Summer Solstice 2023: Night at the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

Free In-Person Special Event
Join the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture on the longest day of the year—free of charge—to explore the galleries and new exhibitions at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, and the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East.

Step outdoors to enjoy lively musical and circus performances, play mini-golf, and make a flower crown. Ice cream, mocktails, and snacks will be available to purchase from food trucks and vendors. Don’t miss out on this popular event for all ages!

Sponsored by the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate Commons, the Office for the Arts at Harvard, Harvard Summer School, and the Harvard Office for Sustainability. Presented with the generous support of the Harvard FAS Community Renewal Fund.

This festival is part of HMSC’s 10-Year Anniversary celebration.

Free event parking will be available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Please note that Divinity Avenue will be closed to traffic during the event.

The Harvard Museums of Science & Culture are an 8-minute walk through historic Harvard Yard from the Harvard Square MBTA Red Line station.

Explore the Galleries

• Admire Harvard’s world-renowned Blaschka Glass Flowers and discover how these handcrafted plant models were created by Czech glass artisans Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka.
• Come face-to-face with the ocean’s most famous, misunderstood megafauna in Swimming with Sharks: A Deep Dive into Shark Biology and Behavior.
• Enjoy an immersive, contemporary artistic interpretation of Henry David Thoreau’s plant collections in In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers: An Exploration of Change and Loss.
• Learn how scientific instruments have influenced the development of astronomy, navigation, physics, biology, medicine, electricity, and communication in Time, Life & Matter.
• Explore Shehuo: Community Fire, a new bilingual photography exhibition on the rapid transformation of an ancient rural Chinese festival.
• See Rice: A Story of Africa and the Americas which examines the legacy of rice cultivation in the Americas (located within the Resetting the Table exhibition).
• Learn how the movement of goods, peoples, and ideas around the ancient Mediterranean transformed the lives and livelihoods of people at all levels of society in Mediterranean Marketplaces: Connecting the Ancient World.
• See a spectacular reproduction of King Tut’s lion-legged throne. This piece faithfully recreates the detailed iconography of the original.

Enjoy Outdoor Activities

• Make your own summer crown with fresh flowers and greens to wear during the event. 5:00–7:00 pm or until supplies last.
• Marvel at circus performers.
• Meet farm animals.
• Purchase specialty mocktails and tasty treats from event food trucks and vendors.
• Enter the Solstice Raffle for a chance to win HMSC museum memberships and special gifts from our museum shop.
• Play Sun-sational Mini Golf!