{"id":281052,"date":"2026-09-07T21:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/281052\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T21:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:32:09","slug":"protesters-push-to-stop-closure-of-academy-of-natural-sciences-nbc10-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/281052\/","title":{"rendered":"Protesters push to stop closure of Academy of Natural Sciences \u2013 NBC10 Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Less than a week after the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University announced it will close its museum in Philadelphia<\/a>, protesters are pushing to keep it open. <\/p>\n

A rally — organized by Green Philly<\/a>, Philadelphia Science Action<\/a> and Skype a Scientist<\/a> — is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 8, outside the museum on 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway.<\/p>\n

“We are asking Drexel to find a way to keep the museum open to the public past September of 2026,” organizers wrote in a post on the Philly subreddit.<\/a> “For almost 200 years, the Academy of Natural Sciences has been dedicated to understanding the natural world and inspiring everyone to care for it.”<\/p>\n

On Sept. 1, the Academy announced it will officially close the museum on Sept. 30, 2026. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of this broader effort and following careful consideration, grounded in deep respect for the Academy\u2019s extraordinary legacy, Academy and Drexel leadership have made the difficult decision to close the Academy\u2019s museum as of September 30,\u201d Drexel University President Antonio Merlo, PhD, and Board of Trustees Chair Suzanne Biemiller wrote. \u201cWhile the museum will close, the Academy remains committed to public engagement and education, and work will continue to identify new and financially sustainable opportunities for the public display of elements from its collections and engagement with the natural sciences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Academy was founded in 1812 by seven naturalists whose mission at the time was to advance scientific discovery. The museum then opened in 1828 as a way to share the Academy\u2019s natural history collections with the public.<\/p>\n

In 2011, the Academy became affiliated with Drexel University and changed its name from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.<\/p>\n

In October of last year,<\/a> the museum reduced its operating hours from five days a week to Friday through Sunday. At that time, the Academy said the decision was due to visitation rates not rebounding to pre-pandemic levels, federal funding cuts and an \u201cuncertain philanthropic landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their release on the museum\u2019s permanent closure, Merlo and Biemiller said that operating costs continued to rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver time, it became clear that these were not temporary pressures, but fundamental changes in the economics of the Academy\u2019s operational model, costs that have imperiled the Academy\u2019s ability to discharge its overall mission and preserve its legacy,\u201d they wrote. \u201cAfter examining a range of alternatives, Academy and Drexel leadership concluded that continuing to operate the museum in its current building and form would place increasing pressure on the resources required to safeguard the collections and sustain the research enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Merlo and Biemiller also wrote that closing the museum is \u201cthe first step in the larger project of building a sustainable future for the Academy” and that they remain committed to the stewardship of the Academy\u2019s collections which include more than 19 million biological specimens, fossils, archives and other scientific resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur commitment rests on the longstanding partnership between Drexel and the Academy,\u201d they wrote. \u201cSince the Academy of Natural Sciences and Drexel became affiliated in 2011, we have expanded opportunities for research, education and innovation. Together, we established Drexel\u2019s Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Sciences, created new opportunities for experiential learning and advanced important research in biodiversity and environmental science. Most importantly, this affiliation has helped to preserve and strengthen one of the nation\u2019s great scientific collections.\u201d<\/p>\n

The museum was crowded over Labor Day weekend amid news of the impending closure. Organizers of Tuesday’s rally stressed the importance of keeping the museum open. <\/p>\n

“At a time when climate change and science continue to be under attack, Philadelphia cannot afford to lose another institution that connects people to the natural world,” they wrote. “From initiatives like Plastic Free Philly to Academy Town Halls that bring people together to discuss climate challenges, along with exhibits that make science accessible to the public, the Academy plays a critical role in our city.”<\/p>\n

In addition to the museum’s closure, the Academy also announced that Scott Cooper, PhD, had stepped down as their president and CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful for Dr. Cooper\u2019s leadership and for his many contributions to the Academy and to Drexel,\u201d Merlo and Biemiller wrote. \u201cTo support continuity through this transition, he will continue to serve in an advisory capacity, providing counsel as the museum closure is implemented and the Academy enters its next phase.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Less than a week after the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University announced it will close its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70],"class_list":["post-281052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}