By Jeff Cummins, Horticulturalist at the Cockrell Butterfly Center A sea of green surrounds people living in even the most urban environments, and yet almost nobody can see truly the plants. We see the trees, manicured hedges, or notice when our neighbor has taken a little too long to mow the lawn, but that’s […]
Every year thousands of visitors pass through our Morian Hall of Paleontology. Within the labyrinthine halls of this massive space they encounter some of the most famous ancient creatures known to science: Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Megalodon, Mastodon and many others. The space is filled with so many gigantic wonders that it’s easy to overlook […]
Lecture – Facing the Past – Cases in Forensic Sculpture by Amanda Danning Forensic sculptor Amanda Danning performs facial reconstructions on skulls whose true appearance is unknown. She has worked on the most exciting anthropology finds in North America as well as contemporary criminal cases. Danning’s captivating presentation will combine history and technology, forensics and […]
In honor of the last day of Summer, I thought I’d investigate the pumpkin craze that is sweeping the nation even before Fall begins. In preparation for the coming season, grocery stores are stocking up on pumpkin scones, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cakes, oreos, coffee… you name, they’ve pumpkin-ized it. It seems like people are crazy […]
In honor of National Talk Like a Pirate day, I thought I’d explore just where the famous pirate accent came from and whether any real pirates spoke in the style we all associate with them today. After days of researching I have discovered that, in short, the answer is Hollywood and no. However, the story […]
Behind The Scenes Tour of the Cockrell Butterfly Center Plus Greenhouses HMNS entomologists and horticulturists will take you behind the scenes of the containment room and rooftop greenhouses–areas not open to the public–where staff cares for the Museum’s caterpillars, butterflies, other insects, food plants for the butterflies. In addition to the behind-the-scenes zones, you will […]
This fall, in collaboration with Houston Museum of Natural Science, Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies is offering Women in Space, a course (open to the general public) highlighting women who have played pivotal roles in the U.S. space program as astronauts, engineers, flight controllers, researchers and mentors for the next generation of space […]
The evening of Sunday, September 2, 2018 marked the loss of one of the world’s largest natural history collections. A fire destroyed the Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, and with the building, a collection of roughly 20 million artifacts, specimens and books went up in smoke. This is a devastating loss to the […]
Lecture – Jack the Ripper: Patterns and Confusion by D. Kim Rossmo Jack the Ripper of Victorian London, perhaps the most infamous serial killers in history, has fascinated experts and amateurs for 130 years. His identity, however, remains a mystery. Expert in Criminology and pioneer of cutting-edge geographic profiling techniques, Dr. Kim Rossmo will use […]
Although Egyptian civilization is one of the oldest in the world, they manage to influence our modern society in many ways. One of those ways is fashion. Ever since the original Egyptian craze a century ago, Egyptian fashion has influenced modern designers on an off. The key to the timelessness of ancient Egyptian fashion is […]
