Museums & Collections

Discover treasures from Harvard’s museums and special collections, from ancient artifacts to modern art.

A worm-like creature known as the "velvet worm" rears as if looking at the camera

Creepy Crawlies and Sticky Murder Weapons at Harvard

In the shadows of Singapore’s forests, an ancient predator lies in wait—the velvet worm.

by Olivia Farrar

Photograph of William Randall playing guitar in his Lowell House room, c. 1970-1971

Learners, Grizzled and Downy

An affecting reunion, and Houghton Library accessible to all

by Primus VI

Permafrost Fare

Soured Seal Liver, Anyone?

by Jacob Sweet

Abstract image of swirls and darts in browns, reds, and grays

Interpreting the Universe

Mildred Thompson's abstract vision

by Nell Porter-Brown

Seafaring America

Visiting Mystic, Connecticut

by Craig Lambert

David Reich standing in his Harvard Medical School laboratory

Telling Humanity’s Story through DNA

Geneticist David Reich rewrites the ancient human past.

by Jonathan Shaw

The Geeky Underground

Science-fiction zines and the quest to save Star Trek

by Nancy Walecki

Landscape painting of wide sky and golden field with trees in the distance

Honoring a Life with Birds

A Concord Museum and Mass Audubon exhibit on William Brewster celebrates a new wildlife sanctuary 

by Nell Porter-Brown

Blanche Calloway spreading her arms during a performance

Blanche Calloway, Cab’s Enterprising Older Sister

The success and struggles of a pioneering musician

by Jacob Sweet

tree branch with pinkish-red blossoms

Springtime Antics at the Arnold Arboretum

Lesser-known plants with tricks up their sleeves (or, rather, stems)

by Nancy Walecki

The lower halves of two women stylishly dressed in bright colored skirts and high heels

Photographs and Blackness, Barkley L. Hendricks

How the artist saw community—and the world 

by Nell Porter-Brown