Geno’s Summer Guide to the Academy of Natural Sciences

The city of Philadelphia has many wonderful museums to visit, one of them being the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.  Located on Ben Franklin Parkway just blocks from LOVE Park and the Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences’ convenient location and fun, thought provoking exhibits make this museum a must-see in Philadelphia for all ages.  We at Geno’s put together a list of our favorite exhibits being featured this summer at the Academy of Natural Sciences, and we encourage everyone to stop by and see them!

The most notable exhibit taking place at the Academy of Natural Sciences this summer is Dinosaurs Unearthed.  If you walk by the 1900 block of Ben Franklin Parkway, you’ll notice a few life-sized animatronic dinos that will greet you with a friendly roar as you walk by.   This is just a preview of what awaits you inside the museum.

The Dinosaurs Unleashed exhibit may be the closest you’ll ever get to experience a real life Jurassic adventure.  Museum goers embark on a multi-sensory journey where they can view more of these moving, life sized versions of their favorite dinosaurs.  These robotic dinos blink their eyes, move to scale exactly how their ancestors moved, swing their tales, growl, roar, and more!  You can even control the movements of some of the beasts.  The exhibits also feature interactive games and puzzles.  The best part of the whole thing is just how real these robots look, you might even forget that they aren’t really alive.

The Academy of Natural Sciences is also running their Dino Mite Summer program to coincide with the Dinosaurs Unleashed Exhibit.  This program offers new dino-themed adventures every day geared towards children but available for any age.  You may get to meet the real life cousins of the extinct dinosaurs, get to build Dinosaur inspired Lego creations, get a behind the scenes tour of Dinosaur Hall (sight of Dinosaurs Unleashed), or hear a funny story from Marty the Moose during Story time.  You might even be able to find and dig up your own fossil to take home!  Most of the Dino Mite Summer adventures are free with your admission to the museum.

If dinosaurs aren’t your cup of tea, you can visit the Amazing Butterflies! exhibit instead.  This features tropical gardens filled with beautiful plants and a variety of live, colorful butterflies from all over the world.  The amount and types of butterflies displayed changes every day, with 20 to 40 species displayed at a time, which makes this exhibit fun to visit again and again!  How many butterflies will you be able to spot?

Another great exhibit happening at the Academy of Natural Sciences is their Presidential Archives: Letters, Hair, and Fossils.  Inspired by the arrival of the Democratic National Convention, this intimate dive into history features rare personal items from past presidents, such as albums containing actual locks of hair from early US presidents, secret correspondences, and other unexpected and interesting items that give you a unique, fantastic look into our country’s past leaders.  There aren’t many exhibits quite like this, so see it while you can!

After your trip to the Academy of Natural Sciences, hop in a cab and head on over to Geno’s!  We would love to see some pictures from your trip and make you a savory, delicious cheese steak.