Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
For Christine Anderson, visiting the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University<\/a> is a family tradition. And she wanted to continue that ritual one last time Saturday.<\/p>\n As a kid growing up in the Lehigh Valley, Anderson made frequent trips to the country\u2019s oldest natural history museum. As a mother, she brought her daughter Krissy, now 21, to the museum to make her own childhood memories. <\/p>\n And on Saturday, the penultimate day of the museum\u2019s operation before its planned closure<\/a> due to a lack of funding, Anderson and her family squeezed in their final trip.<\/p>\n If for no other reason, she said, than to give her 5-month-old daughter, Lola, the chance to cross through its threshold.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great place for kids to learn, and I think it\u2019s great for the culture of the city,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cAt a time when so many other museums are closing, or at risk of closing, it\u2019s just so disappointing that a space like this is closing with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson and her family were among the dozens of attendees who braved Saturday\u2019s blustery nor\u2019easter to fill the Academy of Natural Science\u2019s halls. The museum\u2019s entry line snaked down the sidewalk along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, flanked by protesters from the Save the Academy Coalition <\/a>who were rallying in support of the beloved institution.<\/p>\n Sarah McAnulty, one of the organizers, said the demonstration was intended to stress that the museum\u2019s life<\/a> isn\u2019t over \u201cuntil the doors are closed and the exhibits are dismantled.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is of critical importance that we make sure the people who are making the decisions with the future of the Academy of Natural Sciences know that the city of Philadelphia needs this museum to stay open and the volume of support that we have for that effort,\u201d said McAnulty, a science educator who runs the nonprofit Skype a Scientist.<\/p>\n To bolster that effort, the coalition hosted a letter-writing station for kids, hoping to send that message directly to Drexel officials. They also offered animal face painting and a free concert. Volunteers stood on the shoulder of the Parkway, their protest signs greeted by enthusiastic honks from passing drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to know whether your kid is going to be inspired by science and become a scientist later,\u201d McAnulty said. \u201cAnd so whether they want to start their journey with science to become a scientist or just to see things that humans have been studying and collecting for thousands of years, this is a huge place for Philadelphia history and inspiration for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n