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

 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.

 The secret history of Philadelphia trees revealed!

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).

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. 

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.

At the turn of the 19th Century, an exotic plant sprouts from an unusual box sent across the Atlantic Ocean by famous world explorer, raconteur, and botanist André Michaux to Empress Josephine’s French estate. What blooms is a story full of tall tales, love songs, and one unique French garden.

Come to the APS Museum to learn the story of Zarafa, the first giraffe to set foot in France. Artist Aubrey Levinthal will lead hands-on art activities inspired by the baby giraffe. Stick around to hear APS Museum educator Tara Miller read the story “A Giraffe Goes to Paris” at our first kid-friendly story circle! (story readings at 1 and 2pm)

Roses exotic and roses erotic; roses botanical and roses theoretical. 

A girl named Rose who became Napoleon’s wife and Empress of France.
A famous American expatriate in Paris who called Alice B. Toklas her Rose.

Friday, February 25, 2011 • Reception: 5:30 p.m. • Program: 6:00 p.m. A lecture, reception, and book signing

Please join us for a lecture, reception, and book signing