Near Temple University stands a Victorian time capsule Philadelphia families adore: the Wagner Free Institute of Science, a natural history museum frozen in its 1880s glory, with wooden cases of specimens, a lecture hall where science talks have run free since 1855, and the stuffed animals and minerals arranged just as William Wagner intended.
Its family programs are the modern heartbeat: science story times, neighborhood nature walks and hands-on activity days that welcome North Philadelphia kids as the museum’s favorite guests. Admission is free (donations welcome) – a 19th-century gift still giving, one curious child at a time.
