On Friday, November 26, the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments—reopen to the public. See https://bit.ly/HMSCExhibitions for hours and reservations.

Over their fifty years of creating the Glass Flowers, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, father and son, continually experimented with materials and methods that pushed the boundaries of glassworking. Years later, their complex and varied practices presented unique challenges for the conservators preserving and protecting the models, which led to a suite of conservation processes nearly as varied as the Blaschka’s techniques. From the Hands of the Makers explores what it takes to both make and conserve a model and investigates the lingering mysteries surrounding the making of the glass flowers—closely held secrets that only modern technology can reveal. See https://bit.ly/HMSCExhibitions for hours and reservations.

Image credit: Dichanthelium xanthophysum (Slender rosette grass), Model 774, Rudolf Blaschka, 1923. The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, Harvard University Herbaria/Harvard Museum of Natural History © President and Fellows of Harvard College.