The George Observatory could not have survived without numerous amateur astronomers over the years! We want to thank our many volunteers who continue to generously share their time and talents so that visitors may see images from a variety of telescopes and enjoy the night sky. How and when did you get interested in astronomy? […]
By R. Patrick Wood, M.D. Recently the Beyond Bones Zoomcast welcomed R. Patrick Wood, M.D. from the organ procurement organization LifeGift onto the weekly interview show to chat about donating our organs after we die. We asked Dr. Wood to dispel some rumors and myths about this important, life-saving act. Organ, eye, and tissue donation […]
What is so great about a Mollusk shell having spines or spikes? We could say they are pretty and even spectacular, and that would be true. However, they actually have a very specific purpose in the life of mollusks. Let us imagine we are a Clam (Bivalve). We do not have hands or tentacles that […]
By Scott Stevenson, Director of Summer Camps at HMNSYouth Education Manager Through the generosity of the Cockrell Foundation, The Houston Museum of Natural Science is proud to offer the Evelyn Frensley Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement in Science or Mathematics and the Wilhelmina C. Robertson Excellence in Science or Mathematics Teaching Award. Four annual awards of […]
Violins are amazingly versatile instruments; they are equally at home whining their melodies in symphony orchestras in New York as they are on front porches in Appalachia. Apparently, they are even appreciated in Hell. For those of us who have heard the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia by the Charlie Daniels Band (and I imagine that’s most us) the […]
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 […]
Exciting things are happening in the Cockrell Butterfly Center! Anita Schiller, Director of the Biocontrol Mosquito Initiative in Harris County Precinct 4 is working with our staff to test an innovative, eco-friendly way to control the population of mosquitoes in Harris Country using a natural predator of everybody’s least favorite insect called the mosquito assassin […]
The world is a vast place, but all life living on its surface sprung from the same origins. Everyone and everything on this planet is connected. Sometimes the connections may not be readily apparent, but they are there.. Our “Missed Connections” series is all about exploring the unexpected connections between objects in our different exhibits. […]
Sweet Serendipity Brings One of the World’s Top Sapphires to HMNS Hailing from an island of gemstones, the Siren of Serendip is one of the world’s largest blue sapphires. Considered one of the top five sapphires in the world, the Siren of Serendip weighs a phenomenal 422.66 carats and was discovered almost a century ago […]
There is a new addition to the Cockrell Butterfly Center Insect Zoo, a colony of leaf-cutter ants housed in a brand new exhibit! This leaf-cutter ant (Atta cephalotes) colony was acquired by the Cockrell Butterfly Center about 2.5 years ago from Guatemala. It began as a small, “softball-sized” colony that now has grown many times […]
