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News and Press
Follow the Science History Institute in the media, or contact us for expert perspectives on the history of science and technology.
LiveScience: How Many Chemical Elements Can You Name?
May 31, 2019
Science History Institute survey shows one in five Americans can’t name one. 
WHYY: New Philly Exhibit Celebrates Lives, Contributions of Scientists with Disabilities
May 29, 2019
Research fellow Jessica Martucci talks about the Institute’s new exhibition. 
Mashable: Do Something Good for Earth Day
April 22, 2019
The Institute’s Roger Turner talks about rare earth elements in this article about green technology. 
Technical.ly Philadelphia: Get a Primer on Fact Checking and Digital Literacy from this Wikipedian in Residence
April 19, 2019
The Institute’s monthly program on Wikipedia editing arms people with digital skills. Plus, what does a Wikipedian in residence do all day? 
Al Día: Creating Conversations about Latinx Art with Wikipedia
March 12, 2019
The Institute’s Wikipedian-in-Residence Mary Mark Ockerbloom was a featured expert at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon. 
Physics Today: Six Podcasts for Science Lovers
February 20, 2019
The Distillations podcast is included on the publication’s short list, praising the long-running series as telling “in-depth and fascinating stories from the history of science.” 
Main Line Today: The Sweet Science of Chocolate
February 06, 2019
This Saturday Speaker Series offers a short history of chocolate and some fascinating perspectives on its science from Joe Vinson, an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton. 
GreenBiz: Reimagining Rare Earth Elements in a Sacrifice Zone-Free Future
February 06, 2019
Institute fellow Roger Turner talks about the effort to find sustainable rare earth mineral extraction. 
Philadelphia Inquirer: Big Shows in Philly Museums
February 04, 2019
The Science History Institute’s museum is featured in the Inquirer’s “Spring Arts Preview.” 
Nature: Celebrate the Women behind the Periodic Table
January 29, 2019
The Institute’s Brigitte Van Tiggelen is cowriter of this feature spotlighting female researchers who discovered elements and their properties. 
Condé Nast Traveler: 11 Best Museums in Philadelphia
January 04, 2019
The Science History Institute is featured at No. 3 on the travel magazine’s list of Philly’s top museums. 
PA Digital: More Than Just Chemicals – Digital Collections at the Science History Institute
December 20, 2018
This guest blog post by Hillary Kativa, Chief Curator of Audiovisual & Digital Collections, highlights some of the hidden gems found at the Science History Institute. 
World Resources Institute: Plastic Is Your Frenemy
December 12, 2018
Before plastics became nature’s enemy, they were meant to be nature’s friend. 
WHYY: Frankenstein, now 200 years old, shows its roots
October 31, 2018
Living historians Dean Howarth and Rachel O’Connell have the audience join in a circle and share an electric shock at the Science History Institute. 
WHYY: Check the Label
October 12, 2018
Who has time to read the small print — to go over all the “stuff” that’s in our food, medicine, or supplements? 
Vulture: Inside the All Souls Convention With 400 Witches, Daemons, and Vampires
September 09, 2018
On a recent sweltering weekend, nearly 400 self-identified witches, daemons, and vampires traveled from around the country to the Science History Institute in Philadelphia for two days of bookish revelry. 
Technical.ly Philly: This Project is Tracking the Oral History of STEM Researchers with Disabilities
September 06, 2018
Going into its third year, Science and Disability looks to bring visibility to an often-overlooked group. Get a primer on the project this Saturday at an event titled “Stories of Disability in the Lab.” 
Philadelphia Inquirer: Scans Reveal Secrets of Medieval ‘Harry Potter’ Book and Medical Texts at Penn
May 14, 2018
The study of unsightly stains on old manuscripts may show the hands of early doctors and chemists at work. 
WHYY: Age of Alchemy a “Must-See New Art Exhibit”
May 10, 2018
Smashed vessels, smoking beakers, celestial globes—the oil paintings on view at the Science History Institute’s Age of Alchemy are filled with arcane symbols, both campy and mysterious.