Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

‘Flash! Bang! Boom!’ opens April 10 as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration.

The March 21 event features the Philly-born invention of the first paper match folder.

Opening April 10, 2026, this exhibition celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

This collection features materials related to the history and science of fireworks, gunpowder, and other explosives.

Join us on March 21 for a special Stories of Science program celebrating the invention of the first paper match folder in 1892.

Pyro enthusiasts converge on Lake Havasu City, Arizona, for an annual event known as the Western Winter Blast.

Maxim was a chemist and inventor known for his work on weapons, particularly smokeless gunpowder.

An inconspicuous technology sparks revolution on the subcontinent.

How popular narratives of the atomic age obscure the bomb’s first victims.

Follow the birth, life, and demise of the Hercules Powder Company, which once dominated the explosives industry in the United States.

The founder of the prestigious Nobel Prizes made his fortune with a big bang by inventing dynamite, a stabilized form of nitroglycerin.

The world’s first plastic made Hollywood possible—and killed thousands of people along the way.