Celebrate the 12th year of Philly Materials Day and explore the materials that impact your world at a day of FREE hands-on science and engineering fun for all ages!

Logo: Philly Materials Science & Engineering Day

Stop by the Science History Institute booth to learn all about natural and synthetic fibers, their history, and the different ways they shape our lives. And use your new knowledge of fibers to design your own superhero costume!

Visit phillymaterials.org for information on the day’s other hands-on activities. Special behind-the-scenes tours for high school students will highlight some of the advanced instrumentation and lab spaces that make materials research possible. 


Event sponsors include Boeing, Verder Scientific, and Arkema, Inc., in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, the Science History Institute, and North Penn High School Nanotechnology Education and Research (N.E.A.R.).

For more information, please visit phillymaterials.org.


Featured image: Violet Grenda inspecting nylon yarn at a DuPont facility, 1938.

More events

book illustration of protozoa
July 25, 2026
Drop-In Tours

Unwell Waters Highlights Tour

Join our museum educators at 11:30am or 2pm as we visit the history of medicine exhibit to learn about waterborne epidemics from Pennsylvania’s past.

illustration of a colonial-era man behind a boiling kettle
July 25, 2026
For Families

Stories of Science: Revolutionary Science

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

Research fellow Eva Hemmungs Wirtén.
July 29, 2026
Free

Othmer Library Tour

Curious about the other half of the Science History Institute? Step into the Othmer Library of Chemical History!

    Republish

    Copy the above HTML to republish this content. We have formatted the material to follow our guidelines, which include our credit requirements. Please review our full list of guidelines for more information. By republishing this content, you agree to our republication requirements.