With the Great American Eclipse of 2024 in the rear view mirror, we look ahead to the next three years of solar and lunar eclipses visible from Boston and around the globe.

When Is the Next Eclipse? 2024-2026 Edition

May 6th, 2024 22m 38s

With the Great American Eclipse of 2024 in the rear view mirror, we look ahead to the next three years of solar and lunar eclipses visible from Boston and around the globe.

How Do You Tag a Great White Shark? What Does The Tag Tell Us?

Apr 29th, 2024 16m 46s

Dr. Greg Skomal, a shark expert with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, discusses the incredible data that shark tags can give us as well as the process of finding and tagging great white sharks off of Cape Cod.

What Dinosaurs Lived in New England?

Apr 16th, 2024 13m 39s

Our triceratops fossil, Cliff, did not live in New England. So what kind of dinosaurs did? We ask two local experts, Mark Agostini and Dr. Mark McMenamin, to tell us what fossils have been recovered from our own backyard.

What Is It Like to Experience a Total Solar Eclipse?

Feb 29th, 2024 8m 22s

With a total solar eclipse coming up on April 8th, 2024, we ask planetarium educator Talia what it feels like to actually witness the moon totally blocking the sun.

How Was the Hubble Telescope Fixed?

Dec 20th, 2023 9m 32s

We celebrate the 30th anniversary of a daring Space Shuttle mission that fixed the Hubble Space Telescope by chatting about the experience with astronaut Jeff Hoffman.

What Kind of Space Research Happens Here in Massachusetts?

Nov 13th, 2023 13m 5s

Dr. Supriya Chakrabarti, the Director of UMass Lowell's Center for Space Science and Technology, explains some of the exciting space research and engineering that is happening right here in our backyard.

Why Do Narwhals Have Tusks?

Oct 30th, 2023 13m 57s

We ask marine mammal odontologist Dr. Martin Nweeia about one of the most amazing teeth anywhere in the animal kingdom and get the full story of the narwhal and its ten-foot tusk.

What Is It Like to Look Down at the Earth from Space?

Oct 16th, 2023 7m 21s

One of the more hopeful results of human spaceflight has been the Overview Effect, when astronauts feel the awe in looking down at our home planet while orbiting above. NASA Astronaut Bob Hines details his experience earthgazing from the Intern

How Can I Help Fight Climate Change?

Oct 2nd, 2023 12m 15s

Maybe the most frequent questions we have gotten this century at the museum is what people can do personally to mitigate the effects of climate change. Frank Lowenstein from Rare's Climate Culture Boston gives a short list of big-impact actions

How Smart Are Ants?

Sep 18th, 2023 14m 48s

There are an astonishing number of ant species living on our planet. One of the world's foremost experts on ants, Dr. Susanne Foitzik, explains how their society is different from ours in many ways.

Are Sci-Fi Authors Scientists or Writers?

Jul 27th, 2023 14m 34s

There are so many amazing writers of science fiction. When they were young, did they dream of bring famous authors, or amazing scientists? Author Katie Slivensky shares her journey through the worlds of science and fiction.

How Do Scientists Make Discoveries?

Jul 3rd, 2023 14m 33s

Last month, MIT's Kishalay De published the first ever observations of a star destroying a planet. Hear about the detective work it took to realize what some of the world's largest telescopes were seeing as this cataclysmic event unfolded.

What Do You Mean, That Isn’t a Dinosaur?

Jun 12th, 2023 13m 58s

The word 'dinosaur' refers to a specific group of animals. Many animals get included under the dinosaur umbrella when they are actually from different groups. Becca from our programs team helps us set the fossil record straight.

How Do Spacecraft Move Around the Solar System?

May 29th, 2023 11m 35s

Talia from our planetarium team talks about calculating the most efficient trajectories for spacecraft in order to get to interesting places from Mercury to Pluto and beyond.

How Many Moons Are There In The Solar System?

May 15th, 2023 13m 58s

With 62 new moons announced last week, Talia from our Charles Hayden Planetarium tells us how Saturn is once again the grand champion of the solar system in terms of natural satellites.

Where Do Volcanoes Come From?

May 8th, 2023 11m 43s

Volcanoes are incredibly powerful, but what causes one to form? Becca from our programs team talks about the origins of these explosive entities.

What Counts As Artificial Intelligence?

Apr 24th, 2023 7m 35s

With so many stories in the news about the new capabilities of artificial intelligence, Emily from the museum's programs team explains what that term means and how AI works.

Why Is It Important To Look For Life On Mars?

Apr 10th, 2023 13m 51s

Dr. Michael Meyer has been the lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program for over 25 years. He tells us what the possibility of life on the red planet would mean for science and our understanding of the universe.

I Found This Strange Rock...Is It A Meteorite?

Mar 27th, 2023 15m 7s

We ask Dr. Ben Weiss, an MIT expert on meteorites, how to spot the difference between rocks that formed on Earth and ones that fell from space.

I Think I Saw a Right Whale! Who Should I Call?

Mar 13th, 2023 15m 16s

North Atlantic Right Whales are critically endangered. We chat with Tim Cole and Lieutenant Christopher Licitra from NOAA Fisheries about efforts to identify, track, and conserve this fragile population.

Do Vampire Bats Really Drink Blood?

Nov 14th, 2022 14m 15s

In part two of our conversation with evolutionary biologist Dr. Nancy Simmons, we discuss the astonishing diversity of bats and how they came to dominate Earth's night skies.

How Did Bats Evolve Flight?

Oct 31st, 2022 10m 9s

Bats are the only mammals in Earth's history to achieve powered flight. We ask evolutionary biologist Dr. Nancy Simmons how bats gained this ability and why.