Join our museum’s Gallery Guides for a “drop-in” tour that explores the vital impacts made by engaged communities on scientific discovery, environmental justice, and public health.

Our Science & Activism Tour invites visitors to consider these questions: Who is a scientist? Who is an activist? How does each bring about change?

Stories include the influential book Silent Spring by conservationist Rachel Carson and the rise of the environmental movement; ACT UP, the AIDS crisis, and the development of the patients’ bill of rights; the Black Panthers’ lead role in community testing for sickle cell anemia; and the water-use protests that shaped the future (and the topography) of the Delaware River Valley.

This tour offers a broad picture of the ways activists have reshaped our understanding of science and how visitors can become engaged today.


Drop-in tours are free and no reservations are necessary.

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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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