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 Penguin’s Perspective: Gus Reviews our New Giant Screen Film Penguins 3D

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By Gus the Penguin   Squawk squawk squawk’n squawk squawk. Squawk squawk’n Penguins 3D squawk squawk squawk. Squawk squawk squawk squawk squawk’n sqauwk squawk. Squawk squawk squawk’n squawk. Heeeeeeeeeeep, Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Squawk squawk squawk squak’n squawk. Squawk squawk squak’n Squawk squawk’n squawk squawk; Squawk squawk squawk squawk’m squawk. Squwak’n squawk squawk sqauwk.  Squawk squawk squawk squawk’n squawk, squawk […]

Mimics Among Us! Bugs That Aren’t What They Seem

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By Theresa Freiburger, Horticulturalist/Greenhouse Manager at the Cockrell Butterfly Center  Mimicry, in the biological sense, is when an animal closely resembles another animal or plant. Mimicry happens in all shapes and colors throughout the animal kingdom. Some mimic the environment, like a leaf or a stick, while others have evolved to mimic other insects. What […]

Scouts at the Courthouse!

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By Michelle Connor, HMNS Scout Programs Manager   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 […]

Ancient Power Tools: Gemstone Cutting Before Faberge

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For thousands of years people have sought to distinguish their place in society through wearing or owning rare and exotic materials. Depending on where you were from, these materials may vary. 500 years ago in the Midwestern United States, the tribal societies of the Mississippian Culture constructed jewelry and elaborate ceremonial objects from marine shells. […]

Creating the Fabergé Brand & Beauty

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By Jill R. Moffitt HMNS Master Docent, Master Faceter   Our Dorothy and Artie McFerrin Fabergé Gallery is back with a revamped exhibit space and over a hundred new Fabergé objects on display. In honor of opening of the “new” exhibit, we are featuring a whole series of interviews and blogs from curators and volunteer […]

Minerals That Kill!

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By Alexander Ruff, HMNS Concierge and Discovery Guide What are minerals? Supplements that you take every morning? In some cases sure. When we think of minerals it usually coincides with vitamins, but for geologists and your everyday rock hounds, minerals have a whole different meaning. As the chain of geology goes, atoms make up molecules, […]

A Flavian Contribution: How Rome Got The Colosseum

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By Frankie Alexander, HMNS Collections Intern                 ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’, while this phrase commonly serves as an idiom in which to encourage patience and perseverance to the receiver, the phrase remains a historical fact as well, and one that can clearly be seen in but a brief account of Ancient Rome’s development […]

Our Spring Plant Sale Sprouts This Saturday, April 1st!

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By Theresa Freiburger, Cockrell Butterfly Center Horticulturalist and Greenhouse Manager     It’s that time of year again! The Cockrell Butterfly Center is having its annual SPRING PLANT SALE on April 1, 2017 at 9am. As usual, it will be located on the 7th floor of the parking garage at the Houston Museum of Natural […]

What is SPARK?

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  At the Autism Center at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH), we collaborate on several research protocols. The latest of these research initiatives is called SPARK (Simons Foundation Powering Autism for Knowledge). What makes SPARK different from other autism research studies is that SPARK will be the largest national autism research initiative ever even attempted, bringing […]