Join our museum’s Gallery Guides for a “drop-in” tour highlighting the central role of women in shaping chemistry and the material sciences throughout history.

Our Women in Chemistry Tour profiles women chemists from antiquity to the present, sharing stories of innovation, resistance, and change.

On this tour, you can expect to:

  • learn about the legendary founding women of alchemy
  • explore the connections between domesticity and distillation
  • see how wartime changed the laboratory

You’ll also meet pioneering chemists and chemistry educators, from 17th-century French alchemist Marie Meurdrac to Marie Maynard Daly, the first Black woman in America to receive a PhD in chemistry, and Rosalind Franklin, whose work in X-ray crystallography led to the discovery of DNA’s structure. 


Drop-in tours are free and no reservations are necessary.

More events

title treatment graphic for Fire and Gold exhibition
October 7, 2026
Museum Programs & Activities

SOLD OUT! An Alchemical Affair: A ‘Fire and Gold’ Opening Celebration

We are thrilled to unveil our newest permanent exhibition, Fire and Gold: The Art of Alchemy (1450–1850).

The Alchemist and His Wife, ca. 1928, by Jacques Hammerer, after 17th-century original by David Ryckaert III.
October 10, 2026
Free

Art of Alchemy Self-Guided Visit

Step into the age of alchemy and explore works in our new permanent exhibition, Fire and Gold: The Art of Alchemy (1450–1850).

monochrome blue illustration of house exteriors with the caption "Be a Better Chooser"
October 10, 2026
Tours

Stuff from Your House Highlights Tour

Join our museum educators as we explore the scientific principles and history behind everyday household objects.

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