Beyond Bones

  In the modern age of planes, trains and automobiles the world can seem like it’s getting smaller every minute. But what I think is actually happening is that this new world of travel options simply causes us to overlook the quirky little corners of our own cities and states and as a result we […]

  By Jeff Cummins, Horticulturist at the Cockrell Butterfly Center in the Houston Museum of Natural Science     The Cockrell Butterfly Center was graced (?) a couple of weeks ago by a very special event. One of our corpse flowers, Lou, bloomed for the very first time! Lou is an Amorphophallus peaeoniifolius, a smaller species […]

Lecture – The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester Revered “New York Times” bestselling author Simon Winchester will trace the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement–precision–in a history that is both an homage and a warning for […]

It’s been more than two weeks since the International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes opened here at HMNS. For those of you who have not read about the exhibit yet, it’s basically an interactive  nineteenth century crime scene and traditional historical exhibition rolled into one. Visitors can try their hand at helping Holmes interpret a mock […]

  In May, you can watch as the Dog Days begin!  We are in the Dog Days when the Dogs have vanished from the sky.  As May begins, Orion, the Hunter is clearly visible due west right after sunset.  To his left, aligned with Orion’s belt, is Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star we […]

In 2018, Bugs on Wheels turned 12! For 12 years, Cockrell Butterfly Center and HMNS Education staff members have been driving amazing bugs all over the state of Texas and beyond to teach your kids how to love them. I started the program in 2006 with my entomological counterpart Laurie Pierrel. I would spend my […]

  We all learned in school that James Watt created the first useful steam engine, but did you know that his machine was still extremely inefficient until John Wilkinson’s method of boring holes through solid blocks of iron allowed precision cylinders to be produced? It turns out the element of “exactness” is very important to […]

By Ralph Philips. HMNS Sugarland Docent, edited by James Wooten, HMNS  Astronomer May the fourth is coming, and with it some positively stellar events hosted by the Houston Museum of Natural Science to mark the occasion. There’s the May the Fourth mixer at our Main campus, and a Stellar Wars presentation with crafts and games […]

Lecture – The Story of the Sword by Don Halter Warfare changes with the technology of the day. Historian and historical bladesmith, Donald Halter, will detail the evolution of edged and blunt force trauma weapons in medieval times. This presentation will include an overview of the advancement of iron and steel from the inception of […]

For the last couple months few visitors to HMNS Sugar Land have been able to traverse the hallway between our dig pit and the snack bar without stopping to admire the beautiful collection of photos visiting us courtesy of Fotofest. Even the most hangry of children, on their way to satisfy their appetite at one […]