Philadelphia’s dinosaur museum – founded in 1812, it’s America’s oldest natural history museum – greets families with a roaring T. rex in the hall and keeps the wonders coming: dig for fossils in the Big Dig pit, walk among live butterflies in the tropical garden, and meet live animals at daily naturalist presentations. The Outside In children’s discovery center, designed for ages 3-8, adds dress-up, microscopes and a reading nook shaped like a hollow tree.
Now part of Drexel University, the Academy sits on Logan Square beside the Franklin Institute and the parkway’s other giants – making it the perfect anchor for a museum day where Philadelphia kids learn that science started here, and so can they.
