Academy Happenings
The Academy is open!
Current Hours
Weekday Hours: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Tuesday - Friday
Weekend Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday - Sunday
Ice Dinosaurs
September 28, 2024–May 4, 2025
Explore paleontology’s final frontier in Ice Dinosaurs, the Academy’s exciting new special exhibit. Transport yourself to the Late Cretaceous period in the Arctic Circle, where dinosaurs actually lived year-round in extreme polar environments. This brand-new, immersive and educational experience brings this era to life with animatronic dinosaurs, engaging stories and real fossils, skeletons and museum casts.
Follow a family of Troodons —large, feathered raptors — and discover how they survived, made nests, hibernated, hunted and cared for their young, all in a place that experienced darkness for half the year. Investigate the changing geography of ancient snow-covered lands with interactive maps. Explore fossils and casts to learn about the real force of dinosaur’s teeth, the size of their eggs or how they burrowed in icy terrain. And of course, marvel at the magnificent life-like moving creatures!
Built around groundbreaking discoveries that challenge traditional understandings of paleontology, Ice Dinosaurs celebrates the unique adaptations of real polar dinosaurs who lived in cold, dark and snowy conditions long ago.
All exhibits are included with the purchase of a general admission ticket.
Save $2 per ticket when you purchase online.
Learn more about Ice Dinosaurs.
Life Onto Land: The Devonian
November 11, 2023–September 29, 2024
You’ve likely heard of the Jurassic and the Cretaceous, but do you know about the Devonian? With its incredible diversity of terrestrial life, this fascinating period in geological history — hundreds of millions of years before the age of the dinosaurs — was pivotal in shaping the world as we know it today. All vertebrates living on land, including humans, stem from the remarkable creatures that began the move onto land in the Devonian Period.
Life Onto Land: The Devonian centers around the Academy’s internationally celebrated paleontological research and the incredible discovery of Tiktaalik roseae. Unearthed in 2004 on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic territory of Nunavut, this transitional fossil has been critical in piecing together a picture of how fins became limbs — or, of how terrestrial, limbed vertebrates arose from aquatic, lobe-finned ancestors.
This new exhibition features the original holotype specimen of Tiktaalik roseae and a newly commissioned Tiktaalik model by Tyler Keillor. See enchanting drawings by Spanish artist Aina Bestard, breathtaking footage of Arctic and Antarctic research sites and the vivid scientific illustrations of Scott Rawlins. Experience the stunning plant and animal fossils collected from Devonian rock found here in Pennsylvania and around the world.
Life Onto Land reveals the diverse marine, freshwater swamp and terrestrial ecosystems of this period, as well as the amazing scientific discoveries of the Academy’s team of paleontologists who continue to contribute to our understanding of this transformational time in our planet’s history.
All exhibits are included with the purchase of a general admission ticket.
Learn more about Life Onto Land.
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.
Sensory-friendly Mornings
Select Dates
9 a.m.-11 a.m.
Sensory-friendly mornings can be a comfortable, calmer way for museum visitors, especially those with sensory sensitivities, to explore the museum. These mornings will include:
- Advanced ticketing to help avoid lines
- Smaller crowds
- More tranquil sounds in exhibitions whenever possible, with soundscapes and roaring dinosaurs softened or turned off
- An available quiet and relaxing space
- Time to explore our signature and special exhibits and wander through the dioramas at your own pace.
- Noise cancelling headphones and fidget toys available for guests
- Understanding, empathetic staff ready to help and share science with you!
Guests of all ages are welcome at this family-friendly event!
Preregistration is required to ensure a calm, positive experience for all guests. While guests will not be turned away if capacity allows, we strongly recommend reserving your ticket in advance due to the popularity of this program and to help all our families avoid lines.
Learn more about Sensory-friendly Mornings.
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.
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.
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.