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…

5 Of The Most Magical Objects at HMNS

This weeks entry in our “5 Most Magical…” series will discuss our cippus displayed in the Hall of Ancient Egypt. A cippus is essentially a magical amulet designed to protect Egyptian households from either negative spiritual influences or real-world perils such as scorpion stings and snake bites. The two figures seen at the front are […]

ICYMI: Scouts, Shamans and Sky Happenings!

 SCOUTS AT THE COURTHOUSE! No they’re not in trouble, but in our Summer Scout classes you can find Scouts at the courthouse! For many of the scouts, HMNS Summer Scout classes might be their first trip to see a court proceeding. Both the Citizenship in the Community and Law merit badges attend criminal arraignment cases, […]

Fabergé’s All Purpose Elephant

Readers of the Beyond Bones Blog may recognize this little guy from some of our other Fabergé blogs. This week I’ve decided that he (or she?) has been in the background too long. You wouldn’t think much of it if you saw it sitting on a corner table at your grandma’s house or in an […]

5 Of The Most Magical Objects In Our Collection

As we continue this month’s weekly series 5 Of The Most Magical Objects In The Museum (see first article HERE) we will venture to the dark corners of our special exhibit Out of the Amazon: Life on the River to take a look at what is basically a shaman’s toolkit. Last week we featured ancient Egyptian incantations designed […]

Great News For Fans Of Sea Scorpions: We Have A New One And It’s Giant!

    Who wants to see a seven foot long scorpion? Given the option, most people would respond either with”that’s impossible!” or “no!”, but here at HMNS seven foot arthropods are not only possible, they’re something to get excited about! Unfortunately, although our new specimen is an arthropod, and is about five feet long, it […]

5 Of The Most Magical Objects At The Museum

Listicles are always fun to read, and they’re fun to make too! In keeping with our “5 of the most…” Series I’ve decided to write up a list of the most magical objects in our collection. But there’s a problem…. magic is kind of a vague term. I mean, are we talking about turning a […]

HMNS Weekly Happenings

Lecture – Roman Legionnaires – The Soldiers of the Roman Empire by John Keahey Each item of armor, weaponry and equipment of the typical Roman legionary soldier from 1 to 300 A.D. will be explained by historian John Keahey, while in character. The Roman auxiliary soldier, who was recruited from non-Roman tribe and could earn […]

Pharaonic Fitness Test!

  The image above shows a carved granite slab on display in our Hall of Ancient Egypt. It depicts Rameses II running a symbolic race during one of his Heb-Sed festivals. He carries a water jug over his shoulder possibly representing the burden of his rule. But what is all this for? Some readers of this […]

HMNS Weekly Happenings

  Lecture – Rocks & Minerals of the Ancient World Fossils, minerals and rocks have been around since before human civilization, yet the sciences to study them have only been established for a couple of hundred years. Learn how the balance between natural resource abundancy and human ingenuity gave rise to the greatest monuments in […]