The Harvard Forest Dioramas

The Harvard Forest Dioramas

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.

Diorama scene of old growth trees along the shoreline of a pond

The Story in the Dioramas

Seven of the Harvard Forest dioramas form a historical series that depicts changes in the New England landscape over the past 300 years at one location. The scene was designed to depict all the important transformations of the landscape in the upland area of central Massachusetts since the pre-European-settlement period.

The ecological and historical interpretation of the details and significance of these transformations has changed little since Fisher and his colleagues designed the dioramas in the 1920s and 1930s. Importantly, the concepts presented in the dioramas provide the basis for much current understanding and research ecology, conservation biology, and forest management at the Harvard Forest and beyond.

One of the major lessons that emerges from the dioramas is that in order to understand our forests today we need to become deeply knowledgeable about their particular history. This historical perspective shows us that our forests have always been characterized by change and carry a strong cultural legacy of past human activity. This understanding should inform our predictions of future forest development, as well as our attempts to conserve and manage them.

Several dioramas highlight conservation issues in the New England countryside. These dioramas remind us of the history of conservation issues in eastern North America, and also point up the continuity of certain conservation concerns through time.

By coupling the forest history of New England to an understanding of the ecology of the region, the biology of forest trees, and society’s demands for natural resources, Richard Fisher developed a comprehensive approach to forest management that he and his students came to call “ecological forestry”. Because this approach was based on the study of natural stands and native species and attempted to work with the basic biology of forests in their natural landscape setting, it provides a clear precursor to the “new forestry” and “ecosystem management” approaches that have emerged in the late 20th century.

The artisans of the Guernsey and Pitman studio were justifiably proud of their creations and produced a final diorama documenting the techniques that they had developed to make the remarkably realistic models. Four sections from left to right illustrate initial construction through finished model.

The construction of the trees is most remarkable. Each small branch is represented by a thin strand of copper wire. These wires were brought together and wrapped around each other to form progressively larger branches and eventually the trunk. This technique captured both the unique branching pattern of the individual tree species and the correct proportions of the branches to the stem. To model pines, clusters of “needles” were etched from very thin sheets of copper and then soldered to the tips of the wire “branches.” Figures, animals, rocks, etc. were sculpted from a mixture of clay and wax.

The resulting dioramas represent an outstanding artistic and educational achievement.

Landscape History of Central New England

Diorama scene of a pre-settlement forest

Pre-Settlement Forest

Diorama scene of a small farmhouse, a field surrounded by a stone wall, a few stumps of large trees, a man, a dog and a cow

An Early Settler Clears a Homestead

Diorama scene with a barn surrounded by land cleared for fields. In the foreground are two tilled fields bordered by stone walls. A man makes a pile of pumpkins.

Height of Forest Clearing and Agriculture

Diorama scene with an abandoned farmhouse and barn in the background. Small trees are beginning to grow in old fields. A hunter and his dog are in the foreground.

Farm Abandonment

Diorama scene of white pine logs lying on a ground with standing white pines in the background. Two men saw a fallen log with a two-person saw.

"Old-Field" White Pine Forest on Abandoned Farmland

Two deer walk through a stand of young trees.

"Old-Field" White Pine is Succeeded by Hardwoods

Diorama scene of a hardwood stand with an artist painting a view of the hills and valley.

A Vigorously Growing Forest of Hardwoods

A stream flows through a forest. A stonewall runs perpendicular to the stream.

The Modern Forest Landscape

Conservation Issues in the History of New England Forests

Diorama scene of two men in a stand of old growth trees along the shore of a pond

Old Growth Forests

Diorama scene of old growth trees along the shoreline of a pond

Old Growth Forests 2

Diorama scene of a snowy landscape with an abandoned farmhouse and two deer

Wildlife Habitat in a Dynamic Landscape

Diorama scene of a river with farmland on either side that shows signs of soil erosion

Accelerated Erosion with Intensive Land Use

Diorama scene showing a fire tower on a hill. A police officer on a motorcyle and a firetruck are parked on the road and firefighters lower a hose into a water hole. Other forestry workers walk towards trees that are on fire in the background.

Forest Fire

Diorama scene of a fire observation tower on a hill. A road runs through the scene and on the side of the road is a water hole.

Forest Fire Management

Forest Management in Central New England

Diorama scene of forestry workers using machetes to thin a young hardwood stand

Early Treatment of a Hardwood Stand

Diorama scene of forestry workers cutting timber in a hardwood stand

Improvement Cutting in A Hardwood Stand

Diorama scene of pine and hardwood tree thinning

First Thinning in a Mixed White Pine – Hardwood Forest

Diorama scene of a horse hitched to a sled and forestry workers loading logs onto the sled

Third Thinning in a Mixed White Pine – Hardwood Forest

Diorama scene of four forestry workers planting tree seedlings. One man is holding a planting tool, two men have planting baskets and one man is putting a seedling into the ground.

Conversion of Cordwood to Future Sawtimber

Diorama scene of forestry workers using a planting tool to plant white pines and using machetes to weed pine and hardwood trees. A Harvard Forest boundary sign stands next to the stone wall that runs along the road.

Increasing White Pine in Hardwood Stands

Diorama scene with two forestry workers inspecting young white pine trees. A stone wall runs through the foreground with young white pines and gray birch trees behind it.

Release of Pine From Suppression by Gray Birch

Diorama scene of forestry workers pruning white pine trees growing along a roadside.

Pruning White Pine to Produce Better Logs

Diorama scene of forestry workers inspecting trees of various age classes

Group Selection Method of Harvesting White Pine

Diorama scene of a woods road running through a forest with young and old trees. A flatbed truck is parked on the road and forestry workers are carrying a saw and other equipment

Shelterwood Method in White Pine (right) and Hardwoods (left)

Artistry and Construction of the Harvard Forest Dioramas

Diorama scene showing the stages of diorama construction.

Construction of the Harvard Forest Dioramas

Download High-Res Images of the Dioramas