Beyond Bones

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 […]

  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 […]

Sometimes when we highlight selections from HMNS collections, we like to bring your attention to something small and understated, something you may not have noticed on your trips to the museum. But if you’ve been to the museum since the opening of Mapping Texas: From Frontier to Lone Star State, chances are you didn’t miss […]

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. […]

  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 […]

  Some of you who have visited HMNS since the Opening of our epic new exhibit Gladiators: Heroes Of The Colosseum may have noticed a couple interesting characters roaming the exhibit halls. They are our gladiators!  We got a behind the scenes look as Collin and Seth, who play our Retuarius and Secutor, prepared to terrorize […]

  Gaze deeply into the depths of the newest object in our Hall of Gems & Minerals and your mind’s eye will feel like it’s traveling along the path of comets as they journey through space. But what you are really looking at are actually naturally occurring rutile inclusions in quartz. What are rutile inclusions? […]

  If I were to ask you to pick an object or image that represents your culture, what would you pick?  Despite the way it sounds, this is not an internet quiz, but an anthropological question: how do you describe a culture in an image? (from www.iemoji.com)     Many cultures across time and geographic […]

After-hours at HMNS on April 30, we hosted one of our exclusive Pixel Parties — where we open select exhibits just for photographers (both amateur and professional). This time around, we gave photographers access to our Hall of Ancient Egypt and special exhibitions Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum and Out of the Amazon: Life on the River. […]

Special Exhibition: Sweet – A Tasty Journey Opens May 12th at HMNS At Sugar Land! GET TICKETS Opens May 12, 2017 Unwrap a world of flavorful fun in an interactive and magical setting! Explore the world of all that’s sweet as you learn about candy ingredients from a ‘farm to fork’ perspective. Get the stories […]