Fisher Museum
Since 1941, the Fisher Museum has been free and open to the public, offering information on forest ecology, landscape history, and land conservation and management.
Museum Hours
Monday – Friday
Year-round
9am – 4pm
Saturday – Sunday
Open seasonally (May through Nov. 9, 2025)
12pm – 4pm
Or by special arrangement
Call (978) 724-3302
The Fisher Museum is closed on Harvard University holidays (see https://hr.harvard.edu/holiday-calendar).
Recreational trails are open to the public daily, year-round.
Questions? Email HFoutreach@fas.harvard.edu or call 978-724-3302.
Ongoing Exhibits
The Fisher Museum’s primary exhibit is 23 internationally acclaimed models (dioramas), the first seven of which depict 230 years of landscape change in central New England, beginning with European colonization in 1700. The remaining dioramas portray 20th-century forest management techniques and a series of conservation challenges including erosion and fire.
Additional displays now bring the story up to modern times, begin to address the harmful erasure of Indigenous people in our land narratives (this work is ongoing in partnership with the Nipmuc tribe), and include a brief overview of current Harvard Forest research. Learn more about a new 2-year grant to the Museum in 2024 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, to center Indigenous perspectives in the museum.
Other Fisher Museum displays include:
- A digital “modern diorama” constructed via high-tech LIDAR scans of Harvard Forest research sites, created by Peter Boucher in the Schaaf Lab at the University of Massachusetts–Boston.
- Footage of the dioramas being built by the Guernsey and Pitman studio in the 1930s.
A family-friendly scavenger hunt is available to encourage viewers to take a closer look at the highly detailed dioramas.
Exhibit Resources
Harvard Forest History
First Contact
Explore a multimedia project by 2011-2012 Harvard Forest Artist-in-Residence Roberto Mighty. First Contact, portrays the 17th-century clash between Nipmuc people and the Europeans who colonized their homeland.
Diorama Images
The diorama images are freely available to download and use, with credit given to Harvard Forest. Visit the Diorama Gallery in PhotoShelter.
To download images from this repository:
- Select the image you’d like to download and click the Download icon.
- In the Download image pop-up, select the Gallery password tab, enter Forest as the password, then click the Authenticate button.
- Choose the image format you would like from the dropdown menu, then click the Download button.
Usage rights: All works are licensed for use under the Creative Commons attribution CC BY-ND. The license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to Harvard Forest.
Diorama Construction
Browse a 1936 booklet describing the dioramas’ construction.
Trails
Maps in the Museum introduce visitors to the Forest’s extensive system of trails – open 365 days a year – that provide additional opportunities for learning.
Accessibility
The Harvard Forest welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us at hfvisit@fas.harvard.edu in advance of your visit. Please note that accessible parking and a universal access ramp are available at the rear of the building. Visit our accessibility page for more information.
Volunteer
Volunteers make it possible for us to keep the museum free and open to the public on weekends during the summer and fall. Learn how to join our team of volunteers here.