Beloved Philadelphia Science Museum Closes After 198 Years
Generations of Philadelphia families walked through the Academy of Natural Sciences to see dinosaurs, dioramas, and specimens collected from around the world. After nearly 200 years, those museum doors have now closed to the public.
The Academy welcomed visitors for the final time on Sunday, Sept. 27. Its museum officially closed Sept. 30, ending a public operation that began in 1828.
The institution itself is older still. According to the Academy of Natural Sciences, seven naturalists founded it in 1812 to advance scientific discovery.
The entire Academy is not shutting down. Drexel University says the Academy’s scientific research and stewardship of its collections will continue.
Rising Costs Put Pressure on the Museum
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Drexel and Academy leaders announced the closure on Sept. 1. In the Academy’s announcement, leaders said attendance habits had changed since the COVID-19 pandemic while the cost of operating the museum continued to rise.
They ultimately concluded that maintaining the museum in its current form was putting too much pressure on resources needed for research, collections and preservation.
Those collections include more than 19 million biological specimens, fossils, archives and other scientific materials. The Academy’s collections program supports research on biodiversity, evolution and environmental change.
Public access could eventually return in another form: Drexel and Academy leaders shared that they are exploring financially sustainable ways to display parts of the collection and continue science education.
Philadelphia is Still Debating What Comes Next
The final weeks brought protests and calls for reconsideration. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that roughly 8,000 people visited on the Saturday before the museum’s final day.
The closure has also reached Philadelphia City Hall. Philadelphia City Council authorized hearings into the decision, its impact on the city and possible ways to preserve public access.
The public galleries that opened in 1828 have closed. The Academy says its collections and scientific work will continue while leaders consider what public access could look like in the future.
