September 16, 2009

Great Mammal Hall at Harvard Museum of Natural History reopens

The Great Mammal Hall in the Harvard Museum of Natural History is restored and reopened.

From The November-December 2009 Issue

The Great Mammal Hall, a two-story gallery 60 feet long by 40 wide, is the oldest and most dramatic in the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH). The hall was emptied of its taxonomic treasures as part of a renovation commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Museum of Comparative Zoology: the animals were removed and repaired and the display cases restored to their nineteenth-century colors, replacing a palette dating to the 1960s. The gallery reopened October 16. Above, a gaur noses into the stream of escapees during the renovation.

Published in the November-December 2009 print issue under the headline “A Gallery Glows Again,” in the John Harvard's Journal section.

You might also like

Stone building with tall columns, steps leading up, and a flag atop under a cloudy sky.

The University will compensate families of those whose remains were sold and establish a scholarship to honor anatomical donors.

Red brick building with large windows and greenery, set against a bright blue sky.

After a final round of layoffs, University leaders say 165 staff jobs were eliminated across the division.

Modern building with large glass windows, surrounded by greenery and pedestrians.

A roundup of University news from the summer of 2026

Most popular

Independence Day, 1942: the first field test of napalm, behind Harvard Business School

History of napalm origins at Harvard

A new book traces napalm's invention to Harvard—and its evolution from heroic discovery to pariah

White House and Harvard University buildings split diagonally with contrasting colors.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

A woman with long hair stands confidently with crossed arms next to a pickup truck.

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

Students

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

Colorful cartoon animals, including dogs, cows, rabbits, and a fence, on a pink background.

Letters to the Editor

Inseparable cows, big dogs fostering a tiny kitten, and a show beagle’s second act

A flooded office scene with computers, a woman working, and a pink sunset backdrop.

Undergraduate Column

A College student’s attempt to recapture the romanticism of the workplace.