While we didn’t experience the double brood “cicada-geddon” here in Philadelphia, it is July and that means bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. As the unofficial pest of summer, the mosquito tops our list of creepy-crawly content that includes a digital exhibition on DDT, a Distillations podcast on yellow fever, and a biography on the Nobel Prize-winning scientists who developed an antimalarial drug. You can also learn about the history of flea medication by reading a collections blog post and explore all kinds of buzzing insects and the pesticides used to eradicate them in our digital collections. And our Othmer Library will soon be teeming with bookworms with the arrival of our 2024–2025 class of fellows, who will study such topics as Mexican cochineal insects used to make red dye. | |
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Science History Institute Welcomes 2024–2025 Beckman Center Fellows
The Beckman Center at the Science History Institute is pleased to welcome our 2024–2025 class of fellows. Our vibrant scholarly community includes postdoctoral, dissertation, distinguished, short-term, and two-year curatorial fellows who travel from all over the world to use our collections to research a wide range of topics, including Mexican cochineal production. The Institute is home to the largest private fellowship program in the historical study of science, medicine, and technology in the United States.
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Call for Papers: RSA Annual Conference
The Science History Institute is seeking paper submissions for a sponsored session at the 2025 Renaissance Society of America (RSA) annual conference titled “Bodies Underground: Conceptualizing Metals and Minerals in the Early Modern World.” As an RSA member affiliate and in recognition of our forthcoming Hall of Minerals exhibition (opening 2025), the Institute invites papers exploring early modern conceptions of metals and minerals and their role(s) within systems of nature, economy, philosophy, and beyond. Please send proposed paper title, abstract (no more than 200–250 words), and CV to eberrydrago@sciencehistory.org. The deadline for proposal submission is Friday, July 26, 2024; successful submissions will be notified by Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
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All events are free and take place online or at the Science History Institute at 315 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia unless otherwise noted. | |
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Museum Programs & Activities
Stories of Science
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Saturdays
July 13, 20, 27, 2024
10am–5pm EDT
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Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for Stories of Science, a family-friendly program that highlights the many strange and surprising stories from the history of science! Our fun, interactive activities are designed for science lovers of all ages. Admission is free and reservations are not required. | |
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Museum Programs & Activities
Drop-in Tours
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Saturdays
July 13, 27, 2024
2pm EDT
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Join our museum’s Gallery Guides every other Saturday for one of our Dyes & Textiles, Science & Activism, or Women in Chemistry “drop-in” tours. Learn about the remarkable scientific properties of natural dyes and textiles; explore how scientists and activists have shaped discovery and created change with stories of environmental justice; and discover the central role of women in shaping chemistry and the material sciences throughout history. Tours are free and no reservations are necessary. | |
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Gordon Cain Conference
Storytelling as Pedagogy: Historical Biographies in STEM and Social Studies
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Monday, July 15, 2024–Tuesday, July 16, 2024
9am–5pm EDT
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The 2024 Gordon Cain Conference will focus on the value and use of historical biographies in contemporary STEM and social studies education. Organized by Cain Conference Fellow Sibrina Collins, participants will explore how sharing the stories of diverse scientists can help young girls and people of color see themselves as valuable contributors to the field, historically and in the future. $65 per person; $15 for graduate students and K-12 teachers. | |
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Performances
Musical Alchemy: Charming Disaster and Thomas Little
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Wednesday, July 24, 2024
6pm–8:30pm EDT
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Join us for a magical evening of music and mystery, featuring goth-folk duo Charming Disaster and “modern alchemist” Thomas Little! This spooky spectacular includes an ink-making demonstration exploring the alchemy of color and chemical reactions, and a live musical performance of playfully dark original songs inspired by pigments and poisons. Tickets: $5. Space is limited. | |
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Museum Programs & Activities
First Friday: Deep Freeze
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Friday, August 2, 2024
5pm–7pm EDT
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Join us for a chilling First Friday event dedicated to the fascinating world of food science and technology that keeps our treats cool and refreshing! And enjoy free ice cream sandwiches inspired by Martha Washington’s original ice cream recipes. First Fridays are free and open to the public. Attendees will receive a 10% discount to National Mechanics restaurant. | |
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Science on Tap
Science on Tap, Untapped: Legendary Science
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August 12, 2024
6pm–8pm EDT
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The Science History Institute hosts this special Science on Tap, where we’ll explore the myths, legends, and science behind some of our favorite mythical creatures. We’ll take a close look at how our initial interpretations have adapted and changed as our understanding of the world around us has grown. Come celebrate 15 years of Science on Tap programming with marvelous myths, food, and drinks. Tickets: $10. | |
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Classes & Workshops
Oral History Training Institute
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Monday, August 19, 2024–Thursday, August 22, 2024
10am–1pm EDT
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The Science History Institute’s Center for Oral History is proud to provide training to scholars and researchers interested in learning oral history and research interview methodologies. This online workshop will introduce attendees to all aspects of the interview process. Tickets are $75 for individuals, $50 for students. | |
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Distillations Podcast: Innate
Calamity in Philadelphia
When yellow fever struck the city in 1793, faulty race logic almost destroyed it.
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Distillations Magazine
Controversy, Control, and Cosmetics in Early Modern Italy
In a society that damned women for both plainness and adornment, wearing makeup became a defiant act of survival.
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Distillations Podcast
Traffication: An Interview with Paul Donald
In this episode, Distillations spotlights a significant factor impacting our environment and the world’s ecology: roads.
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Distillations Podcast
Is Ozempic Different?
The weight-loss drug has become well known, but many others have come before, often with horrific results.
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Collections Blog
The Life and Times of CHEMS
A chemistry curriculum with bonds beyond the molecule.
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The Disappearing Spoon Podcast
The Mysterious Mote
This bonus episode highlights an excerpt from Ferris Jabr’s book Becoming Earth.
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The Science History Institute Digital Collections house more than 13,550 curated items, including rare and modern books, scientific instruments, letters, photographs, advertisements, videos, oral histories, and more:
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Plate 3: Winged Insects, from An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World, 1752
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George Hitchings and Gertrude Elion
Pioneers of rational drug design, George Hitchings (1905–1998) and Gertrude Elion (1918–1999) produced effective treatments for such illnesses as leukemia, gout, and malaria, a serious and sometimes fatal mosquito-borne disease. Their discovery of important principles for drug treatments like these earned them the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
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The Science History Institute Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Admission is free.
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