Events

The Science History Institute produces a wide range of in-person and virtual events that are free and open to the public. From exhibition openings and talks, to museum tours and late-night activities, our programming is aimed at science history lovers, students, industry professionals, scholars, educators, and the scientifically curious.
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Philly Fair 250

Saturday, June 20, 2026-Sunday, June 21, 2026 | 2pm-9pm EDT
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Event Types
  • Beckman Center
  • Classes & Workshops
  • Conferences & Symposia
  • Drop-In Tours
  • Fellow in Focus
  • First Fridays
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  • Free
  • Hybrid
  • Joseph Priestley Society
  • Library Programs & Activities
  • Museum Programs & Activities
  • Online
  • Performances
  • Programs, Lectures & Talks
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  • Science on Tap
  • Stories of Science
  • Touch Tours
picnickers with frozen desserts

Stories of Science: Celebration of Summer

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

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overhead view of museum displays

From Our Forefathers: Climate Crisis in Chemistry History

We’ve teamed up with artist Aislinn Pentecost-Farren and ArtPhilly’s What Now: 2026 festival to look at our museum through a new lens.

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Color illustration of fireworks on the Seine, Paris

Stories of Science: Celebration of Summer

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
A colorful firework display with a person using a stick to ignite them, illustrating the history of fireworks.

Philly Fair 250

Join us at Philly Fair 250, a multiday extravaganza celebrating America’s 250th birthday!

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illustration of a woman and a child playing with pool toys

Stories of Science: Celebration of Summer

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
Logo for Red, White, & Blue To-Do July 2, Philadelphia Historic District, on dark blue background

Red, White, & Blue To-Do

The Science History Institute is one of 23 museums, historic sites, and local businesses in Philadelphia’s Historic District coming together for a day of star-spangled festivities in the nation’s most historic square mile.

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visitor touching an inert firework shell

Wawa Welcome America: Free Museum Day and First Friday

Join us in our museum for extended hours and family-friendly programming as part of Wawa Welcome America’s 4th of July festivities!

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visitor viewing fireworks history exhibition

July 4th at the Science History Institute

Start your 4th of July celebration at the Science History Institute and learn about the science and history behind the beautiful displays you’ll see later in the evening.

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illustration of a knight on horseback

Stories of Science: Revolutionary Science

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

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painting of an alchemist doing an experiment that caught fire

Stories of Science: Revolutionary Science

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
illustration of a colonial-era man behind a boiling kettle

Stories of Science: Revolutionary Science

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

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vials of powder paint pigments

Stories of Science: Color and Light

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

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woman in apron dyeing cloth in a basin

Stories of Science: Color and Light

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
Thomas Paine and Joseph Priestley are seated at a table with guns, knives, a dish says phospherous, a gun butt says "Royal Electric fluid." A winged puti grins at them squatting in the center of the table. Books on treason, murders, assistination, revolution, etc. surround them. At Priestley's feat are packages of brimstone, axe and pickax. On the walls are scenes of execution and assassinations.

Stories of Science: Revolutionary Ideas with Thomas Paine!

Join us as we welcome Thomas Paine—patriot, pamphleteer, AND SCIENTIST—as presented by re-enactor Dean Howarth.

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Stories of Science: Color and Light

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
color illustration of quartz samples

Stories of Science: Color and Light

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More