Category: Other News and Events

Saturday, March 21, 2026 | 10am-5pm EDT Science History Institute315 Chestnut StreetPhiladelphia PA 19106 The date was missing from the previous post on the event:

Join us for a special Stories of Science celebrating the invention of the first paper match folder in 1892—the precursor to the modern matchbook—as part of the Philadelphia Historic District’s 52 Weeks of Firsts. In 2026, America turns 250, and Philadelphia is throwing the ultimate yearlong celebration. After all, we’ve been first in freedom, first…

Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum has created a virtual exhibition telling the story of the partnership between the U.S. Postal Service and America’s mailing industry. Philadelphia born Burpee Seed Company is one of the featured companies.  The introduction starts, “ W. Atlee Burpee, born in 1858, grew up in Philadelphia, the son of a prominent physician.…

New date! Due to ongoing exhibition construction and maintenance work, we have rescheduled our March First Friday event, “Philadelphia: Workshop of the World,” to Friday, March 13, 5pm-7pm.  We apologize for the inconvenience this change may cause and appreciate your understanding. The safety of our staff and guests is always our top priority. If you plan…

Science History InstitutepresentsPhiladelphia: Workshop of the WorldMarch 6th, 2026, 5-7pm Philadelphia was once known as the “workshop of the world” due to the abundance of factories, products, and infrastructure located within the city. From the 1800s through the 1920s, ships, yarn, paints, and more were manufactured on the banks of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers.…

Joseph Brinton’s ‘Celebrated’ Serpentine Stone: How A Chester County Stone Became a Multi-Regional Gilded Age Fad A presentation by Anne E. Krulikowski, PhD Join us as Anne Krulikowski explores the craze for green building stone that spanned America’s Gilded Age, when the Brinton quarry south of West Chester became the most famous and longest operated…

Join the American Philosophical Society and The Library Company of Philadelphia on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 6:00-7:00, to hear from Joyce E. Chaplin (APS 2020) on Benjamin Franklin’s scientific innovation and consumer invention, the Franklin stove.  This is an in-person event but it is available to join virtually or to stream on the American Philosophical…

This Philadelphia chocolate company began as an extract company in 1900 founded by three Blumenthal brothers  in the Old City neighborhood in Philadelphia. Initially the family business specialized in manufacturing flavoring extracts for bottlers, distillers, bakers, and confectioners and soon expanded, in 1905, to add chocolate liquors and cocoa powder to its product line. The…

A Society for Industrial Archeology Presentation by Arron Kotlensky and Steve Walton Thursday, November 20, 2025, 5 p.m. Eastern (US & Canada From its beginnings in 1817 through the Civil War, the West Point Foundry of Cold Spring, New York stood out as a pioneer of heavy industry capable of making ordnance and durable goods…

This website provides you—and others who care about the past and future of Philadelphia—a rich collection of sources about the South Philadelphia refinery complex and other petrochemical sites along the lower Schuylkill River. Fundamentally, this website is a research tool: a digital archive accompanied by reference works and maps. Stakeholders at various levels—neighborhood, municipal, commonwealth,…