Past Events

04/03/2013
HENRY WIENCEK

A lecture, reception, and booksigning.

03/08/2013
MARY ROBINSON

A lecture, reception, and booksigning. 

02/08/2013
PETER PRINGLE

A lecture, reception, and booksigning

01/17/2013
POSTPONED

Postponed

12/05/2012

Join us on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 6:00p.m. for IT’S ABOUT TIME: Short films from the Secret Cinema Archive inspired by the APS Museum’s current exhibition Tempus Fugit: Time Flies

For information, and to reserve a seat, please click here.

10/26/2012
George Daughan

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are required to cancel our lecture 1812: The Navy's War on Friday, October 26 due to illness of the speaker, George Daughan.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

10/10/2012

Join us on Wednesday, October 10 for a rare screening of “Just Imagine,” a 1930 film that imagines a 1980 New York City. This time-travelling piece of film history is best known for its art direction and special effects. It’s a rare gem and may be the only sci-fi musical ever made!

10/04/2012

Do you wonder where all your time has gone? Does time really fly when you’re having fun? Share and listen to personal stories about the passage of time as the APS Museum and First Person Arts join forces for the first time to host a StorySlam at the APS.

Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 7 p.m.
APS Museum
104 S. 5th St.

This is a FREE event

Seating is limited — register by emailing rsvpmuseum [at] amphilsoc [dot] org

10/03/2012
A play by Ian Ruskin

The Library will open its slate of fall programs with a one-act play on the life of Thomas Paine, written and performed by British actor and playwright Ian Ruskin, with Elliot Gould as the voice of the prologue and epilogue.

06/08/2012
Peter Hirtle and Madelyn Wessel

The American Philosophical Society Library is pleased to announce a FREE, one-day workshop featuring IP experts Peter Hirtle and Madelyn Wessel.  This program is funded by generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 

When: 9:30 - 4:30, Friday, June 8
Where: Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Because we have reached our capacity, registration for this workshop is closed.

The workshop will cover:

06/01/2012
Andrea Wulf

Author Andrea Wulf will present an illustrated lecture based on her forthcoming book on the history of the Transit of Venus. Her preceding book was Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, published in spring 2011.

RSVP for lecture to rsvpmuseum [at] amphilsoc [dot] org

03/23/2012
SYDNEY NATHANS

Sydney Nathans is Professor Emeritus of History at Duke University.

02/17/2012
TIM McGRATH

Tim McGrath is a compelling and lucid writer, and is an executive who lives outside of Philadelphia. An avid sailor, he has been published in Naval History magazine. He has served on the board of directors of the Kearsley Retirement Community (founded by Benjamin Franklin’s physician) Christ Church Hospital and Fort Mifflin. He has written articles on management, U.S. history, and healthcare issues for various newspapers and magazines. John Barry has been nominated for the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Excellence in Naval Literature. Dr.

12/14/2011
Adam Gopnik

Wednesday, December 14, 2011
5 p.m. Reception & Book Signing
6 p.m. Lecture
FREE

12/01/2011 - 12/03/2011
APS Museum

 Of Pictures & Specimens is organized by the APS Museum in conjunction with its current exhibition, Of Elephants &

11/06/2011
APS Museum

What kind of music do elephants like the best? Join the adventurous new music group counter)induction for a free-wheeling, family-friendly musical tour from the 18th century to tomorrow. Part re-enactment of a 1798 concert held for two Asian elephants, part cutting-edge electro-acoustic happening with music by Philadelphia composer Kyle Bartlett, and part anatomy lesson, this program will be 100% pure pachyderm fun.

11/04/2011
APS Museum

 Join musician Kyle Bartlett for a “Listener Encounter” that considers different views of the natural world and the role that chance plays in natural systems like hurricanes. Bartlett will also discuss her sound installation for the temporary contemporary greenhouse at the APS Museum and give you the chance to create your own mobile sound installation (no musical skills required!). You will move about the garden and exhibition gallery as you compose.

10/26/2011
Dava Sobel

In her elegant, compelling style, Dava Sobel chronicles, as nobody has, the conflicting personalities and extraordinary discoveries that shaped the Copernican Revolution. At the heart of the book is her play, “And the Sun Stood Still,” imagining Copernicus's hesitation to publish his outlandish idea -- and the struggle that convinced him to let his manuscript see the light of day.

10/22/2011
A unique tree tour led by Benjamin Cromie, AICP

 The secret history of Philadelphia trees revealed!

10/20/2011
A lecture by Jenny Sabin

How do you create an easy, modular, environmentally sustainable greenhouse for the 21 st century? “Look to nature,” says Jenny Sabin, an architect and designer.

10/05/2011
Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg

Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg are Professors of History at Louisiana State University. Burstein is the author of seven other books, including Jefferson’s Secrets and The Passions of Andrew Jackson. Isenberg is also the author of Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr and Sex and Citizenship in Antebellum America. Students of political culture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they previously collaborated on a study of death in early America: Mortal Remains (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003).

09/24/2011 - 09/25/2011
APS Museum

Join us for a family-friendly weekend full of hands-on activities and engaging events! Make a mini-greenhouse. Design your own unique leaf print. Create a book arts project with artist Rosae Reeder. Roll a seed ball. Taste delicious, one-of-a-kind ice cream flavors from Little Baby’s Ice Cream Tricycle.

09/23/2011
Rebecca Kamen

Rare books viewed during residencies at the American Philosophical Society and Chemical Heritage Foundation libraries have informed and inspired the development of recent work. As an artist, exploring significant history of science collections creates a unique opportunity to render and transform words into tangible, visual form. These cumulative experiences have instilled a profound sense of awe and wonder for the world around me, and continue to create new bridges between art and science in my work as both an artist and professor. 

09/20/2011
A lecture by Fritz Haeg

 Fritz Haeg will present his recent work including the series of Edible Estate gardens – highly visible domestic urban productive pleasure gardens planted from Istanbul to Austin, London to Los Angeles – and the urban wildlife architecture of Animal Estates. Both projects suggest city environments that are more connected to nature, useful, participatory, and fun.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 6:00 pm

09/12/2011
Science on Tap

Chile peppers are one of the most notable gifts of the New World to the Old. The global spread of chile peppers altered world cuisine, giving us everything from moles to masalas. Just as important, the “heat” of chile peppers provides a window for understanding the sensations of pain and temperature.