The Academy of Natural Sciences (oldest natural-history museum in the Americas)

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University was founded in 1812 and is the oldest natural-history museum in the Western Hemisphere. Located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the institution maintains large research collections, public exhibits of specimens and taxidermy, and active scientific research programs. The museum building and collections have been central to natural-history study and public education in Philadelphia for over two centuries.