The Delaware County Institute of Science is a science and natural history museum, library and education center in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located about west of Philadelphia. It is part of the Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area. ...

. It was organized in 1833 and contains exhibits of mounted animals and birds; fossils, shells and corals from around the world; an

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

; a large collection of minerals; and a reference library and lecture hall for scientific presentations.

History

In the summer of 1833, five friends met at the public house of Isaac Hall in Nether Providence, Pennsylvania and proposed the development of a scientific organization to be named the "Cabinet of Natural Sciences of Delaware County". The five men were George Miller, John Miller, Minshall Painter, George Smith and the noted

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

John Cassin John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithology, ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and vice president at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification ...

. On September 21, 1833, the group met again and created the organization under the name Delaware County Institute of Science. On January 4, 1837, George Cummings sold a plot of land near the Rose Tree Tavern in Upper Providence, Pennsylvania and a two-story brick building was constructed. The Institute membership continued to increase and incorporated on February 8, 1836. The building was formally opened in September 1837 with a dedicatory address given by

Robert Maskell Patterson Robert Maskell Patterson (March 23, 1787 – September 5, 1854) was an American professor of mathematics, chemistry and natural philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania from 1812 to 1828 and professor of natural philosophy at the University o ...

, the director of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. Over September 10–12, 1846, the Institute held its first public exhibition of agriculture, manufactures and other products of Delaware County at its hall in Upper Providence. The exhibition continued annually for several years until the Delaware County Agricultural Society was established in 1855 and took over the exhibitions. In 1867, the current building in

was constructed and the Institute moved to that location. The building was originally intended to house the Media Title and Trust Company on the first floor and the institute on the second floor, but the institute currently occupies the entire building. Other notable people associated with the Institute include the archeologist

Daniel Garrison Brinton Daniel Garrison Brinton (May 13, 1837July 31, 1899) was an American archaeologist, ethnologist, historian, and surgeon. Biography Brinton was born in Thornbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Yale University in 185 ...

and the botanist

Graceanna Lewis Graceanna Lewis (August 3, 1821 – February 25, 1912) was an Americans, American naturalist, illustrator, and social reformer. An expert in the field of ornithology, Lewis is remembered as a pioneer female American scientist as well as an act ...

Presidents

Presidents of the Institute include: * George Smith, M.D. 1833–1882 * Honorable John M. Broomall 1882–1894 * T. Chalkley Palmer 1894–1934 * George Pennock 1934–1938 * Carolus Broomall 1938–1939 * Walter Palmer 1939–1953 * Harold W. Arndt 1953–1960 * Russell J. Emmons 1960–1963 * William Blake Gibson, M.D. 1963–1990 * Alfred C. Palmer 1990–2012 At least six of the institute's past presidents died in office. Walter Palmer was the son of T. Chalkey Palmer.

Exhibits

The Institute contains exhibits of mounted animals and birds; fossils, shells and corals from around the world; an

; a large collection of minerals and a lecture hall for scientific presentations. Among the holdings is a rare microscope designed by

Joseph Zentmayer Joseph Zentmayer (March 27, 1826 — March 28, 1888) was a German-American maker of microscopes and other optical instruments. After graduating from the gymnasium in Mannheim, he was apprenticed to a local optician. After completing his apprent ...

that was displayed at the 1876

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

in Philadelphia.

Library

The library at the institute is a non-circulating reference collection. It contains several thousand books and publications on the Natural Sciences as well as a large collection of books on local and Pennsylvania history.

References

Citations Sources *

External links