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As the birthplace of our nation, Philadelphia takes Independence Day season very seriously, highlighted by the blockbuster Wawa Welcome America festival and its 16 days of free concerts, fireworks, parades, parties and more, from Juneteenth to July Fourth.
One of the festival’s most popular programs is Free Museum Days, a two-week-long celebration of some of Philadelphia’s most beloved attractions. Each day from June 19 through July 4, at least one Philly museum offers free (or pay-what-you-wish) admission.
This year, 44 museums and historic sites across the city are participating in the deal-lovers’ delight. Included are art museums like the Barnes Foundation, cultural museums like the African American Museum, history museums like Independence Seaport Museum and science museums like Science History Institute, plus historic mansions like the Fairmount Park Charm Houses. Many also offer special programming and tours.
Note: Pre-registration for Free Museum Day events is not required unless noted below.
Read on for our guide to Free Museum Days during Wawa Welcome America 2025 in Philadelphia.
The oldest unified museum and art school in America, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (founded in 1805) features elaborate Victorian Gothic architecture surrounding a large collection of compelling American art, highlighted by a 1796 copy of Gilbert Stuart’s famous Lansdowne Portrait of George Washington.
During Free Museum Day, peruse the gallery filled with well-known paintings by American Masters like Homer, Wiley, Sargent, Lawrence, Eakins, Cassatt, Hopper and Beaux, plus the new exhibition William Villalongo: Myths and Migrations. Note that the museum’s Historic Landmark Building is closed through fall 2025.
No pre-registration required
Where: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118-128 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
Old City’s St. George’s United Methodist Church is the nation’s oldest Methodist house of worship, dating back to 1769. The church also maintains the Historic St. George’s Museum & Archives which displays thousands of photographs, documents and artifacts related to the development of Methodism in America.
Come for Free Museum Day and tour the museum’s collection, which includes the communion chalice sent by Methodism founder John Wesley to Francis Asbury in 1785, Wesley’s handwritten hymnal, and pastor and missionary Joseph Pilmoor’s journal. Toys, games, crafts and more will also be available for the kids.
Where: Historic St. George’s Museum & Archives, 326 New Street, Philadelphia, PA
To escape summer’s heat, Benjamin Chew built a plantation for his family in Germantown in 1767. A decade later, the British seized Cliveden during the Battle of Germantown before Chew reclaimed the estate. Chew and his family went on to reside at Cliveden for seven generations, and today the site recounts the story of the estate from musket-ball-pocked walls to authentic 19th-century furnishings, along with retelling the important history of Africans enslaved by the family and efforts they made to escape.
Tours of the Chew House’s first floor, including early American woodwork, Louis Vuitton trunks and the “Blood Portrait” — an image etched in blood by a dying British soldier — are available during Free Museum Day, as well as access to the Arboretum and Carriage House.
Where: Cliveden, 6401 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Located in the renovated 1902 firehouse of Engine Company Number Eight — a descendant of Benjamin Franklin’s 1736 Union Fire Company — Fireman’s Hall Museum offers lessons in the history, art and science of firefighting through exhibits featuring historic fire trucks dating back to the 1800s.
On Free Museum Day, view exhibits featuring the nation’s earliest hand- and horse-drawn firefighting equipment, Philadelphia’s early “Franklin’s Volunteers,” a when-to-call-911 interactive quiz, firefighting gear like coats and boots to try on, a display of 19th-century parade hats, and a gallery of 19th-century stove-top parade hats.
Where: Fireman's Hall Museum, 147 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA
Historic Arch Street Meeting House, founded in 1682 and deeded by William Penn, played a key role in two civil rights movements. Early on, its congregation featured several outspoken abolitionists, and those who worshipped there voted to expel members who refused to free their enslaved laborers. In 1979, the site hosted over 300 LGBTQ+ activists who gathered to plan the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
Explore these stories throughout Free Museum Day, and enjoy special activities like a scavenger hunt around the meetinghouse and grounds.
Where: Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
Free Museum Day at the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) is first-come, first-served (entry times 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.) and includes new exhibitions Demond Melancon: As Any Means Are Necessary and The Pearl Bailey Showcase, plus staff-led Gallery Talks every hour on the half-hour.
Outside, AAMP concurrently hosts its annual Juneteenth Block Party with a theme of Audacious Freedom: Celebrating 160 Years of Emancipation. The event includes live music hosted by Patty Jackson, a beer garden, food trucks, a market, book giveaways, and wellness and relaxation activities.
Where: African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
Towering and majestic, the Masonic Temple has stood tall across from City Hall since 1873, representing the secret fraternity with 14th-century roots and a membership that included Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, whose statues stand outside its entrance.
Here, guests can view artwork, frescos, stained glass, murals and sculptures from a variety of periods, plus read their way through an exhibit hall highlighting Freemasonry’s past. The institution’s Free Museum Day offers access to all the architectural glory, with tours offered every half-hour from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3:30 p.m.
Pre-registration required
Where: Masonic Temple, 1 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
America’s oldest natural history museum, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University offers plenty to do during its pay-what-you-wish Free Museum Day.
Visitors can experience live animals, three continents of wildlife in their natural habitats, face time with towering dinosaurs and more.
Stop by to view the institution’s two big summer exhibits: The Ecology of Fashion (a collaboration with Drexel’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design) and Living Within the Watershed: Enduring Floods in Germantown.
Where: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA
A crucial part of the colonial Germantown Historic District, the Johnson House Historic Site attained National Historic Landmark designation for its key role in the Underground Railroad.
During Free Museum Day, take the docent-led 60-minute Steps To Freedom: A Guided Tour about the injustices of slavery and the 19th-century resident Johnson family — five siblings (and their spouses) from a Quaker abolitionist family — who participated in the Underground Railroad by risking their lives to offer refuge to freedom seekers. Among the freedom fighters who stayed at the house include William Still and (according to family lore) Harriet Tubman.
Where: Johnson House Historic Site, 6306 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Take a trip back in time at Historic Rittenhouse Town, a once-bustling industrial village (dating back to 1687) that was home to America’s first paper mill. Before construction of the mill, America had its paper delivered from England — and after it, the Rittenhouse family became the only people selling paper in America.
During Free Museum Day, join an hour-long journey through history that explores the Homestead (birthplace of David Rittenhouse, first director of the U.S. Mint and namesake of Rittenhouse Square) and the 1753 Bakehouse with its giant 16.5-foot hearth.
Where: Historic Rittenhouse Town, 208 Lincoln Drive, Philadelphia, PA
One of the nation’s oldest continuously occupied residential streets, Elfreth’s Alley boasts 300 years of history along its charming cobblestone road lined with quaint row houses. While a modern city has sprung up around it, the alley preserves three centuries of evolution through its old-fashioned flower boxes, shutters, Flemish bond brickwork and other architectural details.
During Free Museum Day, learn about how people of that time lived by exploring the interiors of two of the alley’s homes that were built in 1755 — which now house the Elfreth’s Alley Museum.
Where: Elfreth's Alley Museum, 126 Elfreth's Alley, Philadelphia, PA
Historic Stenton, once owned by William Penn’s secretary James Logan, showcases scores of artifacts dating back to 1730, when the structure was first built as a plantation house. The property — once home to six generations and a diverse community of enslaved laborers — sits on three acres and includes a Colonial Revival garden, early American textiles and furnishings, and 18th- and 19th-century family objects like Norris stools and needlework pocketbooks.
To reserve a tour during Free Museum Day, please visit the site’s Programs page, call 215-329-7312 or email [email protected].
Pre-registration recommended (see above)
Where: Stenton, 4601 N. 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA
Located in historic Rittenhouse Square, printmaking and photography gallery The Print Center — founded in 1915 — features events, exhibitions, artwork, publications and educational programs, supporting emerging and established artists alike.
Visit during Free Museum Day to view the museum’s current solo exhibition, Cecilia Paredes: By my side or back of me, featuring works from the Peruvian-born, Philadelphia-based artist, exploring themes of migration and home, nature and the manmade, and poetics of a collective voice. Before you leave, check out the Gallery Store, which offers books and artwork from 100 local, national and international artists.
Where: The Print Center, 1614 Latimer Street, Philadelphia, PA
Snuggled behind the east wing of Independence Hall is an unassuming brick building erected in the late 1780s that’s the home of the American Philosophical Society Museum. The site served as our nation’s first museum, national library and academy of science.
Come for Free Museum Day and view the Philadelphia, The Revolutionary City exhibit, which illuminates the lived experiences of Philadelphians leading up to, during and after the fight for independence. Then explore the society’s collection of nearly 13 million early American manuscripts, almanacs, texts, maps and artifacts.
Where: American Philosophical Society, 104 S. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia’s only Victorian house museum, the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion in historic Germantown explores the stories of men and women from the Civil War through 1900 across the home’s two floors and gardens.
On Free Museum Day, guests can enjoy docent-led tours of the mansion, learn about the people who resided here and the history of Philadelphia in the 19th century. At the end of the day, head to the Victorian Theatre for the 4 p.m. concert performance of Echoes of Elegance: The Music of Victorian Women Composers (for an additional fee).
Where: Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion, 200 W. Tulpehocken Street, Philadelphia, PA
Located along the Delaware River waterfront, the maritime history Independence Seaport Museum encourages visitors to explore one of Philadelphia’s two major rivers and its world of connections. The Penn’s Landing site’s Free Museum Day programming offers access to exhibits like River Alive!, Patriots & Pirates and Small but Mighty!: Models, Toys, and Miniature Ships, plus live shipbuilding at the Seaport Boat Shop.
Then head outside to explore the massive Spanish-American War-era Cruiser USS Olympia and World War II Submarine USS Becuna, or hit the basin’s water with rentals from Paddle Penn’s Landing or Kayak Excursions (all for additional fees).
Where: Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Christopher Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA
The Lest We Forget Museum of Slavery is the only museum of its kind in the region, displaying thousands of “slavery artifacts” — including shackles, chains, whips, coffles and branding irons — which restrained, confined and often killed the enslaved laborers forced to wear them. The site also features ship manifests, auction signs, sales, documents and Jim Crow items that segregated and stereotyped Black Americans.
On Free Museum Day, take the 90-minute guided tour, which includes these objects from the trans-Atlantic slave trade and a review of slavery from capture to emancipation and beyond.
Where: Lest We Forget Museum of Slavery, 5501 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Home of abolitionist judge Richard Peters and where Founding Fathers like Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison once walked, the Underground Railroad Museum at Fairmount Park’s Belmont Mansion offers collections of historical slave trade artifacts and narratives, including those of Cornelia Wells, a free Black woman who resided at the estate.
Take the self-guided tour on Free Museum Day to view the exhibits and uncover the hidden tales of the mansion’s role in the Underground Railroad, serving as a beacon of hope for those seeking freedom from the Antebellum South.
Where: Underground Railroad Museum at the Belmont Mansion, 2000 Belmont Mansion Drive, Philadelphia, PA
Founded in 1695 as a condition of William Penn’s Charter, Christ Church — birthplace of the American Episcopal Church — once served as the place of worship for prominent history-makers like Benjamin and Deborah Franklin, Betsy Ross, Robert Morris and Benjamin Rush.
Take a tour of what was known as “The Nation’s Church” during Free Museum Day.
Where: Christ Church, 20 N. American Street, Philadelphia, PA
Tucked into Philly’s quaint Chestnut Hill neighborhood, Woodmere is a jewel-box art museum showcasing the work of prominent and less-known Philadelphia artists alike. Housed in a 19th-century mansion, the museum is also surrounded by an impressive sculpture garden across six acres.
During Free Museum Day, guests can take a tour of the vibrant exhibitions highlighting the achievements and social ideas of Philadelphia artists in the broader context of American art, including two limited-time exhibits, In the Eye of the Beholder and Geographies of Freedom: The Art of Jim Bloom.
Where: Woodmere, 9201 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
At the edge of Philly’s iconic Boathouse Row, Fairmount Water Works — the nation’s first successful water supply system — now houses an environmental education center teaching visitors about innovations in urban water projects and sustainability through interactive exhibits, an interpretive center and programs about water use.
The highlight of Free Museum Day is a one-day freshwater mussel propagation trial at the Mussel Hatchery, where visitors can observe scientists propagating the Eastern Pondmussel (a native species still found locally), learn about its unique life cycle and explore research in restoring the filter feeders to the watershed.
Where: Fairmount Water Works, 640 Waterworks Drive, Philadelphia, PA
While many museum homes in Germantown started as elegant mansions, the 1690 Wyck estate was originally a simple one-room log house — which also spent time as a Revolution-era field hospital, an 18th-century brewery and a meeting place for influential Philadelphians. Today, the site is a working urban agriculture farm and garden that includes the nation’s oldest rose garden in its original plan and over 80 historic roses.
This summer, including during Free Museum Day, Wyck is celebrating 200 years since the Marquis de Lafayette visited, with special objects on view, including the chair from which he greeted guests.
Where: Wyck Historic House and Garden, 6026 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia has long been associated with art and artists working in wood, many of which are honored at Old City’s Museum for Art in Wood. The four-decade-old attraction features collections consisting of 1,300 wood-art-related objects ranging from functional pieces like furniture to modern sculptures, artist exhibitions, and a 25,000-item research library on the history of woodturning and woodworking.
While visiting on Free Museum Day, experience the site’s current exhibitions, including Katie Hudnall: The Longest Distance between Two Points and Cinders: Burned, Scorched, and Pyrographed Works in Wood.
Where: Museum for Art in Wood, 141 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
Dedicated to the four most powerful pages in America’s history, the National Constitution Center is the country’s only museum devoted to the U.S. Constitution. Among impactful exhibits are showcases on the First and 19th Amendments, daily Freedom Rising multimedia performances and Signers’ Hall with life-sized bronze statues of the signers of the Constitution.
The center’s Free Museum Day is held in conjunction with Wawa Hoagie Day, where the beloved convenience chain honors local heroes by offering 25,000 free Shortis (i.e. a six-inch hoagie) on the attraction’s front lawn for all comers (while supplies last).
Where: National Constitution Center, 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
The Penn Museum on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania is best known for its renowned collection of art and artifacts from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Greco-Roman world, Asia, Africa and the ancient Americas.
Join the institution on Free Museum Day to see items like Sumerian cuneiform clay tablets, 4,500-year-old royal Mesopotamian jewelry and the massive 3,000-year-old Sphinx of Ramses II. This is also the last chance to view Native American Voices: The People Here and Now before its transformation into the new Native North America Gallery, opening in November.
Where: Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA
Journey through 360 years of the American Jewish experience at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, the country’s only museum exclusively devoted to preserving the culture, history and heritage of the nation’s Jewish diaspora from struggling immigrants to integral citizens.
Explore over 30,000 items on display, including more than 1,200 artifacts and documents, 2,500 images, 30 original films and 13 interactive media displays during Free Museum Day. Then step outside to snap a family selfie with Deborah Kass’ cheeky OY/YO sculpture by the museum’s entrance.
Pre-registration recommended
Where: Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 S. Independence Mall East, Philadelphia, PA
At the Science History Institute, visitors explore the amazing successes, astonishing failures, strange surprises and oft-overlooked historical stories behind the science that shapes our world. The Institute’s Permanent Exhibition takes you on a journey through more than 500 years of scientific inquiry into the material world, exploring the knowledge and technology that give us cleaner air, safer foods and effective vaccines.
For Free Museum Day, the institute also takes the science history party to the beach via a hands-on collection table where visitors can learn all about the science of swimsuits, sunscreen, picnics and more.
Where: Science History Institute, 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Located in Market East in Center City, The Fabric Workshop & Museum (FWM) is a contemporary nonprofit arts organization museum that celebrates modern art created from, on and with fabric and other textiles, swinging its doors open on Free Museum Day.
The only museum of its kind in the world, FWM displays not only garments and apparel, but also drawings, paintings, sculptures and large installations, plus permanent exhibits featuring fabric-related creations from celebrated artists best known for working in other media. Don’t miss gifts like homegoods, handbags and wearables at the on-site FWM Store.
Where: The Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1214 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
Built by first-generation Scottish American prothonotary Edward Burd in 1798, Ormiston Mansion helps preserve a piece of Philadelphia’s colonial past. The two-and-a-half-story late-Georgian red-brick house features exterior architectural details like American and Flemish bond brickwork, a widow’s walk atop the house, Federal-style dormer windows adorning the cedar shake roof, and a simple Tuscan porch. The interior offers original fireplaces, moldings and a Scottish bake oven.
During the special Free Museum Day event, volunteer tour guides greet guests on each floor to explain the history of the building.
Where: Ormiston Mansion, 2000 Reservoir Drive, Philadelphia, PA
Built across Fairmount Park between 1742 and 1810, the Park Charms are six historic mansions that served as summer homes for wealthy Philadelphia families. The largest is Historic Strawberry Mansion, once home to Judge William Lewis, advisor to Washington and Hamilton and drafter of the first law abolishing slavery.
On Free Museum Day, the villa is open for tours of its antique furniture, artifacts, fine art and porcelain, plus a collection of Sesquicentennial dolls from 1926. Peep the fascinating architecture including Colonial Revival, Federal, Georgian, Gothic Revival, Greek Revival and Palladian styles.
Where: Historic Strawberry Mansion, 2450 Strawberry Mansion Drive, Philadelphia, PA
Built by merchant Henry Pratt in 1800 as a summer house to host lavish parties, Lemon Hill Mansion was the first property acquired by the city for Fairmount Park just four decades later. Today, the site is open to the public as the Lemon Hill Mansion Museum.
Come on Free Museum Day to enjoy the large historic oval rooms and Federal-style architecture, but also be sure to check out the incredible direct line-of-sight views of Center City rising over Boathouse Row from the mansion’s wraparound porches or the grassy berm along the drive.
Where: Lemon Hill Mansion, 1 Lemon Hill Drive, Philadelphia, PA
Built between 1756 and 1758 for William Coleman, a Philadelphia merchant and close friend of Benjamin Franklin, Georgian-style Woodford Mansion is the oldest of the six Fairmount Park Charms houses, and a National Historic Landmark.
The highlight of the Free Museum Day activities at the site is the Naomi Wood Collection of 18th-century furniture, paintings, household goods and decorative arts, along with the guided tour of the mansion based on the lives of the families and enslaved servants who lived and worked at the summer residence.
Where: Woodford Mansion, 2300 N. 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
Built around 1767, historic Laurel Hill Mansion previously served as the summer home of Rebecca Rawle (a young Quaker widow with three small children) and her second husband, then-future Philadelphia mayor Samuel Shoemaker. Today, the Georgian-style home is open for tours, concerts and educational programming.
The site’s Free Museum Day schedule includes creative activities and colonial crafting for children like tin punching and whirligigs to take home, outdoor games, and guided tours of the historic house and garden.
Where: Laurel Hill Mansion, 3487 Edgley Drive, Philadelphia, PA
As part of its A Summer aBroad programming, non-profit North Broad Renaissance is showcasing its fun self-guided tour for Free Museum Day.
The A Summer aBroad AR Tour is a self-guided augmented reality (AR) experience that allows users to explore key sites along North Broad Street at their own pace. Stops include The Rail Park, the Divine Lorraine Hotel, Blue Horizon, the Sullivan Progress Plaza and the North Poles. The tour also offers an interactive stop – the Sea aBroad – which transforms the lawn of the Leon H. Sullivan Trust into an undersea adventure.
The free tour app is available on Google Play and the App Store.
Where: Starts outside 425 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Fred Simeone’s impressive collection of racing cars like Ferraris, Alfa Romeos, Bugattis, Porsches, Aston Martins, and muscle cars including Corvettes and Mustangs led to the creation of Southwest Philadelphia’s Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, one of the world’s greatest collections of historic racing cars.
The neurosurgeon, philanthropist and speed enthusiast’s collection features over 75 historic (and just plain cool) rides, along with rotating exhibits showcasing the history of sports cars and racing machines and an extensive automobile library, all available to view during Free Museum Day.
Where: Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, 6825-31 Norwitch Drive, Philadelphia, PA
Old City’s National Liberty Museum educates visitors on the diversity of Americans and respect for all people, on the knowledge that the struggle for liberty is not just an American ideal. The museum showcases nearly 80 interactive exhibits and 200 contemporary artworks alongside stories of 2,000 difference-makers like Jackie Robinson, Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai.
Activities will mark Independence Day season on Free Museum Day, along with art-making workshops, button-making, a photo booth and the opportunity to ring the replica Liberty Bell, plus access to the engaging Year of Free Speech exhibition.
Where: National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
To honor the Navy & Marine Corps 250th Celebration semiquincentennial, museums across the city are presenting Homecoming 250-related exhibits, including at FDR Park’s American Swedish Historical Museum, which is launching a brand-new exhibition right before Free Museum Day.
The oldest Swedish-American museum in the country’s And Let Victory Tell the Rest: 250 Years of Navy Shipbuilding in Philadelphia spotlights Philly as one of the world’s premier shipbuilding regions from Continental Navy times through the Cold War and beyond. The new exhibit showcases these ships, the people that built them and their role in defending America.
Where: American Swedish Historical Museum, 1900 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Rittenhouse Square’s The Rosenbach is an intimate literary museum housing 130,000 manuscripts and 30,000 rare books inside two 19th-century townhouses. While the regular museum tour is not included, the library offers access to its newest exhibit during Free Museum Day.
Spanning two galleries, the permanent exhibition Treasures from the Rosenbach’s Collection is dedicated to literature from the British Isles and the history of printed text from the 15th Century to the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. It features first editions, autographed works, and author notes from the likes of James Joyce and Bram Stoker.
Where: The Rosenbach Museum & Library, 2008-2010 Delancey Street, Philadelphia, PA
The Barnes Foundation is home to one of the world’s most important collections of impressionist, post-impressionist and early modernist paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, Rousseau, Degas, Manet, Monet and Gauguin.
Free Museum Day is a special one at the Barnes, with its newest exhibition opening the evening prior. Be one of the first to view From Paris to Provence: French Painting at the Barnes, a self-study on how France itself influenced the native painters who have significant presence within the existing gallery. (Note that the first floor gallery rooms 2 through 13 will be closed for maintenance.)
Pre-registration required (tickets forthcoming)
Where: Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA
Once one of the most famous prisons in the world, massive Eastern State Penitentiary (operating from 1829 to 1970) housed criminals like Al Capone and Willie Sutton, and introduced Americans to the concept of solitary confinement. Today, the attraction explores the site’s history and while addressing modern social justice issues surrounding incarceration.
The attraction’s pay-what-you-wish Free Museum Day offers a self-guided audio tour (via QR code) outlining the site’s exhibits and art installations with pop-up talks highlighting the prison’s history. Afterward, visit the on-site Fair Chance Beer Garden featuring pours from Triple Bottom Brewing.
Where: Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Predating the Civil War, North Philadelphia’s Wagner Free Institute of Science — one of the few remaining Victorian-era scientific societies — is an extensive library, natural history museum and educational institution founded in 1855 by “gentleman scientist” William Wagner.
While the name discloses its status as always free, Free Museum Day is a great time to explore the three-story Renaissance-style building’s 100,000-item collection on the bright second floor, featuring rocks, minerals, fossils, preserved insects, taxidermy and mounted skeletons of a buffalo, an English draft horse and the first saber-tooth tiger bone discovered in America.
Where: Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1700 W. Montgomery Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
The argument can be made that America started right here in this building. In 1774, delegates from the American colonies — the First Continental Congress — gathered at Carpenters’ Hall to support a trade embargo against England. This marked one of the fledgling nation’s first unified acts of defiance protesting the King.
During Free Museum Day, visitors can enter the room where the First Continental Congress met, view historic 19th-century tilework, see 18th century fire buckets and speak with docents about the history of the Carpenters’ Company, the country’s oldest extant trade guild.
Where: Carpenters' Hall, 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
West Philadelphia’s Paul Robeson House served as the residence of the esteemed human rights activist, scholar, attorney, stage and film actor, professional football player, and bass-baritone singer during the last decade of his life.
Tours offered on Free Museum Day give visitors a chance to hear songs recorded by Robeson over his lifetime, learn about his politics and activism, and explore his life of accomplishments, including his family’s 18th-century roots in Philadelphia and the time he spent in the city up to his passing in 1976.
Pre-registration required (Eventbrite tickets forthcoming)
Where: Paul Robeson House & Museum, 4951 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
One of the world’s most infamous science institutions, the Mütter Museum was established to help the public understand the mysteries of the human body and appreciate the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Explore the weirdness on Free Museum Day with special pop-up exhibits and guided gallery talks. Then dive into the 20,000-piece “disturbingly informative” collection, including a tumor removed from President Grover Cleveland, the death cast of conjoined twins Chang & Eng, tissue samples from John Wilkes Booth, and slices of Albert Einstein’s brain. Then take a breath in the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden.
Where: Mütter Museum, 19 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA
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