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American Philosophical Society Museum

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When Benjamin Franklin and friends decided in 1743 to establish America’s first “learned society,” they called it the American Philosophical Society because they practiced the objective study of nature and called themselves natural philosophers. Now we’d call them scientists. But the word “philosophical” stuck. In the first half-century of the republic APS served as a national library, museum, and academy of science. In 2001, the American Philosophical Society opened a museum in Philosophical Hall for the first time since Charles Willson Peale created American’s first successful museum there in 1794. Today the APS Museum presents both ambitious exhibitions and challenging work by contemporary artists that that present the Society’s treasure trove of important documents, scientific specimens, patent models, portraits, maps 300,000 books, 8 million manuscripts, art works and objects that traces American history from the Founding Fathers to the computer age in new and thought-provoking ways.

• At-a-
  Glance

  • Contact Info

    American Philosophical Society Museum

    104 S. Fifth Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19106

    Phone: 215-440-3442   |   Official Website

  • Current Events

    04/13/12- 12/30/12

    Tempus Fugit: Time Flies American Philosophical Society Museum Tempus Fugit: Time Flies Presented by American Philosophical Society Museum at American Philosophical Society Museum April 13-December 30, 2012 Time flies, leaving its mark on the people and objects it touches. This exhibition explores how we try to capture, measure, and find meaning in the midst of time’s inevitable passage. The show includes books, manuscripts, and curiosities from the historic APS collections along with drawings, paintings, collages, videos, and a sound work by contemporary artist Antonia Contro, who selected the APS objects and juxtaposed her own works in response to them. A tiny 1805 topographic model of...

  • Upcoming Events

    06/01/12	Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens Presented by American Philosophical Society Museum at American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall June 1, 2012 Author Andrea Wulf will present an illustrated lecture based on her forthcoming book on the history of the Transit of Venus. Her preceding book was Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, published in spring 2011. Please rsvp to rsvpmuseum@amphilsoc.org.
    06/01/12- 06/10/12	Transit of Venus American Philosophical Society Museum Transit of Venus Presented by American Philosophical Society Museum at American Philosophical Society Museum June 1-June 10, 2012 On Tuesday, June 5th, the world will witness a rare astronomical event. It is called a Transit of Venus. The planet Venus will be visible moving across the disk of the sun, beginning at about 6 pm in Philadelphia. This won't happen again until 2117, so this is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. From June 1st-10th, the American Philosophical Society Museum will be presenting an exhibition of rare scientific instruments, including the telescope David Rittenhouse built to...
    06/02/12- 06/03/12	Transit of Venus & Tune-Up Workshops American Philosophical Society Museum Transit of Venus & Tune-Up Workshops Presented by American Philosophical Society Museum at American Philosophical Society Museum June 2-June 3, 2012 On June 5, 2012, there will be a rare astronomical event--a Transit of Venus. Beginning at 6pm in Philadelphia, the planet Venus will be visible moving across the disk of the sun.  A transit never happened in the 20th century and won't happen again until 2117.  It will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The American Philosophical Society Museum (104 S. Fifth Street) will be offering family-friendly, hands-on workshops on June 2-3, to help everybody get ready for the...

• Current &
  Upcoming Events

  • Current Events

    04/13/12- 12/30/12

    Tempus Fugit: Time Flies American Philosophical Society Museum Tempus Fugit: Time Flies Presented by American Philosophical Society Museum at American Philosophical Society Museum April 13-December 30, 2012 Time flies, leaving its mark on the people and objects it touches. This exhibition explores how we try to capture, measure, and find meaning in the midst of time’s inevitable passage. The show includes books, manuscripts, and curiosities from the historic APS collections along with drawings, paintings, collages, videos, and a sound work by contemporary artist Antonia Contro, who selected the APS objects and juxtaposed her own works in response to them. A tiny 1805 topographic model of...

  • Upcoming Events

    06/01/12	Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens Presented by American Philosophical Society Museum at American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall June 1, 2012 Author Andrea Wulf will present an illustrated lecture based on her forthcoming book on the history of the Transit of Venus. Her preceding book was Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, published in spring 2011. Please rsvp to rsvpmuseum@amphilsoc.org.
    06/01/12- 06/10/12	Transit of Venus American Philosophical Society Museum Transit of Venus Presented by American Philosophical Society Museum at American Philosophical Society Museum June 1-June 10, 2012 On Tuesday, June 5th, the world will witness a rare astronomical event. It is called a Transit of Venus. The planet Venus will be visible moving across the disk of the sun, beginning at about 6 pm in Philadelphia. This won't happen again until 2117, so this is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. From June 1st-10th, the American Philosophical Society Museum will be presenting an exhibition of rare scientific instruments, including the telescope David Rittenhouse built to...
    06/02/12- 06/03/12	Transit of Venus & Tune-Up Workshops American Philosophical Society Museum Transit of Venus & Tune-Up Workshops Presented by American Philosophical Society Museum at American Philosophical Society Museum June 2-June 3, 2012 On June 5, 2012, there will be a rare astronomical event--a Transit of Venus. Beginning at 6pm in Philadelphia, the planet Venus will be visible moving across the disk of the sun.  A transit never happened in the 20th century and won't happen again until 2117.  It will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The American Philosophical Society Museum (104 S. Fifth Street) will be offering family-friendly, hands-on workshops on June 2-3, to help everybody get ready for the...

• Past
  Events

  • Past Events

    05/05/12	Capturing Time: A Time-Lapse Photography Workshop American Philosophical Society Museum
    12/14/11	Celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the APS Museum with Adam Gopnik American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall
    12/01/11- 12/03/11	Of Pictures & Specimens: Natural History in Post-Revolutionary and Restoration France American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall
    11/06/11	counter)induction Concert American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall
    11/04/11	Listener Encounter American Philosophical Society Museum
    10/20/11	Between Architecture, Nature and Technology: Material Analogs American Philosophical Society Museum
    10/20/11	Between Architecture, Nature and Technology: Material Analogs American Philosophical Society Museum
    10/15/11- 10/16/11	A Paper Garden
    09/24/11- 09/25/11	Roots, Shoots, and Barrels: A Family Weekend American Philosophical Society Museum
    09/20/11	Designing the Wild and Cultivating the City American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall
    09/09/11- 12/14/11	The Greenhouse Projects American Philosophical Society Museum
    09/09/11	Grand Opening Reception for The Greenhouse Projects American Philosophical Society Museum
    09/02/11- 09/17/11	A Paper Garden American Philosophical Society Museum
    08/05/11	Spotlight on Porcelain American Philosophical Society Museum
    06/11/11	Designer Plates (Second Saturdays at the APS Museum) American Philosophical Society Museum
    06/03/11	Spotlight on Printmaking (First Friday at the APS Museum) American Philosophical Society Museum
    05/25/11	A Passion for Roses: The Empress, the Quaker, and the Flower They Loved American Philosophical Society Museum
    05/14/11	Picturing Petals (Second Saturdays at the APS Museum) American Philosophical Society Museum
    04/14/11	Rose Is A Rose A Rose...Or Is It? If Empress Josephine Met Gertrude Stein American Philosophical Society Museum
    03/25/11- 12/31/11	Of Elephants and Roses: Encounters with French Natural History, 1790–1830 American Philosophical Society Museum
    09/19/10	Artist panel: A Priest, A Rabbi and Charles Darwin Walk Into A Bar... American Philosophical Society Museum
    09/10/10- 09/18/10	The Association for Creative Zoology American Philosophical Society Museum
    06/13/10	Now You See It, Now You Don't American Philosophical Society Museum
    05/09/10	The Magical Magic Lantern (Second Sundays at the APS Museum) American Philosophical Society Museum
    03/14/10	Printing from Nature (Second Sundays at the APS Museum) American Philosophical Society Museum
    03/05/10	Lisa Anne Auerbach: Pass It On American Philosophical Society Museum
    02/19/10- 02/21/10	Dialogues with Darwin Music and Poetry Project American Philosophical Society - Benjamin Franklin Hall
    02/14/10	Wiggly Worms (Second Sundays at the APS Museum) American Philosophical Society Museum
    01/29/10- 04/11/10	The Tract House: A Darwin Addition
    01/29/10- 04/11/10	Philagrafika 2010: Out of Print - Tract House Storefront American Philosophical Society Museum
    11/08/09	Second Sundays: Fossil Fever American Philosophical Society Museum
    10/16/09- 10/25/09	Darwinii: The Comeuppance of Man American Philosophical Society Museum
    10/11/09	Second Sundays: Book Arts Fun American Philosophical Society Museum
    04/01/09- 10/17/10	Dialogues with Darwin American Philosophical Society Museum
    12/31/69	Print Aweigh, Take Away