With the excellent Boston Children’s Museum, Museum of Science, and New England Aquarium at hand, families can easily get into a routine of just visiting these gems and neglecting others. It’s worth reminding yourself that there are so many other wonderful places to explore and if you’ve never been (or haven’t been in awhile) to the Harvard Museum of Natural History, maybe it’s time for a visit.

The permanent New England Forests ex­hibition in the Zofnass Family Gallery has motion detectors and different nature sound tracks concealed around the gallery. The multi-media exhibition explores the natural histo­ry and ecology of our regional forests, their responses to human activity, and their environmental significance.

Families can pick up a Look Listen Touch guide to help kids experience nature in a multi-sensory way. Suggestions include sitting on the bench beneath the wolf display, shutting your eyes and listening for the sounds of a woodpecker tapping and a frog croaking; looking for tadpoles in the pond; and trying to name how many colors you can see in the feathers of one bird.

In addition to the exhibit, the “Exploring Science Together” program offered at select times lets you look at the museum with your children. Classes are taught by museum educators. $10 members/$20 nonmembers, per person, including admission to the museum. All activities are designed for families with children in grades K–5. Advanced registration required. Register online. Here’s the upcoming schedule.

Exploring Science Together: Plants
Saturday, November 8, 10:30 a.m.-noon

Learn together with hands-on activities that show why plants are such an important part of our daily lives. Munch on some snacks while learning the different parts of plants. Explore the museum’s amazing Glass Flowers gallery with a botanical eye. Do a real flower dissection as a family and compare the diversity of flower configurations. Examine dried specimens from the botanical collections. Plant some seeds to continue the learning at home.

Exploring Science Together: Dinosaurs
January 24, 10:30 a.m.-noon

Discover what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur and participate in a “fossil dig” with real dinosaur fossils. Explore the amazing collection of vertebrate paleontology with fun gallery activities. Compare dinosaurs to live modern animals and learn how paleontologists know what a dino’s daily life was like. Learn about dinosaur trackways and even create your own to bring home!

Exploring Science Together: Minerals
Saturday, March 14, 10:30 a.m.-noon

What makes a mineral a mineral? Find out in this hands-on and interactive program. Be a geologist for the day and learn how to identify minerals. Discover the secret properties that make some minerals truly unique. Participate in gallery explorations of the mesmerizing mineral collections. Investigate the different uses of minerals and even create your own mineral pigment artwork to take home!