About

What is a natural history museum anyway? Is it a dusty, musty old place filled with dead things? Is it a catalogue of the world around us? Is it a place where things come alive at night, terrorizing the security guard?  What if things at the museum aren’t always what they seem?

Join us for an intensive week of hacking the Harvard Museum of Natural History — experimenting with what could happen in the museum space if our assumptions no longer held true.  Each student will create an intervention for the museum, and at the end of the week we’ll host an evening open house for friends and other students, and bring the museum to life.

Students will be mentored by and attend workshops led by both HMSC staff and innovative museum professionals from the Boston area.  There will be extensive opportunity for idea iteration and feedback.  Students of all levels will gain hands-on experience with project development, experience design and production, and with the field of museum practice, from curating to taxidermy.

* We invite Harvard students of all concentrations and from all schools to apply for the workshop.  A diverse set of interests, skills, and experience, from artists to computer programmers to historians and scientists, will guarantee the best experience for students and the best final product.  *

Co-Facilitators

Wendy Derjue-Holzer [Education Director @ HMNH, Harvard Museums of Science and Culture]

Diana Lempel [PhD Student, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences]