Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1812 – 2026

As a Philadephia girl, I am chagrined to admit I have ever been to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, which is closing on Sept. 30, due to no one else ever going there, either. I can’t describe their holdings to you (unlike the Franklin Institute, with its horrific walk-through heart, or the Mütter, with the Big Wall of Deformed Fetuses). Liz Spikol of Philadelphia magazine is better informed than I am: “My visits to the Academy of Natural Sciences exposed me to wonders of the natural world that weren’t otherwise accessible among the city’s concrete stoops and honking cars,” she writes. “I was absolutely blown away by what I saw there, as generations of children would be in the years to come.” Samuel J. Abrams of The American Enterprise Institute agrees: “The Academy meant the world to me as a child. I learned about dinosaurs, birds, animals, the environment, and the natural world there. From its bison to its minerals, it sparked curiosity about the world and met me with both questions and answers.” I still love Philadelphia—though I will never forgive the city for ruining its iconic cityscape with those crappy 1980s skyscrapers.