Visitors to the Lower Egyptian gallery can view the Sphinx Gallery

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For more then 125 years, the Penn Museum has sponsored worldwide scientific expeditions which have yielded many of the artifacts on display including Sumerian cuneiform clay tablets (some of the world’s oldest writing), architectural elements from the 3,200-year-old palace of the pharaoh Merenptah, the 4,500-year-old jewelry of Queen Puabi’s from the Mesopotamian Royal Cemetery at Ur (in modern-day Iraq), towering ancient Maya stone monuments and evocative masks from West Africa.

Ancient Greek and Italian treasures are presented in a suite of Classical World galleries while other noteworthy galleries include explorations of Africa, Asia, and Central America.

Penn Museum-University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Designed to be compatible with public transportation routes, this trail includes each of the leading museums of science in the city of brotherly love. Exhibits include artifacts that range from from dinosaurs and other fossils to exhibits that demonstrate the latest technology and blend human to natural history together in ways that show the connections between the humanities and science. The museums collectively offer a variety that should appeal to all ages. The trail starts at the Wagner Free Institute of Science which predates the Civil War and concludes at the archaeology and anthropology museum on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.  

Science Museums in Philadelphia 

Wagner,
after travelling and collecting extensively throughout the first half of the 19th
century, returned to Philadelphia and began offering free science lectures from
his home.&nbsp; Of course, these classes
featured many of the specimens he had personally collected.&nbsp; As the class size grew, he moved to a larger,
public lecture hall in 1855.&nbsp; He
eventually acquired a science faculty to teach classes six evenings per week on
architecture, botany, chemistry, and paleontology, among others.&nbsp; The institute eventually raised enough funds
to erect their own building to house Wagner’s collection and to conduct their
classes.&nbsp; Begun in 1859, the building
opened to the public in May of 1865. 

When Wagner,
who continued collecting and teaching until the end, died in 1885, the
institute’s board selected Dr. Joseph Leidy to head its education and
scientific programs.&nbsp; Leidy added
original scientific research to the institute’s programs and organized various field
expeditions.&nbsp; The institute’s research,
findings and expedition descriptions were then published in its own
publication, The Transactions of the Wagner
Free Institute of Science.&nbsp; However,
Leidy is best remembered for reorganizing the institute’s extensive specimen
collection in a progressive, Darwinian manner from simple to more complex organisms,
as well as in geologic time for its fossil and rock and mineral
collection.&nbsp; The newly reorganized museum
opened in 1891 and still remains, largely, intact, frozen in time.

The
three-story museum is now home to thousands of mounted birds, mammals and
skeletons.&nbsp; It also features fossils,
rocks, minerals, insects, shells, dinosaur bones and the first American
saber-toothed tiger discovered, on an institute exhibition, in Florida in 1886.&nbsp; Many of the smaller specimens are displayed in
cherry-wood and glass cabinets and feature the original, hand-written curator’s
labels.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

In 1892, the
institute opened the first branch of the Philadelphia Free Public Library and
added a new wing in 1901 to house the library, named, appropriately, the Wagner
Branch.&nbsp; Its holdings date from the late
17th century to the early 20th and focus on early 19th
century English and American works on the history and teaching of science and
technology.&nbsp; Also contained within its
holdings are over 3,500 glass lantern slides, manuscripts, maps, prints,
drawings, and photographs.&nbsp; 

Today, the
institute still offers the oldest program devoted to free adult education in
the United States in the form of college-level science courses.&nbsp; It also presents various lecture series
through its Weeknights at the Wagner and Westbrook Free Lectureship programs.&nbsp; Finally, its Science on Tap monthly series
offers an informal presentation followed by a seminar-style discussion.&nbsp; Please call or visit their website for class
and event schedules.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Incorporated in 1855 by businessman, philanthropist, and collector William Wagner, the Wagner Free Institute of Science sprang from Wagner’s belief that science education should be accessible to all.  The building the institute now occupies was completed in 1865 and was designed by well-known architect, John McArthur Jr., who later designed Philadelphia’s famous city hall.  It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990.  Today, the institute houses a large natural science museum with over 100,000 specimens as well as an extensive science library with over 45,000 volumes.  Wagner’s own collections make up the core of both the museum and library.

Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia

In 1979, the American Chemistry Society
proposed a plan to construct a national center for the history of chemistry.
Through the efforts of chemist and museum curator Arnold Thackray, funds from
private and institutional sources were secured for the construction of such a
project in Philadelphia, and in 1981, the proposal was approved for
constructing the center in the city with the cooperation of the University of
Pennsylvania. In 1983, the Center for the History of Chemistry was established,
occupying only two basement rooms of the University of Pennsylvania. Even in
its fledgling years, the Center gained support and hosted a number of traveling
exhibits, though it had high hopes to one day have the resources and space
available to collaborate with the likes of the Smithsonian Institute.

The Center quickly gained support
over the years, gaining funds from sources such as the Arnold and Mabel Beckman
Foundation’s challenge grants, and support from other institutions in order to
expand the Center. Through this continued support, the Center changed its name
first to the National Foundation for the History of Chemistry, and then again
in 1992 to the Chemical Heritage Foundation, in order to reflect that the
support given to the Foundation reached beyond the United States. As the
collection and support of the Foundation continued to grow, so too did the need
for permanent exhibits and a more solid location. It was not until October of
2008 that the Foundation unveiled the museum and conference center components.

The Science History Institute offers exhibits and programs dedicated to preserving the history of chemistry and related sciences such as chemical engineering and the life sciences. Founded in 1982 as the Center for the History of Chemistry and as a collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania and the American Chemical Society, the organization was known as the Chemical Heritage Foundation for many years prior to the merger of that organization with the Life Sciences Foundation. Today, the Science HIstory Institute collects items and stories related to the history of science. In addition to serving as the headquarters of the organization, this building houses a museum, library, archives, conference center, and a research center dedicated to expanding the knowledge and ever-expanding history of the life sciences and chemistry. 

Science History Institute (Formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation)

Created for “The encouragement and cultivation of the sciences and the advancement of useful learning.” the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia grew quickly after its founding in 1812. Its founders sought to gather together fellow naturalists from the area to expand the scope and credibility of American science. It was modeled after natural science societies of Europe and was incorporated by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1817. By 1820 it was the leading natural science academy within the U.S. and it opened its doors to the public in 1828. Its earliest members included the likes of Titian Peale, Charles Pickering and Thomas Jefferson who was a corresponding member. It later came to include John Audubon, Thomas Henry Huxley and Charles Darwin (another corresponding member) among its members.As it as grown, so too as its research departments and vast collections. It conducts research in the fields of botany, entomology, and vertebrate paleontology among others. Its Patrick Center for Environmental Research, founded in 1948, is involved with biogeochemistry, fisheries, and phycology. The academy’s groundbreaking Center for Systematics and Evolution studies the diversification of living forms and the relationships they develop over time.As for the academy’s public half, its collection of specimens has grown to over 17 million while its library and archives contains hundreds of thousands of journals, volumes, illustrations, and photographs. The academy’s museum is perhaps best known for its Dinosaur Hall whose star attraction is a full-size, 42-foot, Tyrannosaurs Rex. The hall also features over 30 other species, of which half are full skeletal mounts, as well as dinosaur eggs, footprints, and murals. It also permits children of various ages to become archaeologists in its Big and Little Digs area.Other permanent exhibits include its tropical butterfly garden, which contains 20-40 different species at any one time; and its 37 dioramas, most of which were built between the 1930s and 50s and are divided into North American and African and Asian Halls. The academy also contains exhibits devoted to mollusks and its unique What Eats What that examines the food chain and energy flow of a small stream. Its Library Gallery always has on display its double-elephant-sized, original copy of John Audubon’s The Birds of America. And its We Wrote the Book exhibit rotates many of its more famous volumes written by prominent academy members. The academy also hosts rotating exhibits and past ones have included Dinosaurs Unearthed, Treasures from the Mineral Vault, and Frogs: A Chorus of Colors.

The academy was previously known as the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia until 2011, when it became affiliated with Drexel University. It was founded by leading Philadelphia naturalists in 1812 and is the oldest natural science and research institution in the Western Hemisphere. It has been in continuous operation for well over 200 years and its current home, located just across the street from Logan Square, was built in 1876. It is now divided into a public natural history museum and world-class research facility.

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

The Franklin Institute was originally founded in 1824 by Samuel Merrick and William H. Keating as the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. In conjunction with the movement to enact educational reform in America and to help the nation progress through technology, the Institute was opened as a center to honor the memory of Benjamin Franklin and to continue to develop his inventions in innovative ways. The Institute, for its first century after its founding, served this purpose by providing classes in mechanics, engineering, and drafting in order to help bring science and invention into the forefront of those attending. Additionally, the Institute housed numerous technological exhibitions in this span of time.The Institute shifted gears in 1930, attempting to raise money in order to expand and build a memorial hall and a science museum. Despite the financial toll the Great Depression had on the United States, the Institute raised $5.1 million, which allowed them to begin construction for the planned expansions. In New Year’s Day of 1934, the Franklin Institute opened itself to the public as a museum of science, allowing its patrons hands-on experiences that allowed them to learn about the world around them. Over time, the Institute continued to expand, adding to itself the Tuttleman IMAX Theater, and the Fels Planetarium, one of the oldest planetariums in this hemisphere. Additionally, the Institute houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in honor to its titular scientist and Founding Father.Today, the Franklin Institute still works to serve the community by providing hands-on scientific learning experiences for those who walk through its doors. In it, visitors may find exhibits on such topics as King Tut, neuroscience, traveling exhibitions, and other world-class exhibits. In addition to serving as a memorial and a museum, however, the Franklin Institute provides grants to researchers it deems worthy, and also publishes scientific papers to further research and knowledge within the scientific community.

Founded in 1824 as the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, the Franklin Institute is one of the oldest centers dedicated to science education and progress in the United States. In the Institute’s founding days, it offered classes on mechanics, engineering, and other such fields of scientific study in order to broaden people’s understanding of and engagement in the sciences. After a century of activity, the Institute became a museum in 1934 in order to expand its vision of promoting the sciences. Today, the Institute still serves that goal as a museum, reaching out to those who wish to learn through exploring exhibits, attending classes, and much more. Additionally, one may find in the museum’s rotunda the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, which sports a 20-foot-tall marble statue of the scientist and Founding Father.

The Franklin Institute

Medical anatomical museums served as popular sites for leisure activities for Americans throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.&nbsp; Fascination for the obscure and odd added to the spectacle of anatomical museums.&nbsp; On par with dime-show novelty acts and freak shows, anatomical museums sensationalized the medical profession through the use of actual body parts and models.&nbsp; Popularity for these museums ebbed and flowed due to social ideas related to public decency and morality.

Medical anatomical museums also served as teaching museums for medical schools.&nbsp; Most medical schools during the 19th century had an anatomical museum in which students studied and also procured specimens.&nbsp; Many professional anatomical museum curators aimed to collect the most obscure and interesting specimens and materials for their collections.

The Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia opened in 1863 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.&nbsp; The museum consisted of specimens and objects from Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter’s personal collection.&nbsp; Dr. Mütter, an American surgeon, donated $30,000 and 1,700 artifacts to the museum.&nbsp; Dr. Mütter specified that the collection had to be contained in a fire-proof building, with a curator to maintain and add to the collection.&nbsp; Annual lectures were also expected to be held at the facility.

The Mütter Museum is part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which was founded in 1787 and continues to serve both medical and public audiences in the study of medicine.&nbsp; The museum’s collection currently consists of more than 25,000 items, with permanent and traveling exhibits.&nbsp; Artifacts are displayed in cabinets, resembling the 19th-century anatomical museum style.&nbsp; Visitors to the museum can examine medical instruments, anatomical models, and specimens to learn about the human body and the role of medical diagnosis and treatment.

The Mütter Museum is one of the largest museums of medical history in the world. With specimens including parts of Albert Einstein's brain, the museum entices its audiences with anatomical wonders while instructing its patrons on the history of medicine, medical technology, and treatment.

Science Museums in Philadelphia

Penn Museum-University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

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