The International Sculpture Center (ISC) will hold the 28th International Sculpture Conference: Defining Moments in the Face of Change in Philadelphia, PA from October 25-28, 2018. This four-day conference will bring together a diverse audience of artists, educators, arts administrators, museum directors, collectors, patrons, students, and sculpture enthusiasts. Continue reading
Join us for a curator’s tour of the upcoming monuments exhibit, a tour of the League house, and displays from the collection. Continue reading
To celebrate Archives Month Philly, Eastern State Archivist Erica Harman will lead several special 15-minute Hands-On History tours of the penitentiary’s collection storage area that houses Eastern State’s generally unknown, fascinating, and sometimes creepy collection of prisoner-made objects, photographs, and documents. Continue reading
All welcome, with a focus on women, people of color, and trans folk! Continue reading
Every Friday the Penn Museum opens its archives doors to everyone to see hidden collections. Continue reading
The early “What in the World” television game show inspired young people to enter the world of archaeology and anthropology Continue reading
What is an appropriate monument for the current city of Philadelphia? Monument Lab is a public art and history project from Mural Arts Philadelphia and a team led by curators Paul M. Farber and Ken Lum, taking place citywide in fall 2017. Continue reading
Using artifacts from The Historical Medical Library and Mütter Museum collections, this new exhibition examines the shifting perceptions about abnormal human development, from fear and wonder to curiosity and clinical science. Continue reading
An exhibition about the Peale family’s role in shaping early American public culture through innovations in art, science, and technology. Continue reading
This exhibit traces the history of the first private mental institution in the United States. Continue reading
This exhibit explores the myth and history of the Penn Treaty Elm from the time of the treaty to the present day. Continue reading
An exhibition and walking tour exploring the life and afterlife of things. Continue reading
Archivists take over the popular bar-based monthly lecture series, Nerd Nite Philly. Continue reading
Check out what’s behind the wall at Girard College and explore treasures ranging from a letter from President Monroe asking for a loan to records of school dining hall cuisine. Continue reading
“Invisible, not insignificant” uses the Historical Medical Library’s collection of 19th- and early 20th-century photographs, case books, diaries, and pamphlets to look at ‘invisible’ conditions such as depression, and explores 19th-century asylum life. Continue reading
Hear the curators of this exhibit discuss their ideas and process. Continue reading
For one-night only, discover how STEM education has changed over the centuries as the Othmer Library of Chemical History opens its vaults for American Archives Month! Continue reading
The 2017 Philadelphia Lantern Slide Salon will showcase glass lantern slides from the special collections of several Philadelphia institutions projected from an historic lantern projector in the Wagner’s Victorian-era lecture hall. Continue reading
Archives & History Day, a history expo with more than 60 organizations participating, plus other days with lectures and a feature film.
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Come find out more about one of Philadelphia’s richest and most influential citizens and the legacy of the unique school he founded. Continue reading
Think you know Philadelphia history? Test your knowledge of the City of Brotherly Love in this special pub quiz organized by the Delaware Valley Archivists Group and the Philadelphia History Museum. Questions plumbed from the annals of our city’s past by your friendly local archivists will challenge you to recall the people, places, and events that make Philadelphia unique. Continue reading
Come see the invisible sights and unheard sounds of the moments before the big moments … before the counter-attack is launched, the play performed, an execution ordered, a new bestseller published. Continue reading
Who do we want to honor in public space? What are the untold stories that need to be told, and who are the storytellers? Continue reading
Learn about Christopher Ludwick, gingerbread maker and baker for the Contintenal Army during the American Revolution with gingerbread cookies to sample! Continue reading
See curios and oddities from the collection, view the “Presbyterians and the American Revolution” exhibit, and take a behind-the-scenes tour! Continue reading
Explore the lives of Philadelphia’s saints–Mother Katherine Drexel and Bishop John Neumann–with one of the country’s leading experts. Continue reading
Come join us, and other museum professionals, for a curator’s tour of the new exhibit in the Heritage Center, Risk & Reward: Entrepreneurship & the Making of Philadelphia. Continue reading
An afternoon of hands-on history where you can learn to read old hand writing and see what people in the past really had to say. Continue reading
Join us for an evening filled with temporary tattoos, origami, a library-wide scavenger hunt, and more – all based on animals from the archives!
A one night only document display, highlighting marvels of science, engineering, medicine, and 19th century innovations. Continue reading
What Do A German Assassin and Robert E. Lee have in common? Continue reading
A “behind the scenes” session on the servants who experienced Compton (now known as the Morris Arboretum) as their workplace. Continue reading
A screening of rarely seen commercials and films from Hagley’s audiovisual collections, plus specially selected materials from our library and archival collections. Continue reading
Presenting beautiful and curious specimens from five centuries of book collecting, The Art of Ownership delves into the stories of these bookplates, the rare editions behind them, and the lives of the men and women who owned them. Continue reading
For over a decade—at multiple locations and in several guises—the Gay and Lesbian Coffeehouse of Philadelphia served as a welcoming and inspiring anchor for LGBT community life in Philadelphia. Continue reading
“Sweep the Country: Political Conventions in Philadelphia” is presented in partnership with the Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, and covers the 12 political conventions held in Philadelphia between 1848 and 2016.
This exhibit of archival photographs and nursery catalogs from the library’s collections, features plants named in honor of U. S. presidents and first ladies, and also reflects aspects of the garden history of the White House, with some Philadelphia connections.
In 1543 Vesalius published De humani corporis fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body). The exhibit features an edition of the Fabrica book as well as other works by Vesalius and specimens highlighting his accomplishments in the field of anatomy.
Common Touch: The Art of the Senses in the History of the Blind is a multimedia exhibition that looks at historical embossed and raised-letter documents for the visually impaired as a starting point for a multi-sensory exploration of the nature of perception.
Take a look at these authentic wood or metal molds, and sample the cookies you can make with them! (SOLD OUT) Continue reading
Seminars, archives tour, movies, history organization expo, awards, raffle Continue reading
Archivists take over the popular bar-based monthly lecture series, Nerd Nite Philly. Continue reading
Join us for a Wikipedia event and a tour and talk on the Archives.
Selection of materials on display and a behind the scenes tour!
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Join us for a tour of the Union League and a curatorial discussion of “Sweep the Country: Political Conventions in Philadelphia,” on display in The Heritage Center of The Union League of Philadelphia.
The Library will be displaying highlights from its rarely shown collection of photographs featuring physicians, patients, and all things medicine in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The 2016 Philadelphia Lantern Slide Salon will showcase glass lantern slides from the special collections of several Philadelphia institutions projected from an historic lantern projector in the Wagner’s Victorian-era lecture hall. Continue reading
Come hear author Marta McDowell talk about the fascinating history of the White House gardens.
“Translating Across Time and Space” will explore the ways archival collections and scholarly fieldwork help preserve and revitalize linguistic and cultural practices in indigenous communities throughout North America.
Visit our open house and see some of our favorite known unknowns. Continue reading
Archives Month Philly 