The Academy opened its doors to the public in 1828. Here the mysteries of nature were revealed, its chaos organized and labeled in Latin and Greek. In 1868, the Academy astonished and delighted its audiences when it displayed the world’s first mounted dinosaur, Hadrosaurus foulkii, through the collaborative efforts of Academy scientist Dr. Joseph Leidy and artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. The collections expanded so rapidly that the Academy outgrew its building three times in 60 years. In 1876 its present home was built at 19th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, now the heart of Philadelphia's cultural district. With the opening of the new building, the Academy became a modern museum with space for exhibitions and public lectures.
Some of the plants and animals in the Academy's collections found their way into magnificent, historically precise dioramas, many of which were constructed in the 1920s and 1930s. To capitalize on the educational potential of the dioramas, the Academy initiated classes for students in the School District of Philadelphia in 1932.
In 1986 the Academy opened the acclaimed Discovering Dinosaurs exhibit, cementing its reputation in the region as "the Dinosaur Museum." This exhibit was renovated and expanded in 1998. Today the dinosaurs, dioramas, live butterfly garden and dozens of live animals attract some 200,000 visitors a year, including thousands of schoolchildren in the tri-state area. The Academy is building natural science literacy in the community through its education programs that appeal to all ages.
In 1948, long before water pollution and environmental degradation became topics of public concern, the Academy established what is now the Patrick Center for Environmental Research. This marked the beginning of a broadened research orientation, which includes applied research in aquatic ecosystems, as well as traditional systematics research. The center is named for Dr. Ruth Patrick (1907- ) who established the ecosystem-approach to determining water quality and won the National Medal of Science in 1996 for her achievement.
Today the Academy is an international natural history museum that pursues research and education focusing on the global environment and its diverse species. In 2011 the Academy became an affiliate of Drexel University, creating an internationally recognized powerhouse for discovery in the natural and environmental sciences.
Editor's Note: Don't miss the Presidential Hair Album
The presidential hair album is one of 12 volumes of hair collected and compiled by a Philadelphia lawyer named Peter Arvell Browne (1762–1860), who had also contributed many botanical and geological specimens to the Academy. Not much is known about Browne, but the hair albums were given to the Academy upon his death. The other volumes contain hair from mammals, human ethnic groups, and an assortment of famous people, including Napoleon Bonaparte.
In some cases, the accompanying letters explain how the presidential locks were obtained. Typically, someone in the president's immediate family had saved samples of their hair as a sentimental keepsake. (Saving a lock of a loved one's hair was common practice in the 19th century.) When Browne asked them for samples to aid him in his scientific research, they were happy to oblige. Thus, Browne was able to assemble this extraordinary collection of presidential ephemera.
A Glorious Enterprise: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Making of American Science by Robert McCracken Peck, Patricia Tyson Stroud (available in March)
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