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The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University’s museum closed to the public on Sept. 27. The announcement of the museum’s closure sparked shock, public outcry, vows for Council hearings and large rallies from former visitors, academics, politicians and Philadelphians.
We recap below where things stand and will update this as news on the academy’s fate evolves.
One of the biggest remaining questions is what, if anything, Philadelphia City Council can do to influence the academy’s future. A promised investigation into the closure is moving forward, although later than originally planned.
What about the city council investigation?
Councilmembers Jeffery Young Jr. and Nina Ahmad introduced a resolution Sept. 17 authorizing the Committee on Legislative Oversight to examine the financial and governance decisions behind the closure and possible ways to preserve public access. The measure also gives the committee subpoena power, allowing it to compel witnesses to testify and require the production of documents.
The first hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7, but Young announced Oct. 5 that it had been postponed. Council now lists the hearing for Monday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. in City Hall. Neither Council’s cancellation notice nor its new hearing notice gives a reason for the delay.
“The additional time will allow Council to give this important matter its full attention, ensuring Councilmembers and the public have the information needed for a thorough and substantive discussion about the academy’s future and the potential impact of its closure on Philadelphia,” reads a statement from Young’s announcement of the postponement.
Councilmembers have said they hope the investigation will reveal how the museum reached the point of closure and what alternatives remain.
The investigation itself, however, cannot order Drexel or the academy to reopen the museum. What Council can do is force information into the public record — including testimony, financial records and other documents — and use those findings to identify possible funding, legislative or regulatory solutions. Council could separately pursue measures such as funding assistance or zoning changes, but reopening ultimately would require cooperation from Drexel and academy leadership and a financially viable plan.
Have there been efforts to reopen?
The William Penn Foundation offered bridge funding intended to cover the museum’s operating costs for at least a year, buying time to study its deferred maintenance, operating expenses, fundraising potential and long-term viability. Drexel has not accepted the offer, saying it has not received a formal proposal with a defined level of financial support, though the university says it is willing to continue discussions.
An organization created in an effort by McAnulty and other volunteers to keep the academy open, Save The Academy, held two rallies on the museum’s final weekend, the second of which included a candlelit vigil on the museum’s final day and a march to City Hall. Both rallies saw hundreds show their support for the nearly 200-year-old institution.
Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Sept. 17 authorizing the Committee on Legislative Oversight to investigate the academy by holding hearings and issuing subpoenas regarding the museum’s closure. Introduced at a later Sept. 24 meeting was a new zoning bill from City Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr. that would limit the allowed uses of the property to a limited range of institutional, cultural, educational and other specified uses.
Young’s still-pending proposal would make many conventional commercial or residential redevelopments of the site harder, potentially reducing the attractiveness of selling it for something like apartments, but it would not require Drexel to reopen the academy or prevent the property from being sold.
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Mayor Cherelle Parker have backed efforts to preserve the museum. State Sen. Nikil Saval, who represents the 1st District, sent Drexel and the academy’s board a letter urging them to keep the museum open.
Following the academy’s closure, Save the Academy protesters demonstrated outside the National Constitution Center, where Drexel’s Board of Trustees was holding a reception. Chanted demands to Drexel’s board included accepting William Penn’s bridge-funding offer, allowing an independent planning process and, if Drexel could not maintain the academy, considering disaffiliation so another entity could save it intact.
What is the new agreement?
Earlier in the month, the academy and Drexel University reached an unusual agreement – with the city stepping in to provide leadership in the midst of the academy’s previous CEO and president stepping down.
The academy’s previous CEO and President Scott Cooper stepped down amid the museum’s closure.
And in a message sent out Wednesday, Drexel University said the city has agreed to loan Deputy Mayor Patricia Wellenbach to “help guide the Academy” and “provide stability and direction.”
Wellenbach will be compensated fully by the city, and will not receive any compensation from Drexel or the academy for this role.
David Cohen, an attorney and the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, was also appointed to help with the effort at the request of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
He told 6abc that the academy’s museum “could return later” in a smaller form – but that its current spot on Benjamin Franklin Parkway will be vacated.
While the announcement said the museum will still close, Wellenbach will help the academy continue with its research and educational outreach and “work toward the funding and operational model needed for long-term sustainability.”
The Inquirer reports that Drexel “holds the reins” in the new agreement and that the Academy board reserves the right to de-affiliate from Drexel and “find a new partner or partners for its collections should it wish to do so.”
What is the Academy and Drexel’s relationship?
The Academy of Natural Sciences was around long before its partnership with Drexel. The academy itself was established in 1812, and the museum opened in 1828.
The academy and Drexel’s partnership has been complicated since the beginning.
The affiliation agreement between the academy and Drexel University was signed in late 2011, and it provided that Drexel would provide substantial financial support for the academy.
Almost a year ago, the academy cut museum hours to three days a week and set out to restructure its staffing amid funding concerns.
Then, earlier this year, Drexel and the academy considered dissolving their relationship entirely. Drexel allegedly told the academy that it could either “fully merge with the university,” which would give Drexel its collections, building space and endowment, or the two would move to disaffiliate.
This came amid mounting financial pressures for the university and complicated caveats around their relationship (which wasn’t a merger).
Nearly five months later, Drexel and the academy are still working through their challenges – which include finding sustainable leadership beyond Wellenbach.
Those negotiations may now end with the two institutions splitting altogether. The Inquirer reported Oct. 2 that Drexel and academy officials were discussing a path forward with disaffiliation still on the table. Drexel has said it previously offered the academy a path to separate from the university and remains open to that possibility, though neither organization has announced a final agreement.
Some Philadelphians expressed discontent with Drexel’s management of the relationship in this situation. This includes Sarah McAnulty, who is the executive director of the educational nonprofit Skype a Scientist.
“I think that it’s really important that the people of Philadelphia put pressure on Drexel because I think when they took over stewardship of the museum, it’s not acceptable to close the doors of the public museum,” she said.
Why did the museum close in the first place?
In a statement, Drexel University said visitorship at the academy’s museum has decreased since the COVID pandemic, and that the space’s economic challenges “were not temporary pressures, but fundamental changes in the operational model.”
The statement also noted that the building’s operating costs and maintenance continued to rise and proved to be too much to sustain.
Drexel University has also faced financial issues over the years – including lower enrollment rates and growing deficits.
McAnulty explained that Drexel’s decision to close the museum seemed to lack transparency – especially as it came on short notice.
“I think the decision is completely unconscionable, and I also want to ask questions like, why was the public not alerted sooner?” she said.
Staff echoed the feeling of having no warning.
“I am a staff member at the Academy of Natural Sciences. We were blindsided with this closure news and are all in shock,” wrote Amber “Dino Lady” Redfield, who works in geoscience education at the academy. “But I want to say how much everyone’s words have touched all the staff at ANSP. The crying hasn’t stopped in days. Thank you, please don’t let us go extinct. We need a miracle!”
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How have Philadelphians responded?
Philadelphians’ reactions range from “furious” to “awful.”
The first Save the Academy rally was held on Tuesday, September 8 outside the museum building. Organizers included Philly Science Action, Green Philly and McAnulty’s Skype a Scientist. The campaign has also attracted more than 121,000 signatures to an online petition calling for the public-facing museum to reopen.
“We are asking Drexel to find a way to keep the museum open to the public past September of 2026,” organizers wrote in a statement. “At a time when climate change and science continue to be under attack, Philadelphia cannot afford to lose another institution that connects people to the natural world.”
For now, Drexel leadership said they will continue to work with the academy to “identify an appropriate governance structure and interim and permanent leadership for the Academy.”
The Academy of Natural Sciences is the latest in a series of Philly’s storied institutions announcing closures over the past few years.
McAnulty said this trend is “troubling.”
“It just feels like the city of Philadelphia is failing to protect the history of the city and maintain our institutions that help people understand why we are the way we are through science and through art,” she said.
The city’s University of the Arts closed abruptly over two years ago – leaving many staff and students with a week’s notice to make other arrangements and get belongings from buildings.
Another educational institution, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, also cut its degree programs in 2024 – citing declining enrollment and increasing costs.
In light of these previous closures, McAnulty said it is important to try everything to save the academy.
“I think we need to throw everything we can at the problem,” she said. “I think not just leaving it up to Drexel to give up on the museum when the people of Philadelphia are not giving up on the museum is really important. We can’t just let these people take away a public good like this.”
