Drexel, take the money
I’m 16, and I’ve been a volunteer in the Outside In animal exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences museum for the last year and a half. I have met people who contain seemingly endless facts about animals, and have loved learning something new from them every day. Before that, I was a camper, giggling in the back of a room while my counselors taught me about dinosaurs and fossils. I remember when the power went out in the whole building, and the counselors, in all their brilliance, turned it into a scavenger hunt in the dark. I remember straining my neck to see behind the scenes when the staff brought out animals for live animal shows, and standing in line as a toddler to feel the scaly back of a snake. Now I feed the snakes, and I know where these animals came from before they emerged from behind the curtains of the auditorium.
In a world where most people spend hours scrolling on their phones, watching TV, and pretending to be anywhere but here, the Academy brings us back to the natural world — and back to each other. The museum is one of those places that is still fighting to keep our world connected, and we can’t afford to lose it. Drexel cannot close a museum so important to us. The William Penn Foundation offered Drexel money to fund another year of the Academy. Another year of curiosity, wonder, and connection. The other day, I walked from the Academy doors to the steps of City Hall for a demonstration with more than 100 people who don’t want Drexel to close the doors of the Academy forever. Drexel, accept this money. Don’t take the Academy of Natural Sciences away from the people of Philadelphia.
Fiona Jenkal, junior, Science Leadership Academy High School
The writer has been an intern at the Academy of Natural Sciences through her school’s Independent Learning Project.
. . .
I’m a university professor with many years of experience working in natural history museum collections. Before then, I worked in development and fundraising for capital campaigns. The proposed closure of the Academy of Natural Sciences museum is a massive loss to science communication and outreach in the city of Benjamin Franklin. However, my professional experience makes me question the rationale for the decision.
Natural history museums around the world remain popular. Low footfall is not an inevitability in a city of 1.5 million people.
Also, moving collections is time-consuming and expensive. Collections require purpose-built facilities. A rapid sale of the Parkway property is incompatible with responsible collections management. Much of the revenue would presumably be spent on a new building. This short-termist, crisis-mentality approach cannot come at the expense of a 200-year-old institution essential to Philadelphians.
Coming after the collapse of the University of the Arts, well-paid leaders of Philadelphia’s educational institutions appear not up to the task of stewarding this city’s unique heritage. As the Semiquincentennial celebrations end, it is up to the city and its people to defend them, and hold their leaders’ claims to scrutiny.
Francois Gould, Philadelphia
. . .
The 198-year-old Academy of Natural Sciences museum in Philadelphia shut its doors on Sunday with no plans to reopen to the public. The permanent closure was announced just four weeks earlier by the museum’s administrators at Drexel University.
The magnitude of this loss defies comprehension. It is unthinkable that the oldest science museum in the entire Western Hemisphere could be snuffed out with less than a month’s notice. The sheer indignity of it is nauseating.
I was home in Houston when I heard the announcement. After sitting with the shock, I decided I had to see the Academy in person.
I expected a depressing experience. After all, Drexel’s statement blamed the closure on dwindling attendance in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdowns. I thought I’d find vacant halls and tired displays showing all the signs of neglect and apathy.
Instead, I found a torrent of love and support for the legendary museum, as 17,000 visitors flocked to its doors that weekend. Scores of outraged citizens organized protests while grateful staff welcomed heartbroken Philadelphians one last time to the place many call a second home.
I can relate. I cannot imagine what my life would look like today without the lifelong influence of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, from my first visit in a stroller to strolling through the exhibits I helped build as a museum specialist.
The fight to save the Academy has only just begun, and Americans everywhere must join in. If we give up our oldest science museum, it will bring lasting shame on our generation, set a threatening precedent for other cultural institutions, and send a clear message that our American heritage is not worth preserving.
We must save this irreplaceable piece of our history.
Max Anton, Houston
More of the same?
Thank you, The Inquirer Editorial Board, for your series of editorials presenting all the ways Donald Trump, his cabinet, his children, and his associates have abused the Executive Office of the President. You argue that — in addition to the president’s self-absorption and lack of morality — the Republican legislators have also failed their duty to address this president’s rampant corruption. In this election year, we must ask then, how would a new Republican Congress be any different?
Stephen DeLuca, Philadelphia
Shared streets
Regarding the recent article on Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s “Curbside Appeal” neighborhood beautification program, we applaud her statement that “every Philadelphian deserves to live on a block they can be proud of,” reflecting “the priorities of the people who live there.”
Unfortunately, her philosophy stops at residential blocks where the administration installs bike lanes with continuous flex posts or concrete barriers. She ignores safety, community priorities, and previous mayoral promises for access.
The mayor is creating high-speed cycle tracks that encourage dangerous behavior — especially by rapidly proliferating e-bikes that cause serious harm to pedestrians. Forget about safely crossing the street or being dropped off at your house, particularly if you’re elderly or disabled.
Our streets can safely accommodate cyclists without sacrificing the fundamental rights of everyone else.
Brooke Marshall, Philadelphia
Aim higher
The recent article about how voters are split over whether Gov. Josh Shapiro should run for president is well timed. His reelection as governor by a huge margin is expected. He is also on most people’s short list of eligible Democratic candidates for president. He shouldn’t do it even though the itch to run is probably enormous.
Pennsylvania needs him to do what is necessary for Pennsylvania, and that is to unseat John Fetterman, who has been an unmitigated disaster. Whether Fetterman runs for reelection as a Democrat or changes parties and runs as a Republican, there is no doubt many Democrats will join the fray to unseat him. Too many Democrats against Fetterman in a primary could allow him to squeak to a victory. Only one person in the state can stop that: Gov. Shapiro. No one would seriously challenge him. His election would be almost certain.
He is 53 now. Assuming a Republican wins in 2028, he can run for president at age 59 in 2032.
Assuming a Democrat wins in 2028, he could run in 2036 at age 63 (not too old), when hopefully he would be in his second term as senator.
We have seen the devastation caused by a Senate too willing to place judges on the bench who trample the rights of Americans. Putting Pennsylvania’s Senate seat in the hands of someone with sound judgment is imperative.
Andrew M. Rosen, Philadelphia
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