Chris

Adventure is my middle name. Well… actually it’s French. Literally, it’s Christopher French Wells. But the spirit of adventure lives in me, and has always inspired me to go out and seek new experiences. I’ve traveled to Europe, Mexico and South America, as well as few places in the U.S. I’ve seen different places with different cultures, learned some things about humanity and about myself in particular. My goal is to lend my unique perspective, carved out of my own triumphs and tragedies, fears and fancies encountered during my years of college and international travel, to the other great voices of this blog. Hopefully to the enjoyment of our readers…

HMNS Weekly Happenings

The Educator Event @HMNS   Save the Date! Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018 The Houston Museum of Natural Science is proud to present The Educator Event @HMNS, generously supported by Shell, on January 20, 2018. This conference-style event gives educators a unique chance to learn about the educational opportunities provided by museums, educational nonprofits and local […]

HMNS Weekly Happenings

Trains Over Texas   Departing from the station January 7, 2018! All Aboard!  Create holiday memories by travelling across Texas by model railroad in this scratch built “O” scale model. The multiple trains crisscrossing the state will visit important and unique places in the state’s geology and physiography. Destinations include oil country salt domes, prairies […]

Polar Dinosaurs Are Real And They Are More Adorable Than Elves

Was there a dinosaur-equivalent of Santa Claus living at the North Pole a 110 million years ago? The lack of fossil evidence suggests not…. But don’t worry because there were definitely dinosaurs living in the South Pole during the early cretaceous! And although they probably didn’t have beards and hand out presents, some of them were still […]

Other Things The Maya Used Their Walls For

The primary purpose of a wall is to hold the ceiling up, but they also get used for a lot of other things that vary depending on culture. Here in Houston we often use the walls in our homes and offices as blank canvases. Walls are also used for storage. Here and now, we store […]

HMNS Weekly Happenings

BTS – Knights   Enjoy the Knights special exhibition in the evening when the museum is closed to the public. Your master docent will take you back to the very origins of knighthood, in the days after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Chivalry, feudalism and knighting will be introduced alongside a wide array […]

HMNS Weekly Happenings

Lecture – Armor, Weaponry and Chivalry – the World of Knights by Dirk Van Tuerenhout   The mention “Middle Ages” conjures up thoughts of castles, knights, kings and queens, and poor serfs toiling in the fields. To celebrate the opening of the new Knights exhibition Dr. Dirk Van Tuerenhout, curator of anthropology, will overview of […]

Why I’m Glad Chivalry Is Dead!

  Everyone knows that Chivalry is dead. But what are the real symptoms that the famous code of honor is no longer adhered to in our society and should we really be sad about that? These days most of us equate chivalry with holding the door open for ladies, pulling out a chair for a […]

HMNS Weekly Happenings

  Giving Tuesday   Tuesday, Nov. 28 Many people make our museum a great place – scientists, teachers, builders, designers, artists, accountants, fundraisers, students, collectors, donors and more. But one of the most important people that make HMNS great is YOU. HMNS is a nonprofit. And like any nonprofit, it takes a lot of support to […]

HMNS Weekly Happenings

Wiess Energy Hall     Reopens November 20! Dubbed Wiess Energy Hall 3.0, the third iteration of this popular hall will enlarge from its previous 8,500 square feet to an expansive 30,000 square feet—almost the size of a football field. Joining the completely redesigned “classic” displays will be a bonanza of entirely new exhibits, making the […]

HMNS Weekly Happenings

Lecture – Texas Genealogy – Tracing Your Texas Roots by Lynna Kay Shuffield Whether your Texas lineage goes back to an Austin colonist or an even earlier pioneer, or you are just interested in colorful Texas history, join genealogy researcher Lynna Kay Shuffield for an entertaining look at Texas genealogy. Shuffield will review tips to […]