Please note our museum hours while we undergo renovations.
Museum HoursWed–Fri: 12:30pm–5pm | Sat: 10am–5pm

In her recent book, Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America, Beth Linker tells the incredible story of 20th-century America’s largely forgotten posture panic. During this decades-long episode, it was widely accepted as scientific fact that Americans were suffering from an epidemic of bad posture, with potentially catastrophic health consequences.

Tracing the rise and fall of this socially manufactured epidemic, Slouch also tells how this period continues to feed today’s widespread anxieties about posture.

Come early in person and visit our renovated museum on opening day! The galleries will be open until 6pm.

Pardon our appearance while our lobby remains under construction. Please enter through our 3rd Street entrance (the black gated parking lot).

Agenda

  • 6pm–7pm | Lecture
  • 7pm-8pm | Reception

About Beth Linker

Beth Linker wearing glasses, dark pink top, chin on hand, seated at a table in front of a window

Beth Linker, a former physical therapist, is the Samuel H. Preston Endowed Term Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of the History and Sociology of Science. Her teaching interests include the history of science, disability, and medicine, and her writing has appeared in The Boston Globe, Time, Psyche, The New England Journal of Medicine, and USA Today.

About Science and Society

Our Science and Society speaker series explores the history of science embedded in our everyday lives. We invite scientists, historians, policymakers, and educators for engaging, in-depth conversations that expand our perspectives. Program formats include lectures, interviews, roundtables, and book launches. Science and Society events are curated for an adult audience, fostering curiosity, conversation, and interactivity. Each evening concludes with a free reception with the speakers.

Featured image: Detail of the cover of Beth Linker’s book, Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America.

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For Families

Stories of Science: Earth Month

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

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First Fridays

First Friday: 80s Night

Get ready to travel back in time to the fabulous 1980s! Whether you rocked the Jazzercise leotard or spent hours trying to solve the Rubik’s Cube, we’ve got something for everyone.

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May 3, 2025
Drop-In Tours

Women in Chemistry Tour

Drop in for a tour highlighting the central role of women in shaping chemistry and the material sciences throughout history.

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