🦖 One last roar at the Academy | Morning Newsletter

Happy Monday, Philly. The weekend’s soggy streak is expected to taper off this morning, with clouds and highs in the mid-60s to follow.

Today, we start at the Academy of Natural Sciences, as families mourn its closing and elected officials scramble to reverse it.

Then, we’ve got the story of Chester County newlyweds who are still reeling from the sudden detention and, four months later, surprise release of the husband from ICE custody.

Plus, the Phillies are back in the playoffs, and more news of the day.

— Laura Benshoff (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Goodbye, T. Rex

Some came to pay their respects. Some came to protest. But mostly, they kept coming.

Thousands of visitors streamed through the doors and past the dioramas at the Academy of Natural Sciences museum for its final weekend.

Retired educator Rene Garner lined up with her son and granddaughter before the museum opened on Sunday, ready to visit a special place she had brought classes to for years. “This was such a great big part of our lives,” she said.

Others focused not on the past, but on manifesting a future for the nearly 200-year-old institution.

“Stay Open!” one child wrote on an interactive display, complete with a frowny face. “Love Henry.”

The Inquirer’s Kristen Graham and Maggie Prosser have the full report on the last day and what may come next.

Taken, then returned

When it came to Ariel Whaley, Nelson Contreras-Gelves was nervous to make the first move.

The two met in 2023 at Mighty Writers, a local nonprofit educational program for children where she worked and he volunteered. They spent hours side by side, sorting donations. They became smitten.

In 2025, the Chester County couple got engaged, but as their June 2026 wedding drew closer, another date also loomed: Contreras-Gelves’ next check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 35-year-old is from Venezuela and has a pending asylum claim.

Their caution turned out to be prescient. Just a week after the newlyweds celebrated their marriage, Contreras-Gelves was arrested and detained by ICE during a routine appointment.

The Inquirer’s Brooke Schultz has the story of his unexpected release and their uncertain new reality.

What you should know today

• The Phillies squeaked into the playoffs on Sunday with a 7-3 win over the Rays.
• This past weekend’s nor’easter cut a trail of destruction down the Shore and businesses are assessing how long it will take to pick up the pieces.
• The Philadelphia Police Department met with Olney residents on Sunday to prep them for a new phase of the Horsch house search involving “heavy” equipment and a ramped-up police presence.
• After a multiyear delay due to financing issues, an office-to-residential conversion is finally underway in Logan Square.
• Collingswood is considering a proposal to outsource the borough’s ambulance services, one of several competing plans to address an overworked fire department.

Quote of the day

Haverford professor Stephen J. McGovern talked to The Inquirer’s Sean Collins Walsh about how his book helps explain the rise of local progressive elected officials such as District Attorney Larry Krasner.

🧠 Trivia time

New Sixer LeBron James is the oldest active player in the NBA. How old is he?

A) 41

B) 39

C) 43

D) 49

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re …

🍽️ Charting. Are Philly restaurants undergoing “Michelin-flation”? The Inquirer measured the impact of the prestigious dining guide on prices.

📖 Flipping through. Inquirer Culture columnist Elizabeth Wellington compiled 10 books with deep Philly connections for your fall reading lists.

🦅 Watching for. With the Eagles heading to Chicago for a “Monday Night Football” showdown, Inquirer Eagles reporter Jeff Neiburg lays out what you need to know about tonight’s matchup.

🦞 Fact-checking. No, a video of three lobsters serenely breaststroking out of the waterlogged Lobster House restaurant in Cape May was not real.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: This sculptor crafted bronze statues of Phillies greats — and Mayor Frank Rizzo.

INFUSED OZARKS

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Jane Szczepaniak who correctly guessed Sunday’s anagram: Pep Boys. The Philadelphia-born auto service chain will lay off dozens of employees at its local corporate offices.

Photo of the day

Here we go again.

📬 Your ‘only in Philly’ story

This is your weekly chance to share a moment that made you feel connected to Philly or fellow Philadelphians. Think of a time you felt you truly belonged in Philly, an iconic day in Philly history that you witnessed, or something that made you fall in love with the city. Then, email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Michael Leibrandt, who shares his love of Philadelphia football beyond the Eagles (and a little bit of history while he’s at it):

The Eagles might be the hottest football ticket in town — but it’s hard to beat a Saturday of college football in autumn. … It’s a Saturday joy in the fall that I anticipate fondly each and every year.

If you are planning on attending the first few college football games of the 2026 University of Pennsylvania football season — you won’t just be seeing any home game — you’ll be witnessing another chapter in a long Philadelphia history. …

The first Penn Football season ever? You probably guessed it already — 150 years ago in 1876. And if you spend any time this football season in Franklin Field like me, you won’t just be attending a college football game like thousands of other Americans. You’ll be seeing it at the oldest college football stadium in America still hosting games to this day.

*This submission was lightly condensed for space.

👋 See ya tomorrow.

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