September 01, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
The Academy of Sciences is closing its museum, shown above in 2019. The museum has been operating since 1828.
The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing its museum after nearly two centuries in operation.
Drexel University, which stewards the Logan Square museum, announced the "difficult decision" in an email Tuesday. The site will officially close Sept. 30, but its last day of regular hours will be Sunday, Sept. 27. It is the oldest natural history museum in the country.
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Drexel and museum officials said admission had been dwindling for several years and never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing in the academy's current building at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway "would place increasing pressure on the resources required to safeguard the collections and sustain the research enterprise," Drexel President Antonio Merlo and Academy chair Suzanne Biemiller said in their message. The decision to close the museum, they added, will support long-term stewardship of the objects on display.
"We know the museum's closure will be painful for staff and deeply disappointing to many others who care about the Academy," Merlo and Biemiller wrote. "We do not underestimate that loss. This difficult decision was made to protect the collections and scientific mission at the heart of the Academy and represents an important step toward addressing the Academy's financial challenges."
Scott Cooper, president and CEO of the Academy of Natural Sciences, is resigning his position, officials said.
Though the Academy of Natural Sciences began in 1812, the scientific society didn't open its museum until 1828. It counts more than 19 million biological specimens, fossils and other scientific resources in its collections. Leaders will continue to look for opportunities for public engagement in Philadelphia. The academy remains "firmly committed" to making is collections accessible for research, officials said.
The Academy of Natural Sciences counts more than 19 million specimens and other scientific resources in its collections.
Signs of trouble emerged in 2025, when the museum cut its hours from five to three days a week. The move, along with a staff restructuring, was intended to "achieve greater financial sustainability," Cooper said at the time. Ambitious programming like its semiquincentennial "Botany of Nations" exhibit, featuring plants collected by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, was on the horizon.
But not even the return of "Haddy" the dinosaur was enough to stabilize the museum, which axed its summer science camp earlier this year in another attempt to control costs.
The Academy of Natural Sciences reported a revenue of $25.8 million and expenditures of $23.8 million on its tax filings for 2025. While its expenditures were nearly identical the previous year, its revenue was actually up from $22.4 million in 2024. The nonprofit held $110 million in assets and $4.13 million in liabilities.
A Drexel spokesperson confirmed all museum events scheduled before the closure date will continue as planned.
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