A glimmer of hope remained Wednesday for fans of the Academy of Natural Sciences, a day after it announced plans to shutter its museum on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The museum, home to mounted dinosaur skeletons and dioramas that have thrilled generations of Philadelphians, is set to close its doors at the end of this month, the academy and Drexel University said Tuesday. The institute has been affiliated with the college since 2011.
But Gov. Josh Shapiro has tapped former U.S. ambassador to Canada and Comcast executive David L. Cohen to find a solution. Cohen has been asked to “facilitate a new arrangement between the Academy and Drexel to maintain the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia where it can continue to fulfill all three elements of its historic mission — research, education, and public engagement,” his senior advisor, Quinn Deasy, told Metro in a statement.
Shapiro’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration has also been involved in the discussions, and officials said Wednesday that City Hall has loaned Deputy Mayor Trish Wellenbach to ANS. She will serve as an interim senior advisor during the transition.
Scott Cooper stepped down as the academy's leader in conjunction with Tuesday's announcement, though ANS administrators say he will be available in an "advisory capacity."
Wellenbach, who previously served as president and CEO of the Please Touch Museum, which began as an experimental project within ANS, will not be compensated by the academy or Drexel; rather, she will continue to receive her municipal salary, according to Parker's office and ANS.
“We are working collaboratively toward the outcome we all seek for the City of Philadelphia,” Parker said in a statement.
Drexel President Antonio Merlo and Suzanna Biemiller, chair of ANS’s Board of Trustees, acknowledged the conversations with the city and state governments in a message posted on the academy’s website.
“While important work remains, there is a shared commitment and growing momentum toward a durable path forward,” the pair wrote.
Rising costs associated with operating the museum are threatening the academy’s ability to serve as a hub for researchers and safeguard its extensive collections, Merlo and Biemiller said. Nearly a year ago, the museum dropped two days from its weekly schedule and is only open only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
“While the museum will close, the Academy remains committed to public engagement and education, and work will continue to identify new and financially sustainable opportunities for the public display of elements from its collections and engagement with the natural sciences,” they added.
Merlo and Biemiller stated that their focus for the near future would be “the stewardship of the Academy’s collections and their use to advance scientific knowledge.” ANS has 19 million biological specimens and an archive of more than 75,000 scientific books, representatives said.
ANS was formed in the early 19th century and opened the first natural history museum in the Americas 198 years ago. City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson said Philadelphia leaders need to “do everything in our power to ensure that it can remain educating and inspiring for another 200 years.”
“I join my fellow Philadelphians in shock and heartbreak over the potential closure of the Academy of Natural Sciences,” she added, in a statement. “I have fond memories of visiting the museum on school trips as a child, and now, as a mom, bringing my own children there to learn about the natural world.”
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