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

Photograph by Jim Harrison

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.

Related topics

University News

You might also like

A man smiling in a blue shirt next to a white gate with a plaque and greenery.

The award-winning international journalist has served as interim curator since 2025.

University Hall exterior with ornate windows and greenery.

College staff whose jobs will be changed or eliminated were notified this week.

Close-up of a bronze scale symbolizing justice, with soft lighting in the background.

The organization said its amicus brief had not been reviewed internally.

Most popular

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

In her memoir All That's Unseen, Emilee Hackney explores religion, friendship, and home.

Ornate wrought iron gate detail against a clear blue sky.

FAS leaders say restructuring will be complete by mid-October.

An illustration of generations of computers, from large machines to smartphones and the cloud

Six Decades of Computer Science at Harvard

Reflections on six decades of relations with computers

Explore More From Current Issue

Harvey Mansfield seated in a bright yellow chair, surrounded by bookshelves and cozy decor.

The retired government professor has been a rare conservative voice on campus for decades.

Black and white photo of Joseph Murray in a white lab coat sitting in an office.

Alumni Profiles

Nobel Prize recipient Joseph E. Murray dedicated much of his career to organ transplant surgery.

Two colorful octopuses swim among vibrant coral and sea life in a lively underwater scene.

New Harvard research finds octopuses go beyond sight and touch to find mates.