Glass Flowers
- Arthropods (bugs and beetles)
- Giant Mammals
- Mastodon
- Dinosaurs
- Bengal Tiger
- Mammal Hall (whales, gorillas, platypus)
- Bird Gallery
Details
- $300 booking minimum covers up to 10 guests for up to two hours.
- This tour typically lasts 90-120 minutes. We can do it faster or slower, but tend to recommend at least 90 minutes.
- This tour path is roughly 9/10ths of a mile, or 1.5 km.
- For customized tours in groups larger than 10 or longer than two hours, please contact our staff for pricing.
Add-ons
- This tour is designed to blend seamlessly with the Tour of Harvard or Tour of Old Cambridge.
- We are more than happy to collect additional money from you to pay the museum admission fees all in one chunk. Please contact us for more information.
- If you would like to also enter the Peabody Museum to see Harvard’s ample archaeological collection, please contact us for details on timing and pricing. Admission is already included with admission to the HMNH.
- For smaller groups, we may also enter the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments or the Semitic Museum at Harvard, free of cost.
- Harvard Art Museums make an excellent complement to this tour for those seeking a day of indoor activities. It can get very hot and very cold in Boston!
We Can't...
- We do not arrange lectures from Natural Historians through Harvard. The museum can be contacted directly if you are interested in this type of lecture, but there is no guarantee they will be able to arrange it.
- We cannot enter Harvard BioLabs as an add on. We’d love to be able to, but they are closed laboratories, and we fear you won’t be able to sneak in either.
- We cannot arrange tours of the warehoused collections, but we certainly encourage you to reach out to the museum if you’d like an insider perspective on the collection and conservation aspect of the Natural History departments at Harvard.