Hello from the staff at the Wagner Free Institute of Science! We are very excited to be part of the Steemit world and to explore the new and exciting ways a cultural institution can add to and benefit from the Steemit community. Many thanks to Temple University's Center for Public History and Temple's MLA Program for giving us this opportunity! So ...
What is the Wagner Free Institute of Science?
The Wagner Free Institute of Science, 17th and Montgomery Ave., Philadelphia.
Left in 1865 and Right in 2005.
Simply put, we are and educational institution and natural history museum founded in 1855 to provide free education in the sciences to the public. But, we are so much more than that! Today we continue to offer free college level evening courses, we offer stand alone lectures on scientific and historic topics, and we have a robust children's education program that furthers our reach into the Philadelphia public schools. On top of that, in 1990 our building and collections were designated a National Historic Landmark that we now preserve and interpret as an example of Victorian-era natural history and science education.
And why are we here?
We will continue to explore the question "What is the Wagner Free Institute of Science" by presenting historic materials from our library, archives, and museum collections. How can these historic materials be used to explore our history? What other areas of research can be explored? What new and creative projects can be created from this research?
We look forward to engaging with the Steemit community in thinking about these questions in new and exciting ways!
Our goal is to be able to continue the Temple University-Wagner Free Institute Fellowship Program with funds earned here. This fellowship program was created to stimulate opportunities for Temple faculty and graduate students in the creative and academic disciplines to work with the historic collections at the Wagner Free Institute of Science. Over the next couple of weeks we will present research projects completed by the 8 first year fellows.