Child on parent's shoulders

More than 3,100 people celebrated the summer solstice at Harvard on June 21.

Photos courtesy of Harvard Museums of Science & Culture, © Tony Rinaldo

Campus & Community

Welcoming the summer solstice

1 min read

Visitors of all ages gathered to celebrate the longest day of the year with performances, arts and crafts, and more

Harvard Museums of Science & Culture welcomed the longest day of the year at their seventh annual Summer Solstice Celebration on Friday. On the Divinity Avenue stage, Off the Ground Circus Arts warmed up the crowd as stilt walkers, jugglers, and acrobats roved throughout the event. Revelers let loose to the sounds of REVMA’s traditional Greek music, Boston Flamenco, and Celtic folk music by Ulster Landing as people of all ages crafted their own fresh flower crowns, petted animals from a traveling farm, and marked the start of a new solar cycle by jumping over a simulated bonfire.

Volunteer shows off a scorpion to a child
Crowd gathers around and outdoor stage to watch circus performers

Volunteer Matt Smith displays a scorpion to guests at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Outside, festivities are in full swing as a crowd gathers around the acrobatics stage.

More than 3,100 visitors also enjoyed free admission to all four museums — Harvard Museum of Natural History, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Harvard Semitic Museum, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.