The Arnold Arboretum did not come into existence full-formed, but had a long adolescence before it (literally) blossomed at 50. Our first director, Charles Sargent, prepared a 50-year report in 1922, before the end of his own 54-year tenure. But, what about the first 25 years? We don't have a 25-year report, however, we do have photos and the engaging stories from that time.

Join our docent to hear those stories, as she takes you on a timeline through the walnut and oak collections, to the beeches, and back via Bussey Hill. This tour meets at the Centre Street Gate.

October 12, 2018 – February 3, 2019

Opening Reception, Saturday, October 20, 1:00-3:00pm

Location: Hunnewell Building

Regina Gardner Milan spent a year of discovery at the Arboretum. Botanical jewels of each season--early larches, spring blossoms, fall acorns, autumn leaves--are captured in her exquisite paintings. Nature holds a spellbinding allure to Milan, who finds that observing nature often produces scenes of larger-than-...

In 1923, legendary Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille produced the silent film The Ten Commandments, the precursor to his 1956 masterful remake starring Charlton Heston. DeMille shot the first film in the sand dunes of Santa Barbara County, California, about 150 miles north of Hollywood. He built an enormous set and called it the “City of the Pharaoh.” Designed by Paul Iribe, known as the father of Art Deco, it was the largest set in motion picture history. But when the production finished filming, the city mysteriously vanished.

In 1982, Peter Brosnan, a film...

Free Public Lecture and Book Signing

Erika Milam, Professor of History, Princeton University

After World War II, evolutionary scientists began rethinking their views on humanity’s past. What if human history was not merely a cooperative struggle against a harsh environment? What if violence and war were normal states of existence, punctuated by brief moments of peace? These are the questions Erika Lorraine Milam explores in her new book, Creatures of Cain: The Hunt for Human Nature in Cold War America. She will discuss how...

Family workshops invite a parent and children to learn together to appreciate the diversity of people around the globe. Engage in hands-on activities to learn about the Ju/‘hoansi, the original people of the Kalahari desert, who hunted animals and gathered plant foods as a way of life until they took up farming in 1960. Each participant will make an ostrich shell bead ornament to take home. During the workshop participants will observe examples of animals both domestic and wild in Ju’/hoansi homelands, hear stories about teenage researchers John and Elizabeth Marshall, watch a short...

Family workshops invite a parent and children to learn together to appreciate the diversity of people around the globe. Engage in hands-on activities to learn about the Ju/‘hoansi, the original people of the Kalahari desert, who hunted animals and gathered plant foods as a way of life until they took up farming in 1960. Each participant will make an ostrich shell bead ornament to take home. During the workshop participants will observe examples of animals both domestic and wild in Ju’/hoansi homelands, hear stories about teenage researchers John and Elizabeth Marshall, watch a short...

Learn how to paint Zapotec design motifs with visiting artists from Oaxaca, Mexico. The father-son team—Ventura and Norberto Fabian—continue the tradition of creating hand-carved and hand-painted wooden figures known as alebrijes. This folk art is rooted in traditional rural village life and is one of Mexico’s most popular crafts. Participants will select an original small figure to paint that they can take home. The class will be taught in Spanish with translation to English.

Adult Class. $40 Members/$50 nonmembers. Includes museum admission and all...

Live music, Oaxacan wood carving, and festive decorations help to make this a joyful event designed to remember and welcome back the spirits of loved ones. Decorate a sugar skull (additional $6 fee); sip spicy hot chocolate; make papel picado (cut paper banners), cempasúchil flowers and other artwork; and write a message in any language you choose to place upon the Día de los Muertos altar. The community altar art will be created by students at the Rafael Hernández Dual Language School in Boston.

Family event. Regular...

Free Public Event

Peer into an active archaeological excavation and learn about the oldest section of North America’s first college, founded in 1636. Harvard archaeology students will answer your questions, demonstrate archaeological methods, and display recent finds from the seventeenth century that reflect how Harvard College students—centuries ago—ate, dressed, and amused themselves, among other experiences. Drop by any time during this 90-minute event. The site is in Harvard Yard, steps away from the famous John Harvard statue.

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Approximately 4,000 years ago, the peoples of China and Eurasia gradually began to develop networks of interaction and exchange that radically transformed the cultures of both regions. These networks eventually gave rise to the Silk Road trade routes connecting the East and West. Rowan Flad will examine the archaeological evidence—from the Qijia Culture of Northwest China—that documents the agricultural, metallurgical, and technological innovations that resulted from the earliest trans-Eurasian exchanges, and how studies of the Silk Road origins are being reinvigorated by China’s One...

Thirty years after its release, N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman remains an exemplar of ethnographic filmmaking. Directed and edited by John Marshall and Adrienne Miesmer, the film documents the life of N!ai, a Ju/hoan woman and the harsh realities of apartheid in 1980s Namibia, and it presents an intimate portrait of life in one of the last hunting and gathering communities. In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Documentary Educational Resources, this program will explore the film’s importance to the preservation of intangible culture, and Marshall’s influence on...

Remember and celebrate your departed loved ones at this year’s Día de los Muertos altar, savor traditional Mexican hot chocolate and pan de muerto, and enjoy live music.

Free and open to the public. Reservations required; available online.

Co-sponsored by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, the Consulate General of Mexico in Boston, the...

Join the Materials Lab in Allston for a special off-site workshop offered in conjunction with our special exhibition Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings (on view September 7, 2018 through January 6, 2019).

The exhibition brings together nearly 60 elaborate vessels of animal shape and offers a glimpse into the rich symbolism and communal practices that found...