Woven into The Ecology of Fashion exhibition, our Saturday series is a monthly drop-in workshop featuring hands-on experiences where you can patch jeans, make a handwarmer, use indigo and other natural dyes, learn about microplastics and more. Join us the first Saturday of each month to add some new sustainable practices into your own lifestyle or wardrobe!

These drop-in workshops are free with general admission to the Academy.

Saturday, May 3, 2–4 p.m.

Purchasing Power

What are microplastics and how do they end up in the environment? How can your choice of goggles, bathing suits and pool floaties contribute to the microplastic problem? Learn how Academy scientists in the Patrick Center for Environmental Research identify microplastics in our water and help our Biogeochemistry Lab identify microplastics in their samples from the Philadelphia area.

Saturday, June 7, 2–4 p.m.

Downcycling, Recycling and Reuse: Fabscrap Education Session

In this education session, Fabscrap will introduce visitors to the issues of fashion's pre-consumer textile waste, as well as the need for downcycling, recycling and reuse for both waste reduction and a shift toward circularity.

Fabscrap is a nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn, New York City that has pioneered a system to recycle and reuse fabric waste, creating an accessible materials resource for creative communities, while reducing the fashion industry’s impact on the planet.

Saturday, July 5, 2–4 p.m.

Summer Styles

How does making clothing impact the global environment? What is upcycling and why is it so important? Learn all about how there is more than meets the eye in your choices for summer styles. Take a peek at the Academy’s Botany Collection. Bring an old pair of shorts and repurpose them into a lunch bag to take home.