Science History Institute

🎆Opening as part of America’s 250th anniversary, Flash! Bang! Boom! reveals rare designs, cultural histories, and what’s inside a firework. Join us for a FREE opening celebration on April 10, 5–8 pm. Visit sciencehistory.org/fireworks for more info!

"Every Sunday for more than 30 years, Bill Haast would release one of his king cobras on his lawn so that he could 'fence' with it." —@goraladka for @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/magazi…

🎆Opening as part of America’s 250th anniversary, Flash! Bang! Boom! reveals rare designs, cultural histories, and what’s inside a firework. Join us for a FREE opening celebration on April 10, 5–8 pm. Visit sciencehistory.org/fireworks for more info!

🧨 An explosive new exhibition is coming to Philadelphia! Opening April 10, 💥 Flash! Bang! Boom! A History of Fireworks explores the chemistry, craft, and global stories behind dazzling displays! sciencehistory.org/about/press/in…

Going to every museum in Philadelphia! The science history institute. It's free and you get to learn about school lunches.

Science History Institute will open 'Flash! Bang! Boom!' this spring with rare books, art and the chemistry behind pyrotechnics phillyvoice.com/fireworks-hist…

A fireworks history exhibition is coming to @SciHistoryOrg in #OldCity for America’s 250th | @thephillyvoice phillyvoice.com/fireworks-hist…

Don't miss your last chance to see Lunchtime: The History of Science on the School Food Tray! 🍎🥪 This exhibition explores the surprising story behind one of the most familiar rites of passage–eating a school lunch. 📅 Only on view through Jan 31. sciencehistory.org/lunchtime

⏰ Deadline Jan 15, 2026! Apply now for the 2026–27 Beckman Center Fellowships at the Science History Institute. Long & short-term programs + travel grants available. Recommendations due January 30. ⬇️ sciencehistory.org/research/fello…

En estos días en los que el juego y la infancia cobran especial protagonismo, cabe recordar esta fantástica exposición virtual del Science History Institute sobre la historia de los sets de química para niños y niñas: artsandculture.google.com/story/science-…

Innovation doesn’t disappear. It’s preserved. The Science History Institute safeguards the breakthroughs that shaped science. We’re proud to share that @MOBILion_CEO Melissa Sherman has joined SHI’s Board of Directors. 👉 lnkd.in/e9UsyWCN #WomenInScience #LCMS

Astronomer Jules Janssen was desperate to escape the siege of Paris in 1870 and observe an eclipse. So he decided to flee in a balloon—despite the German army’s promise to shoot him if he tried. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disapp…

Grateful to @bunkhistory for highlighting "Mule Power" with @SciHistoryOrg !! bunkhistory.org/resources/mule…

In the 1970s, paramedic units were illegal in the United States. One (very bad) television show, Emergency!, set out to change that—and saved tens of thousands of lives in the process. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disapp…

In Philly so I said hi to the @SciHistoryOrg

#WSUChemistry alumna, Dr. @SibrinaCollins’ new publication on Thomas Washington Talley, a leading chemistry educator who proposed a new periodic table to explain the unusual structures of boron hydrides in now on the @SciHistoryOrg website. sciencehistory.org/education/scie…

He was a brilliant ornithologist—and a spy so colorful that James Bond was based on him. Richard Meinertzhagen was also a liar and a thief, and perpetrated the biggest fraud in biology history. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disapp…

Taxonomy has an ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hitler. But taxonomists have resisted most efforts to change such names, for reasons both good and bad. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disapp…

The eagle that made John James Audubon famous—the Bird of Washington—was a fraud. In fact, historians now know that much of Audubon’s legendary life was built on lies. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disapp…

In 1826, John James Audubon’s career was in ruins—until he hatched a desperate plan, involving a rare eagle. When the gamble paid off, it made Audubon the most famous ornithologist in history. New episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disapp…

New essay on the black environmental history of mules across the Americas with ⁦@SciHistoryOrg⁩ Mule Power | Science History Institute sciencehistory.org/stories/magazi…