Defending The Academy of Natural Sciences Against Drexel

It is a rainy blustery Sunday in Philadelphia, and one hopes that is not the last one in the centuries of The Academy of Natural Sciences' public-facing story.

But the lack of an immediate YES to the William Penn Foundation's extraordinary offer of support to keep the museum open confirms my strong belief that the fix is in and that Drexel University already has a buyer for the property.

Forces are assembling to investigate this unnecessarily exigent travesty and prevent it. But it's always easier to keep something open than "reopen" it. Malefactors count upon this gravity. They want to exhaust you.

But part of growing up in Philadelphia is knowing that the citizens of this city and its vast environs take their culture and heritage very seriously.

We will find the energy.

I went to the Academy on Friday just in case this actually is the end – even for awhile.

The lure of seeing my old childhood friends – the dinosaurs – was strong. And they were every bit as amazing as ever. I was obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid. But seeing them in their actual scale was dizzying for me as a young human. And I can say from my visit that it never gets old.

These particular exhibits demonstrate the crossroads of science and creativity that you reach in a place like the Academy. The real thing (the fossil) meets your imagination. Not a book. Not a screen. Arriving at these crossroads is so important to being human.

I also remembered – thanks to a wonderful exhibit called Botany of Nations – that the Academy has the irreplaceable records of plants and wildlife collected by Lewis and Clark on their truly pioneering expedition.

Botany of Nations gave visitors a keen sense of how Indigenous knowledge fed this effort. It also offered insight into the explorers' misprisions – and even ignorance – of this rich body of wisdom.

Drexel's proposal to keep the collections intact but starve the public of access to them is an assault on our shared culture.

In the midst of walking through all these memories, it was the Academy's dioramas that broke my heart. As I age, so many things I knew change and disappear. So when I am confronted with something that I recall so vividly, I feel such a powerful rush. It is not only nostalgia. It is a tangible mile marker in my life. And certainly the lives of so many others.

I was an avid and early reader, but caught a first glimpse of other worlds in time and space in these exhibits. There was even a section of the museum labeled "Secrets of the Diorama" that explained just how they were assembled.

The thought of the Academy of Natural Sciences – this historic building and this public trust – becoming condos, retail, or even being demolished, is devastating. The pain of thinking about these dioramas being disassembled and junked is overwhelming.

Fortunately, as I noted, the fight is on. Find out how you can help save the Academy here. Let's make it happen.

Not a subscriber to Stage Write? Sign up here. It's free – and it will stay that way.

Check out my personal website for more information about my plays, books, films and essays.