Due to exhibition construction, the museum is closed today (March 12) and will open at 1pm tomorrow (March 13).
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Temporary Museum Hours in Effect
SCIENTIFIC BIOGRAPHIES

Women’s History Month

Learn about women scientists like chemist Rosalind Franklin who have contributed to some of the most significant achievements and discoveries in the history of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences.

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COLLECTIONS BLOG

Judging Sinclair Lewis’s ‘Arrowsmith’ by Its Cover

Public perceptions of 20th-century medical science as seen through book cover illustrations.

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illustration of a buildingillustration of a building
EVENTS

Philadelphia: Workshop of the World

Join us for our (rescheduled) March First Friday as we unveil ‘Philadelphia: Workshop of the World,’ the latest exhibition from our A Closer Read series.

Friday, March 13, 2026 | 5pm-7pm

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Painting of a man touching an electrified key on a kite string in a storm. The man is surrounded by cherub-looking creatures known as putti.Painting of a man touching an electrified key on a kite string in a storm. The man is surrounded by cherub-looking creatures known as putti.
DISTILLATIONS MAGAZINE

When Electricity Met Democratic Revolution

The science that animated a political idea.

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Launch Party!
A History of Fireworks Opening Celebration

Join us for the opening of Flash! Bang! Boom!, our sparkling new exhibition celebrating America’s 250th birthday.
 
Friday, April 10, 2026 | 5pm-8pm

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Featured

A woman holds a nylon stocking stretched between her two hands. To the left of the woman is a magnified image of knitted nylon thread from the stocking.
Collections Blog

Touching the Past
An image of Marie Maynard Daly, a black woman scientist in a lab coat works with test tubes in a laboratory.
SCIENTIFIC BIOGRAPHIES

Marie Maynard Daly
dining table with orchids and test tubes
CONFERENCE CENTER

Host an Event
dark blue graphic showing 52 Weeks of Firsts along with various mementos
EVENTS

Stories of Science: 52 Weeks of Firsts
Acetate film negative containing X-ray diffraction images of DNA
Collections

History of Molecular Biology Collection
Warning message taped to Varian A-60 Proton NMR Console
EXHIBITIONS

Jokes & Warnings on Scientific Instruments

Collect. Preserve. Interpret. Share.

Through research, storytelling, public programming, and educational outreach, we reveal how science is embedded in our daily lives.

plastic yellow oven mitt and flip flop

Museum
rare books

Library
illustration of man blowing out a fire

Stories
teacher at chalkboard

Education
X-ray diffraction pattern of DNA, known as Photograph 51, historically significant in molecular biology.

Collections
A Beckman Center fellow conducts research in the Othmer Library.

Research

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