Philadelphia’s STEM community is losing one of its gathering places.
The Academy of Natural Sciences’ 200-year-old museum is set to close at the end of September, leaving behind questions about where the city’s science and technology communities will come together next.
“We’re losing a focus point of science in a city that likes to say that [we do] science.”
Betsy Payne, the Philadelphia Education Fund
Local groups have long filled the museum’s halls with events and programming ranging from formal award ceremonies to STEM education gatherings.
“To say it’s devastating to watch the academy shutter is an understatement,” said Eric Smith, co-organizer of the Philly Geek Awards. “I hope it finds a way back. It was a place that I couldn’t wait to come back to when I’d left this city.”
Geek culture blog Geekadelphia celebrated its annual awards ceremony at the Academy of Natural Sciences museum for five of the seven years it was held. The awards recognized startups, technologists, scientists and other geeky topics before officially shutting down in 2018.
The Geek Awards were part of a wave of adult events at the museum organized by Jill Sybesma, the museum’s manager of adult and strategic programs at the time, Smith said.
“I wish that vision could have continued. I feel like that was the gateway to keeping the place a location beyond the dinosaurs and exhibits,” he said.
The Academy museum served as a space to foster community during the awards shows, co-organizer Mikey Ilagan wrote in a post on Instagram.
“I’m very proud we played a tiny role in its 200-year history, and I’m very grateful for all the time I got to spend in those halls,” he wrote.
The city’s Deputy Mayor Patricia Wellenbach will serve as a senior advisor to the research institution as it figures out its next steps — and not all hope for a comeback is lost.
The Academy itself — responsible for the research and education side of operations — isn’t going anywhere and Drexel University and the institution are considering a new, possibly smaller museum in another location, according to Comcast executive David L. Cohen. Drexel spokesperson Britt Faulstick could not confirm any specifics.
Drexel and the Academy also reached a tentative agreement to continue working together and for Drexel to continue its financial support of the institution.
Losing a space for STEM education
Aside from hosting Philly’s tech community, the museum also served as a venue for science education programs run by both the Academy and its partner organizations.
Programs often welcomed local students and families into the space to interact with scientists, Betsy Payne, manager of STEM Ecosystems and Professional Networks for the Philadelphia Education Fund (PEF), said.
For example, participants in the Academy’s Women in Natural Sciences program, a science education and mentorship program for high school girls, got to work in the museum and engage with scientists, according to Payne, who used to work for the Academy.
PEF hosted STEM Community Day last spring, which invited families to the museum to learn about STEM education opportunities in Philly.
The Academy ultimately made science more accessible to Philly communities, said Darlene Cavalier, founder of citizen science nonprofit SciStarter, which partnered with the Academy of Natural Sciences in 2024 for its One Million Acts of Science Campaign.
The closing of the museum is “a tremendous sentimental loss and a blow for Philadelphia’s STEM ecosystem,” she told Technical.ly.
Even if relocated, losing this site specifically undermines a key selling point.
It was in a central location for families and students across the city to participate in science activities, Payne said. The loss of the museum is a hit to all of that, especially as Philly touts its reputation as a science hub.
“We’re losing a focus point of science,” Payne said, “in a city that likes to say that [we do] science.”
