Academy Happenings
The Academy is open!
We are so excited to be welcoming visitors again!
Current Hours
Weekday Hours: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Wednesday - Friday
Weekend Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday - Sunday
Click here for more details and FAQs
about our current safety protocols.
Third Annual WINS Poster Presentation and Panel Discussion
Saturday, October 14, 2023
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Poster Presentations: 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Panel Discussions: 1–3 p.m.
Enjoy free museum admission, meet WINS participants, staff and alumnae and learn more about the WINS program while exploring our dioramas and special exhibits.
Join the Academy of Natural Sciences to celebrate the work of our Women In Natural Sciences (WINS) students at our third annual poster presentation and panel discussion. Learn about the students’ life-changing experiences in the Academy’s collections and out in the field with Drexel’s Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES) Department and School of Engineering, as well as the Pocono Environmental Education Center.
Poster Presentations: 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Panel Discussions: 1–3 p.m.
The WINS program is the Academy’s nationally recognized and award-winning STEM Out-of-School Time program that promotes the elevation of women in all STEM fields, especially in the natural sciences and engineering.
Since 1982, the program has served almost 1,000 participants in Philadelphia by providing opportunities for hands-on and real-world STEM experiences, positive youth development, college preparation and navigation and career exploration.
The Academy and the WINS Program would like to thank the Drexel Environmental Science Leadership Academy, the National Science Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, the William Penn Foundation, the Pocono Environmental Education Center and The M. Patricia Mans Endowment for providing resources for these very special opportunities.
Illuminating Birds
Drawing as a Way of Knowing
May 20–October 15, 2023
Part gallery and part studio, Illuminating Birds celebrates the enduring appeal of drawing and writing about birds. Requiring prolonged observation and deep curiosity, drawing — in its ability to distill — contributes to creative insights and scientific understanding.
Experience avian artworks by Alexander Wilson, Elizabeth and John Gould, John James Audubon, Edward Lear and Louis Agassiz Fuertes from the Academy’s archives and collections, all documenting the beginnings of the scientific study of birds — and the complex cultural and historical aspects that they carry. Examine colorful, early birding field guides and hand-painted magic lantern slides that demonstrate the role illustration played in popularizing birding and advancing the
In the Avian Art Studio, we invite you to try your own hand at drawing or writing about birds while surrounded by inspiring specimens, field notes, an extraordinary “commonplace book,” feathers and creative prompts developed by Drexel’s Writers Room and many others.
Over the course of the exhibition, avian artist-in-residence Jane Kim, whose work reflects current concerns related to biodiversity loss and climate change, will develop a new public mural for Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood through a joint partnership of the Academy of Natural Sciences and Mural Arts Philadelphia. Follow along with us as the work unfolds!
Learn more about Illuminating Birds.
Illuminating Birds Saturday Events Series
May 20–Oct 15, 2023
Select Saturdays, 2–4 p.m.
Free with admission
Join us in the Avian Art Studio for our Illuminating Birds Saturday Event Series. Come explore the Academy’s vast ornithological collections through guided hands-on workshops and demonstrations with local artists and writers and learn why they are inspired by our avian neighbors. Draw your favorite specimen or write a new poem about a connection you had with a bird in your community.
Learn how people who appreciate birds build a community centered around science, art, culture and engagement, and how you can join them in appreciating birds through drawing, writing, and other creative practices. We’ll have pencils and paper available, or you can use one of our coloring pages to guide you. All ages and art abilities are welcome in the Avian Art Studio!
Upcoming Events:
Saturday, September 30
With poet Sojourner Ahebee
2–4 p.m.
Saturday, October 7
With artist Sarah Kaizar
2–4 p.m.
Saturday, October 14
With artist Duwenavue Santé Johnson
2–4 p.m.
Learn more about Avian Art Studio.
Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity
June 24, 2023–January 21, 2024
Skin — it's deeper than you might think. Discover the shape-shifting, color-changing and ever-evolving nature of this complex organ in Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity. A media-rich, hands-on exhibition offered in both English and Spanish, Skin inspires wonder and curiosity about this uniquely complex organ and illustrates its many incredibly adaptive and evolving properties.
Explore the fascinating roles that feathers, furs, scutes, scales, hides and hairs play for different organisms across the globe through dozens of scientific specimens. Learn how evolution has shaped our own skin sensitivity and diversity — and how much scientists have yet to uncover about its underlying genetics.
This exhibit will also help spark dialogue and reflection about skin’s role in shaping human culture and identity. Investigate the layers of meaning associated with skin color throughout history and discover skin’s influence on shifting ideas of race and culture in our modern world.
Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity was created by the California Academy of Sciences and modified for travel and distributed by the Science Museum of Minnesota. The exhibit is generously supported by Susan and Nicholas Pritzker and Family.
All exhibits are included with the purchase of a general admission ticket.
Field Trips
Whether you prefer a structured visit complete with lessons taught by Academy educators, or you’d like time to explore the museum on your own, we promise that our interactive field trip ideas will make your experience memorable. Museum exhibits are engaging for groups of all ages, from preschoolers to elementary schoolchildren and beyond. In Dinosaur Hall, stroll beneath towering fossil skeletons, examine dinosaur anatomy up close and see real fossils being prepared. Travel the globe through our ever-popular dioramas, visit our special exhibits and touch real specimens as you chat with Academy educators. Meet the Academy’s live animals and learn about animal adaptations, or watch an experiment and get the facts on climate and weather in exciting live stage shows!
Learn more about Academy Field Trips.
Science Storytime
Join us one weekend each month on Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m.
Have some fun with Academy educators and other young natural history fans for a very special science story time.
Each week will feature a science story and a hands-on craft to try.
Learn More about Science StoryTime.
Outside In
Inquisitive minds of all ages can investigate animal habitats, explore science and the natural world and discover how
we all have a role to play in our ecosystem.
All exhibits are included in general admission.
Birthday Parties at the Academy
With a T. rex that has celebrated millions of birthdays, the Academy really knows how to throw a party!
Celebrate your child’s special day in a one-of-a-kind way! We offer theme parties for kids who love dinosaurs, butterflies, and bugs. Basic parties and add-on options are available. Members also save!
Click here to explore birthday parties at the Academy.
Self Guided Tours
Down the Hall and Around the World Self-Guided Family Expedition Tours
Free with admission; pick up onsite or download at home.
Ready to embark on an expedition? When you visit the Academy, grab a brand new, free self-guided tour to take a
closer look at Dinosaur Hall, North American Hall, and African and Asian Halls.
Explore each exhibit at your own pace. The answers will be right before your eyes or printed in the labels, so have
some fun on this expedition and travel to a whole new world in the halls of the Academy. What will you discover
today?
Like to preplan your route? Download the guides here!
Science From Home
Visit our Science From Home page for simple science activities, coloring pages, outdoor activities to explore the
nature around you, and more! We are constantly adding and changing the contents of this page, so check back often!
Click here for 50+ activities to try from
home.