Guest Contributor

From distinguished lecturers to scientific scholars to visiting curators to volunteers to leaders in their respective fields, we often invite guest authors to contribute content to our blog. You'll find a wealth of information written by these fascinating individuals as we seek to expand your level of knowledge with every post.

A Peek Inside HMNS’ Secret Education Collections

By Jayme Schlimper, Overnight Program Manager and Curator of Education Collections Hello! Today I want to let you in on a secret. Hidden in the museum is a magical room full of everything you could ever imagine. A Room of Requirement, if you will (and if you are a Harry Potter fan). It’s called Education […]

Why Notre Dame Cathedral’s Future is Secure Thanks to Its Past

By Dr. Michael Tinkler, Associate Professor of Art and Architecture, Hobart and William Smith Colleges The good news from Paris this week is that medieval builders worried about church fires. Remember, all light before Edison involved open flame – whether torches or candles. Candles in churches today are mainly symbolic, but reading inside churches called […]

New Name, Same Deceptively Educational Fun: Summer Camps @ HMNS

By Jayme Schlimper, Overnight Program Manager and Curator of Education Collections HEY EVERYONE LOOK HERE I HAVE SOMETHING SUPER IMPORANT TO TELL YOU! Xplorations camps at HMNS are no more! Just kidding! Did I scare you? Don’t worry we’ll still be having camp here, with all your favorite topics, but now we’re calling ourselvesSummer Camps […]

The Butterfly Effect: Visiting The Amazing Monarch Preserves of Mexico

By Jeff Cummins, Butterfly Rearing Coordinator at HMNS It’s the beginning of April, spring is in full swing, and I’ve seen the first of the migrant monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) females searching my garden for milkweed on which to lay their eggs. I know these are migrants, meaning they are the same individuals that spent […]

Late Nights At HMNS Are Great Fun For Everyone!

By Jayme Schlimper, Overnight Program Manager and Curator of Education Collections Hello! I’m back, back again! On today’s exciting adventure, we’re going to take a dive into one of our under-appreciated, under-hyped programs; Late Nights! Everyone is always talking about overnights here at the museum, and for good reason! This spring alone we have school […]

Is Darwin relevant today?

By Scott Solomon Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution in the middle of the 19th century. Are his ideas still relevant today? Remarkably, even though Darwin’s insights on evolution were based on little more than observations and the results of simple experiments he conducted in his home, his insights have largely withstood the test […]

Solve Mysteries In The Museum With Our Sleuths and Secrets Program

By Jayme Schlimper, Overnight Programs Manager and Curator of Educations Collections Hello! I’m back! Apparently I didn’t do too bad last time so I’ve been invited back to the blog! Lucky for you, we’re going to talk about something different but still stay within my realm of expertise – educational and after-hours programming. This is […]

Want To Start A Museum career? Here’s How To Do it.

By Jayme Schlimper, Overnight Program Manager and Curator of Education Collections Hi! I’m Jayme and I don’t come here (the blog) often, but I’m psyched to be here. I wanted to talk about some awesome opportunities we have for college students that many people don’t even know we have! It’s a shame, and I’m here […]

A Few Member Benefits Most HMNS Members Don’t Know About

By Kimberly Vera, Membership Copywriter       Becoming an HMNS member has many benefits —some, you might not be aware of, so join me as I take a closer look at a few and highlight my personal favorites.    New! Fossil Discovery! One major perk to becoming an HMNS member is FREE entrance into our […]