Blaschka Glass Models of Plants exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History
From top to bottom, left to right:
[ID 1:
A photo of a large pitcher plant sculpture sitting in a case of glass and dark wood on a white background in a museum exhibit. The plant is photographed from below, so the plant's roots and bottom of the purple and yellow pitchers are in the foreground. The stems, leaves, and flowers are seen from below.
/end ID 1]
[ID 2:
A close-up photo of the leaves and pitchers, taken from above the pitchers.
/end ID 2]
[ID 3:
There are two signs to the left of the sculpture of the pitcher plant. The first and larger sign reads:
From the Hands of the Makers
Over the course of fifty years, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, father and son, continually experimented with materials and methods that pushed the boundaries of glassworking. After his father's death in 1895, Rudolf continued to refine glass formulations, experiment with pigments and varnishes, and create his own palette of colored glass enamels. He produced this Great Pitcher Plant, [italics] Nepenthes maxima [end italics] (right), the largest and most complicated model in the collection, using many of his innovative techniques.
The smaller plaque identifies the artwork and reads:
[italics] Nepenthes maxima [end italics] (Great Pitcher Plant)
Indonesia, New Guinea & Philippines
by Rudolf Blauschka, 1906
n206_w1150 by Biodiversity Heritage Library
Via Flickr:
Edinburgh journal of natural history and of the physical sciences. Edinburgh [etc.] :Published for the proprietor [etc.],1835-1840. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33665627
At the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge, MA.
This inconspicuous rock is a small fragment from an 18-kilogram (40 lb.) meteorite that fell into a cornfield in Zagami, Nigeria on October 3, 1962. The presence of water and traces of gases from the Martian atmosphere identify this meteorite as a piece of a lava flow on Mars that erupted about 180 million years ago. Zagami was launched from Mars and sent on its way to Earth by an impact almost 3 million years ago. Meteorites from Mars or the Moon are exceedingly rare. So far, only a few dozen of each have been discovered.
i got to paint using ground cochineal insects today!
i meant to get a picture of the paints, but those four cups had lemon juice, water, baking soda, and borax added, respectively. the different pHs change the color of the cochineal powder from reddish-orange (acidic pH) to crimson (neutral pH) to beet-pink and deep purple (basic pH)
Long-time readers of my blog may remember (and sadly they’ll have to just remember for the time being because my account is still suspended) that the Harvard Museum of Natural History is the source of two long-running memes: the Selfielacanth…
I went back today and I am happy to inform you both exhibits are still there and have not changed in 8-11 years.
I am also thigh-high to a giant moa.
Blue dragon sea slug plushies that unfortunately have more of a sea lion body type than the real slugs? A++ for concept but C- for accuracy. (There’s an embroidery pattern for an equally cute but more accurate one on Esty here, but unfortunately you can’t just buy the toy itself from the seller, only a pattern.)