Beyond Bones

Well, it’s summer time again and millions of people will be spending lots and lots of time outdoors. They will go to the lake, they will go to the beach, they will have picnics and barbecues and luaus. All the while, they will be joined by many unwanted guests — of the arthropod kind! Many people […]

Archaeology is a field of study where patience is a virtue. Having a bit of luck doesn’t hurt either. In popular culture, archaeologists are seen as people who discover “lost cities,” “mysterious pyramids” and “precious treasures.” In real life, things are much more exciting. Consider a recent development in archaeological investigations in one of Mexico’s […]

Last week’s featured #HMNSBlockParty creation is by Kate & Hazel (ages 35 & 6):  Want to get your engineering handwork featured? Drop by our Block Party interactive play area and try your own hand building a gravity-defying masterpiece. Tag your photos with #HMNSBlockParty. Lecture – They Had to Shoot the Bear: The Story of Charles Willson Peale […]

The National Weather Service reported last week that 35 trillion gallons of water fell in the state of Texas during the month of May. The ground is soaked for what may well be weeks to come, our bayous have swollen far beyond their usual limits and residents in Harris and Ft. Bend counties continue to […]

by Mark Burns If you were to ask most Americans to name significant historical occurrences of 1864, most answers would probably involve the Civil War. But in fact it was in that same year that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant protecting the land that formally became Yosemite National Park in 1890. This action […]

At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, we had an amazing first week of Movie Monster Maker, our newest Xplorations Summer camp. In this camp, the kids learn to do stop-motion animation, apply movie monster makeup and prosthetics, and learn a little bit about the origins and myths of these monsters. Check out the awesome videos […]

Last week’s featured #HMNSBlockParty creation is by Jeff (age 28):  Want to get your engineering handwork featured? Drop by our Block Party interactive play area and try your own hand building a gravity-defying masterpiece. Tag your photos with #HMNSBlockParty. Block Party, Too Now open at HMNS at Sugar LandEnter the Block Party construction zone and engineer […]

Recently I’ve been to the beach. I went down to visit an old friend, the USS Lexington. I had stayed aboard her back when I was in 9th grade, about a couple of decades ago, and hadn’t seen her since. It was good to see her again. While down on the beach I went for […]

In 1817, Scottish inventor and optical scientist Sir David Brewster invented a tube with opposing mirrors running through it and beads of colored glass in one end. He called it the “kaleidoscope,” a word whose Greek roots mean “beautiful shape viewer,” which most of us have peered through and hooted in awe at around kindergarten […]

Jupiter is now high in the southwest at dusk. It outshines all stars we ever see at night, so you can’t miss it.  Mars and Saturn are now in the southeast at dusk. As you watch them rise, Mars is to the right and is much brighter.  In fact, this month Mars outshines all of […]