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Arboretum Anniversary

In Focus

The Arnold Arboretum

Celebrate the 150th anniversary of Harvard’s 281-acre living museum. Free and open every day, the Arnold Arboretum engages the public through educational opportunities and programs for all ages.

For more than 7,000 years, the land on which the Arnold Arboretum now sits has been inhabited and used by diverse societies and cultures of Indigenous People, including most recently the Massachusett Tribe.

Learn more about this Indigenous history
An old photograph of two men standing in front of a cherry blossom tree

Planting the seeds

Established in 1872 when the trustees of the will of James Arnold transferred a portion of Arnold’s estate to the President and Fellows of Harvard College, the Arboretum has become one of the world’s most comprehensive and best documented collections of temperate woody plants, and a hub of research, horticulture, and education.

Learn how the Arboretum put down its roots

Taking care of the Arboretum

Dig into the work at the Arboretum

Through research, horticulture, and education, the Arnold Arboretum discovers and disseminates knowledge of the plant kingdom to foster greater understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of Earth’s botanical diversity.

Nature’s classroom

Throughout its 150-year history, the Arboretum has inspired Harvard students as they’ve pursued their studies.

Flowering trees bloom outside Andover Hall
  • Harvard Divinity School

Deep-rooted connections to nature and community

Deep-rooted connections to nature and community
  • Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Better understanding bumblebee behavior

A man with a net for catching bees
Better understanding bumblebee behavior
  • Harvard Graduate School of Design

Opening our eyes to plant blindness

A person pointing out cards hanging from trees
Opening our eyes to plant blindness
  • Harvard Radcliffe Institute

Understanding our roots

Two men clearing away the dirt from tree roots
Understanding our roots
  • Harvard College

Truffle hunt

Two people looking at a book of truffles
Truffle hunt
  • Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

In search of sugar secrets

Two people with a laptop near a tree
In search of sugar secrets
  • Harvard College

A class called “Tree”

A group of students pose outdoors with their professor with trees on the horizon
A class called “Tree”

Take a stroll