Into local libraries, and into lives
The eyes of several children went wide as Amy Gunzelmann, education specialist at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH), carried a loosely wrapped bundle to the floor of the Valente Branch of the Cambridge Public Library. “We might need to clear some space,” Gunzelmann said. “Because the snake that shed this skin was really long.” As she slowly unrolled the 12-foot skin on the library floor, kids jumped out of their chairs to run their fingers over the scales. One boy shrieked and jerked his hand away — and then immediately lunged back to touch the skin again. Gunzelmann presented a treasure trove of HMNH resources to parents and kids, challenging the standing-room-only crowd to think about the different classifications of zoology, as part of the John Harvard Book Celebration program. Celebrating Harvard’s 375th anniversary and its close ties to the Boston and Cambridge communities, the John Harvard Book Celebration has included...