See that guy? That is Martin, and today we visited his house. He is one of the chiefs of the Irwq tribe, the second largest group in Tanzania (after the Maasi). The Irwq (which is nearly impossible for English speakers to pronounce because it requires a guttural sound) are agriculturalists. The traditional Irwq house is […]
Ah, Christmas — one of the most beloved holidays ’round the world. There’s nothing like spending quality time with loved ones, giving (and receiving!) gifts, and the smell of your choice of decadent deliciousness roasting in the oven. But did you know that most of what we consider to be “normal” Christmas behavior is a […]
You may or may not have heard, but the Magna Carta comes to HMNS on Feb. 14, 2014 — because nothing says romance like an 800-year-old legal document. I was researching the Magna Carta for our educational programming and had performed an Internet search looking for more information on correspondence between Pope Innocent III and King […]
It’s the holiday season – full of food, festivities and family. Sure, you look forward to this month year-round, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get sick of it. Conversations start to get stale, your mother (or worse – mother-in-law) won’t let you stop stuffing your face, and you begin to worry that none of […]
Some hotels leave mints on pillows. But in the African Serengeti, you get assassin bugs. Dave and I had been actively searching for invertebrates on our trip to no avail. The guides thought we were weird (crazy) from all of our questions about insects (as well as snakes and lizards). No one goes to Tanzania […]
Forget the fruit cake – get your family and friends something they could actually use for the holidays! Here are 20 items under $20 for everyone on your list (including you) from the Museum Store: 1. FOR THE CARBIVORE: Pastasaurus “There are too many dinosaur references in my kitchen,” said no one, ever. Liven up your […]
Editor’s note: This week’s guest post was written by Becky Lao of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) – Houston. On Tuesday, Nov. 12, Dr. Randall White, a prominent expert on paleolithic art, spoke at HMNS as part of the AIA series on the development of art as a great human innovation. The AIA lecture […]
Jambo! Now that we have a good Internet connection to the Internet (there aren’t a lot of Internet cafes in the middle of the Serengeti), I thought I should update you on our adventures! The second evening in Tanzania, a brave few were fortunate enough to be taken on a late afternoon nature hike. We […]
This is it. The final stargazing report of 2013. So let’s get to it, shall we? Venus remains in the west at dusk for one more month. It outshines everything but the Sun and Moon, so you can begin observing it during deep twilight. Shortly after the new year begins, Venus shifts from the evening to […]
We arrived at the Kilimanjaro airport well after dark. There are no gates, so we deplaned onto the tarmac and walked in to get our visas. Everyone was in a chipper mood — we had arrived, we were up and moving around (which was awesome after two long flights), and we were ready to begin […]
