Panel Discussion: In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers

This panel on Thursday, Nov. 17 features the artists and scientists who collaborated in developing "In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers," an exhibition now on view at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The inspiration for this project was a set of 648 plant specimens in the Harvard University Herbaria that were collected by Henry David Thoreau at Walden Pond. How can an imaginative fusion of art and science foster a meaningful understanding of the relationship between human actions, climate change and diminishing biodiversity? Utilizing photography, botanical data and digital art, the exhibition explores and visualizes the richness of plant diversity in eastern Massachusetts and reflects on how climate change continues to impact this diversity.

A wine and cheese reception will follow in the museum galleries. Tickets are $15 for nonmembers and $10 for members. Admission is free for Harvard ID holders. Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. This conversation is presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture.

The panelists are Charles Davis, professor of organismic and evolutionary biology and curator of vascular plants at the Harvard University Herbaria; Marsha Gordon, professor at North Carolina State University; Emily Meineke, assistant professor at the University of California, Davis; Leah Sobsey, artist, curator, associate professor of photography and director of the Gatewood Gallery at the University of North Carolina; and Robin Vuchnich, artist, UX designer and assistant professor at North Carolina State University Greensboro. This discussion will be moderated by Elena Kramer, Bussey Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and interim director at the Harvard University Herbaria.