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PHILADELPHIA, PA—1 January 2008—The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF)—a library, museum and center for scholars—is expanding its headquarters with the opening on October 3, 2008, of a $20 million integrated museum and conference space in Philadelphia’s historic First National Bank. The building, built in 1865, is in the heart of “America’s Most Historic Square Mile,” near such famous landmarks as Franklin Court and Independence Hall.
Announcing the opening, Thomas R. Tritton, president and CEO of CHF, states, “This dynamic center is the collaborative triumph of three groups: our curatorial and exhibit staff; Dagit•Saylor Architects; and the world’s largest interpretive museum design firm, Ralph Appelbaum Associates.” The organizations’ cooperation is evident throughout, especially in the illuminated floor-to-ceiling exhibit cases, which also serve as walls. Dagit•Saylor—renowned for historic revitalization projects including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts—has infused the interior space of this classic 19th-century Italianate building with 21st-century Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles that are both ecologically sensitive and sustainable.
CHF board member Robert G. W. Anderson, retired director of the British Museum, says, “These galleries will appeal to all who are curious about the world and want to know the part which chemical sciences have played and will play in their lives.”
Ten years in the making, the 17,000-square-foot, two-story facility will open with Making Modernity, a permanent exhibition showcasing hundreds of artifacts from the 18th to the 20th century. Singular scientific objects, artworks, rare books and everyday objects—from cosmetics to computers—tell the stories of discoveries that shaped the modern world. The museum will also host changing exhibitions, the first of which, Molecules That Matter, opens in August. Museum hours will be Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission will be free.
Displaying Chemistry in a Whole New Light
Bringing visitors the unexpected beauty of science outside the lab, Making Modernity opens on October 3, 2008, and will be housed in the Masao Horiba Exhibit Hall. Designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates—whose projects include the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia—the exhibition will examine such themes as time, color, space and speed. It will celebrate scientific innovation and achievements, including the evolution of Bakelite—from a dully colored but useful industrial material to a variety of consumer products infused with colorful synthetic dyes—and the invention of nylon, which revolutionized the textile industry. Making Modernity also illustrates the transformation of chemistry from a closed, exclusive subject to an inclusive, inquiry-based pursuit, with a display entitled “Becoming a Chemist.”
A Constantly Changing Scene
In addition to the permanent exhibition, the new space will feature conference center facilities and temporary exhibits to keep CHF connected to the community in Philadelphia and beyond.
The CHF E. I. du Pont Conference Center will welcome professionals and other visitors to its distinctive environment, offering abundant natural light and prime views of Independence National Historical Park. The 10,000-square-foot space accommodates up to 180 people in its six meeting rooms. For more information, please call (215) 873-8243.
Molecules That Matter, opening in August 2008 in the Clifford C. Hach Gallery, will be the first changing exhibit in the new space. It is a scientific and artistic representation of ten organic molecules that transformed the 20th century: aspirin, buckminsterfullerene, DDT, DNA, isooctane, nylon, penicillin G, polyethylene, progestin and Prozac. Developed by CHF in partnership with the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, this exhibit will be installed at CHF before traveling to the College of Wooster, Baylor University and Grinnell College. For more information, please visit http://tang.skidmore.edu/pac/mtm/index.htm.
The Collective Voice, a CHF blog covering the new exhibition Making Modernity and the museum expansion, can be found at http://collectivevoice.chemheritage.org.
About the Chemical Heritage Foundation
The Chemical Heritage Foundation serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF carries out a program of outreach and interpretation, in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society; maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; and encourages research in its collections.
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