PHILADELPHIA, November 7, 2018

Dragons, unicorns and mermaids meet real science and globetrotting dinosaurs navigate their changing environments in two special exhibitions in 2019 at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

Nestled in the heart of Philadelphia’s Parkway Museums District, the Academy is Philly’s dinosaur museum and the nation’s oldest natural history museum. In the months ahead, two new traveling exhibits will fill the galleries with exciting opportunities and engaging programs for both children and adults.

The museum’s signature exhibits include Discovering Dinosaurs, Butterflies! (a tropical garden of live butterflies), Outside In (a children’s discovery center with live animals), and historic dioramas depicting animals around the world in realistic habitats. Live animals roam the halls with their handlers on any given day and naturalist presentations are an enlightened delight to behold.

Here is the schedule of temporary exhibits for 2019. For updates, online admission discounts and a full calendar of events, visit ansp.org.

Specimens of Hair

Wednesday, November 14, 2018–Sunday, March 24, 2019

Americans have been curious about presidential hair since long before the combover became a thing. In a rare exhibit of a unique collection that once belonged to amateur naturalist Peter A. Browne (1782–1860), the Academy created an intimate display of five 19th-century albums containing samples of human and animal hair, including locks from among the first 14 U.S. presidents. Every three weeks, staff will lift the glass from the two cases and turn the pages of the albums to a different page so that one presidential lock will be displayed at a time. The hair samples that will be shown will be announced on the Academy’s social media channels. Visitors can watch the pages being rotated and chat with the Academy’s archivist.

To download an image, visit the Press Room after Nov. 15

Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids

Saturday, February 16–Sunday, June 9, 2019

For thousands of years, people have brought mythic creatures to life through art, stories and songs. Even as scientific discoveries have drawn distinctions between myth and reality, these beasts of the land, air and water have maintained an enduring hold on the human imagination. Discover how real animals such as dinosaurs, mammoths and narwhals may have stirred tales of griffins, giants and unicorns. Learn why so many legendary water spirits look like mermaids. Touch fossils, explore winged mythological creatures, build your own dragon and come face to face with a giant legendary sea monster.

To download an image, visit the Press Room

Dinosaurs Around the World

Sunday, June 30, 2019–Monday, January 20, 2020

Embark on a globetrotting expedition where dinosaurs reign throughout the land. Dinosaurs Around the World introduces visitors to more than a dozen animatronic dinosaurs on a voyage from the ferocious plains of Africa and the tropical beaches of Antarctica, to the inland seas of North America and the polar darkness of Australia. Find out how continental drift, sea level fluctuations and volcanic activity allowed dinosaurs to disperse to all corners of the globe. Learn about paleontological research, touch fossil casts, discover and name your own dinosaur, investigate what dinosaurs may have looked like in life and find modern-day dinosaurs right in your own backyard!

To download an image, visit the Press Room