Social Security will likely play a significant role in building your retirement income. Learn the basics about Social Security including eligibility, how to apply, how your benefit is calculated and strategies for claiming benefits. Click here to register.  Read more about TIAA-CREF Webinar: Social Security Basics

Deborah L. Nichols, William J. Bryant 1925 Professor of Anthropology; Chair, Latin America, Latino, and Caribbean Studies, Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College

In the first century CE, Teotihuacan became the capital of the area known today as Central Mexico. The city grew to include 100,000 people, drawing immigrants from Western Mexico, the Valley of Oaxaca, Veracruz, and the Maya region. Deborah Nichols will discuss how Teotihuacan became the largest and most influential city in Mexico and Central America; how it maintained this position for 500...

Read more about Teotihuacan and the Making of a World City

Harvard archaeologists and students will bring history alive
for families by presenting hands-on activities, sharing their research, and providing demonstrations of ancient and up-to- the-minute technologies. Join in colonial-era excavations using smartphones. Use a Google Cardboard viewer and “travel” via virtual reality with a tour guide to Egypt or Israel. Throw a handmade spear with a spear thrower (weather permitting). Talk to archaeologists about their work and their discoveries. Activities spread across both the Peabody and the Harvard Semitic Museums. Live music provided by THUD...

Read more about Amazing Archaeology Fair at Harvard

New European Discoveries

Randall White, Professor, Department of Anthropology, New York University

The earliest evidence of artwork made by modern humans, Aurignacian art, was created more than 35,000 years ago and has been found in French, German, and Romanian archaeological sites. Randall White will discuss the rich corpus of Aurignacian painting, engraving, bas-relief sculpture, musical instruments, and personal ornamentation that was studied before World War I
in southwest France, along with recent discoveries from classic Aurignacian sites....

Read more about Modern Humans’ Earliest Artwork and Music

Free Public Lecture

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, and Co-Director, Evolutionary Medicine Program, UCLA; Visiting Professor, Department of Human and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

Sudden cardiac death in kangaroos. Breast cancer in jaguars. Compulsive disorder in polar bears. All animals, including humans, are subject to a wide range of physical and psychological illnesses. Using pathological specimens from Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, Barbara Natterson-Horowitz...

Read more about Wild Diagnosis: Human Health and the Animal Kingdom

Free, fun, family activities allow visitors to explore arts from the ancient Near East. Activities change daily: make Egyptian accessories, inscribe clay tablets, or decode hieroglyphics. Drop in for five minutes--or 30--to see what is new every day.

Activities take place on the first floor of the Harvard Semitic Museum. This HMSC museum explores the rich history of cultures connected by the family of Semitic languages. Exhibitions include a full-scale replica of an ancient Israelite home, life-sized casts of famous Mesopotamian monuments, authentic mummy...

Read more about February Vacation Week Activities

Free Public Lecture

Located along the Egyptian coast of the Red Sea, Wadi al-Jarf is considered the oldest known harbor in the world. This exceptional 4,600-year-old site dates to the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty, the “golden age” of ancient Egypt. Gregory Marouard will discuss recent archaeological excavations at Wadi al-Jarf, including the discovery of hundreds of papyrus fragments that provide important details about the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza and insights into the complex organization and well-structured logistics of royal...

Read more about New Discoveries at Wadi al-Jarf

Plate tectonic theory, a milestone in twentieth-century science, has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of Earth’s geological history, the formation of its surface features, and its earthquake movement. Geophysicist W. Jason Morgan—who introduced plate tectonics at a 1967 meeting of the American Geophysical Union—will discuss how the theory came about, highlighting both the role of ocean exploration in the 1950s and 1960s and early observations of seafloor spreading and ocean magnetic anomalies. He will also touch on the advances made in understanding Earth’s movements...

Read more about The Changing Landscape of Plate Tectonics

Although largely invisible, microbes are ubiquitous and
 have a profound influence on daily life. The new Microbial Life exhibition opening Saturday, February 17 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History explores the remarkable microbial universe, from “invisible chefs” instrumental in preparing many of our favorite foods, to microbes that inhabit our bodies and help keep us healthy.

Presented by Harvard Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the Microbial Sciences Initiative, Harvard University

Learn more...

Read more about Microbial Life: A Universe at the Edge of Sight - Opening

Awaken your love of science with activities led by Harvard scientists, graduate students, and enthusiastic explorers. Meet scientists who investigate fossils, microbes, or carnivorous plants. Hear short talks on current research at Harvard. Observe tiny, tough tardigrades (microscopic "water bears"), and make your own model. Design a Lego home for an insect or invent a flying creation for our wind tunnel. This program has something for everyone and is appropriate for children and adults of all ages.

Regular museum admission rates apply. 

Free parking...

Read more about I ♥ Science

Bring your lunch to this one-hour overview of Harvard's updated, University-wide flexible work guidelines. Nancy Costikyan, the director of Harvard’s Office of Work/Life, will give a quick tour through the guidelines that were rolled out in the spring of 2017. You will learn about how to develop a well-thought out flexwork proposal and discuss it with your boss; why you don't need to state your reason for submitting a proposal, potential business advantages of flexwork; the criteria managers will use to decide to...

Read more about Flexwork Overview for All

Bring your lunch to this one-hour overview of Harvard's updated, University-wide flexible work guidelines. Nancy Costikyan, the director of Harvard’s Office of Work/Life, will give a quick tour through the guidelines that were rolled out in the spring of 2017. You will learn about how to develop a well-thought out flexwork proposal and discuss it with your boss; why you don't need to state your reason for submitting a proposal, potential business advantages of flexwork; the criteria managers will use to decide to...

Read more about Flexwork Overview for All

Bring your lunch to this one-hour overview of Harvard's updated, University-wide flexible work guidelines. Nancy Costikyan, the director of Harvard’s Office of Work/Life, will give a quick tour through the guidelines that were rolled out in the spring of 2017. You will learn about how to develop a well-thought out flexwork proposal and discuss it with your boss; why you don't need to state your reason for submitting a proposal, potential business advantages of flexwork; the criteria managers will use to decide to...

Read more about Flexwork Overview for All

Bring your lunch to this one-hour overview for managers of Harvard's updated, University-wide flexible work guidelines. Nancy Costikyan, the director of Harvard’s Office of Work/Life, will give managers a quick tour through the guidelines that were rolled out in the spring of 2017. Managers will learn about proposing, discussing, evaluating and managing flexwork; the business advantages of flexwork; the wisdom of trial periods; how to renew, tweak and end existing arrangements; how to...

Read more about Flexwork Overview for Managers

Bring your lunch to this one-hour overview for managers of Harvard's updated, University-wide flexible work guidelines. Nancy Costikyan, the director of Harvard’s Office of Work/Life, will give managers a quick tour through the guidelines that were rolled out in the spring of 2017. Managers will learn about proposing, discussing, evaluating and managing flexwork; the business advantages of flexwork; the wisdom of trial periods; how to renew, tweak and end existing arrangements; how to...

Read more about Flexwork Overview for Managers