September 01, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
The Academy of Sciences is closing its museum, shown above in 2019. The museum has been operating since 1828.
The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing its museum after nearly two centuries in operation.
Drexel University, which stewards the Logan Square museum, announced the "difficult decision" in an email Tuesday. The site will remain open to visitors until Sept. 30.
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Drexel and museum officials said admission had been dwindling for several years and never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing in the academy's current building at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway "would place increasing pressure on the resources required to safeguard the collections and sustain the research enterprise," Drexel President Antonio Merlo and Academy chair Suzanne Biemiller said in their message. The decision to close the museum, they added, will support long-term stewardship of the objects on display.
"We know the museum's closure will be painful for staff and deeply disappointing to many others who care about the Academy," Merlo and Biemiller wrote. "We do not underestimate that loss. This difficult decision was made to protect the collections and scientific mission at the heart of the Academy and represents an important step toward addressing the Academy's financial challenges."
The museum, which opened in 1828, counts more than 19 million biological specimens, fossils and other scientific resources in its collections. Leaders will continue to look for opportunities for public engagement in Philadelphia. The academy remains "firmly committed" to making is collections accessible for research, officials said.
Scott Cooper, president and CEO of the Academy of Natural Sciences, is resigning his position.
This is a developing story. Check back for additional details
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