Watch, Read, Listen

If you've ever longed to spend more time at The Huntington—and, let's be honest, who hasn't?—maybe it's time to consider becoming a volunteer. It's the perfect way to explore the collections in greater depth than the casual visitor ever can, and to enjoy an enviable degree of access

Even though S. Robert Weltz is no longer with us today, he is still receiving awards on his prestigious orchid collection that his family donated after his passing in March 2010. The most recent awards came from the American Orchid Society (AOS) at the 10th Annual Orchid Digest Speaker's Day on July 7, 2012.

Videre, Latin for to see, is a video series that plays with the idea of re-seeing. The short works featured here are explorations of sights, sounds, and sensing at The Huntington.

With their high-tech lighting equipment and software, Greg Bearman and Ken Boydston can reveal hidden text in old, darkened manuscripts. Called spectral imaging (or sometimes multi-spectral imaging), the technique bounces different wavelengths

The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science and attendant greenhouse facilities are well-stocked with palms, orchids, carnivorous plants, and many other tropical plants. Members of the aroid family

While everyone knows that The Huntington relies on our assortment of volunteers and docents to give tours, answer questions, and be the face of The Huntington, there are some volunteers who choose to remain in the background.

I feel as if I met Gore Vidal years before I actually did. In 2006 I saw him dining at Musso and Frank's on Hollywood Blvd. with several young and attractive men. I was star struck. I walked over and hovered nearby.

Welcome to Verso, the newly named and redesigned blog of the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.