American Philosophical Society: Benjamin Franklin Hall

The American Philosophical Society and the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic cordially invite you to “Civic Engagement in the Revolutionary City, 1776 and 2026.” This event, which will officially launch the APS and SHEAR partnership to further civic education, will feature a discussion of the essential ideas and documents of the American Revolution and their significance and importance to our nation today.
Andrew Shankman (Rutgers University and President Elect of Society for Historians of the Early American Republic) and Bayard L. Miller (American Philosophical Society) will host a conversation featuring the following historians:
Joanne Freeman (Yale University) and Nora Slominsky (Iona College and Director of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies) on Civic Ideals, Public Conversation, and Historical Scholarship.
Lauren Duval (University of Oklahoma), Christina Snyder (Penn State University), and Zara Anishanslin (University of Delaware) on “Civic Documents from Philadephia, the Revolutionary City.”
About The Revolutionary City: <a href="https://therevolutionarycity.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">The Revolutionary City: A Portal to the Nation’s Founding</a> is a central hub for students, educators, scholars, and the public to learn about diverse stories of the American Revolution from the perspective of early residents of America’s revolutionary city. 
About SHEAR Civics Exchange: A site to connect members of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic who can speak to your organization, club, or institution about the history that has shaped our civic institutions and civic culture, and the relationship of the past to our present-day civic institutions and civic life.

Local Event: Civic Engagement in the Revolutionary City, 1776 and 2026

Philadelphia County

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

Civic Engagement in the Revolutionary City,...

The American Philosophical Society and the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic cordially invite you to “Civic...

Civic Engagement in the Revolutionary City, 1776 and 2026

The APS welcomes the public to a hybrid keynote presentation by Angelina Jumper for the 9th Annual 2026 Digital Knowledge Workshop.
As Cultural Resources Supervisor for the Junaluska Museum, Angelina Jumper has helped guide the museum’s transition from the loss of a physical building to the creation of a community-centered digital archive. Following the loss of the museum facility, Jumper and her team developed the Junaluska Museum’s first substantial digital footprint through large-scale digitization, community-based archiving, and the implementation of a tribal Digital Asset Management system. This work includes preserving photographs, oral histories, documents, and 3D scans of culturally significant objects while building tribal capacity for digital stewardship and advancing archival sovereignty. Grounded in Cherokee cultural values and museum ethics, this keynote reflects on the importance of keeping cultural belongings, stories, and memory connected to families and community life. Rather than viewing archives as static spaces where “old things” are stored, this presentation reimagines digital stewardship as a living practice that sustains Cherokee knowledge, relationships, memory, and continuance across generations.
The keynote will take place on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. ET in Benjamin Franklin Hall and will also be livestreamed. This event is free and open to the public but registration is required.
Those who are planning to attend virtually may do so via our YouTube here.
Live Spanish interpretation is being offered for this program via Zoom. For access to the translation, please join the Zoom Stream. **Note, language interpretation is not available on YouTube.**
La conferencia será interpretada en espanol para aquellos que se conecten via zoom. **Nota: La interpretación no está disponible en YouTube.**

Local Event: Feeding the Digital Fire: Community Memory, and Digital Stewardship

Feeding the Digital Fire: Community Memory, and...

The APS welcomes the public to a hybrid keynote presentation by Angelina Jumper for the 9th Annual 2026 Digital Knowledge...

Feeding the Digital Fire: Community Memory, and Digital Stewardship

2026 is here and everywhere you look are celebrations of the Revolution! Science on Tap is no exception, but with a twist. Join us for a special Science on Tap as we explore Revolutions in Science. Take a break from the Declaration and the 18th century and learn more about revolutionary moments in scientific advancements, from the study of diatoms to our understanding of dinosaurs.
This is a ticketed event and space is limited. $20 ticket price includes food and drinks. Come celebrate with us in the Revolutionary City!This event will take place on Monday, August 10, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. ET in Benjamin Franklin Hall at the American Philosophical Society (427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106).
Please note that photographs or video may be taken by APS staff throughout the event for educational and/or promotional materials.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding accessing this event, please contact the APS’s education office at MuseumEducation@AmPhilSoc.org. We appreciate two weeks of advance notice for any accommodation requests.About the Speakers:
Sara Ray, is the Senior Director of Interpretation at the Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library. She holds a master’s degree in Museum Studies from Columbia and a PhD in the History of Science from Penn. Her doctoral research used museum preparations of fetuses with congenital abnormalities to explore the intertwined histories of embryology, midwifery, anatomical collecting, and natural philosophy. At the Mütter, Sara oversees public programs, education, and gallery interpretation. In addition to her nerd work, Sara is a published fiction writer, Pennsylvania Master Naturalist, and an award-winning performance storyteller.
Taylor Bailey, is an environmental historian and historian of science of the United States, with a focus on the history of human-animal relationships. He will graduate in September with a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology after defending his dissertation on the origins of wildlife restoration practices in the 19th century U.S. He currently serves as the Cain Curatorial Fellow at the Science History Institute.
Roland Wall, is the Executive Director for the Patrick Center for Environmental Research at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. He manages the Academy’s environmental research projects, leading an interdisciplinary science team that works on a variety of basic and applied research projects, often focused on aquatic ecosystems. He started at the Academy in 1999 on Dr. Ruth Patrick’s staff, writing and producing the Know Your Environment publication. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in entomology and applied ecology, both from the University of Delaware. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member of Drexel’s Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, and served as the Academy’s Associate Research Dean. He served for 6 years on the Board of the Delaware Nature Society and is currently on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed.

Local Event: Science on Tap: Untapped Revolution

Science on Tap: Untapped Revolution

2026 is here and everywhere you look are celebrations of the Revolution!  Science on Tap is no exception, but with a twist....

Washington Crossing Historic Park Visitor Center 1112 River Road Washington Crossing, PA 18977

Join us for a David Center for the American Revolution Lecture from Michael Auslin, who will be discussing his new book: National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America.
The inspiring story of the Declaration of Independence—the first to take us from its drafting by Thomas Jefferson to today—charting the many lives of a document that captures the soul of America and has united generations around its defiant ideals, published for the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
Quiet and politically untested, Thomas Jefferson was not the obvious choice to draft a statement of principles explaining why the American colonies were breaking ties with the King of England. His soaring rhetoric would inspire generations of Americans to live up to the founders’ dreams. National Treasure is the gripping story of our most revered founding relic, as a physical object and a set of ideals that have made America what it is today.
An award-winning historian, Michael Auslin take us from the boarding house in Philadelphia where Jefferson put quill to paper to the Declaration’s covert signing, dissemination in the doldrums of the revolutionary war, and long, harrowing, and ultimately hallowed afterlife. We follow the parchment as it is hauled out of a soon-to-be-burning Washington in 1814 and see it hidden in a dank cellar, posted in classrooms, recited on village greens, printed on handkerchiefs, and used to sell insurance and bundle coal. An inspiration to both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis in the Civil War, it has grown more important for each new generation. While FDR and Churchill celebrated its commitment to freedom from tyranny, the document itself was lowered into a bunker at Fort Knox. After the war, its precious ink fading, it was painstakingly preserved and enshrined.
Through it all, Jefferson’s words have inspired implausibly varied causes, from suffragists and civil rights leaders to groups waging war on the US government. As Jefferson had hoped, the principles enshrined in the Declaration became a beacon to the world. But what lessons should we take from it today? Can this statement of ideals in whose name the signers pledged their lives and sacred honor bring a disparate nation together? As we gather to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founders’ bold experiment in democracy, Auslin reminds us that this enduring document was not just a call for freedom and equality but an eloquent statement of the principles that bind us together.
This event is hosted by the David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society. This event will take place on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Visitor Center in Washington Crossing and will also be livestreamed on Zoom.

Local Event: National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America

National Treasure: How the Declaration of...

Join us for a David Center for the American Revolution Lecture from Michael Auslin, who will be discussing his new book:...

National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America

Ella Scalese

June Bakan

Philadelphia Metropolitan Area

Camden County

Eddie Callahan

Collingswood

New Jersey

Montgomery County

Narberth-Bala Cynwyd

Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood

Roxborough-Manayunk

Haddonfield-Haddon Township

Gloucester County

West Deptford

Chestnut Hill-Mt. Airy

Delaware County

Haverford-Havertown

Springfield

Bryn Mawr-Gladwyne

Northern Children's Services

🎒✨ LEVEL UP YOUR SCHOOL YEAR! ✨🎒
Mark your calendars for Northern Children's Services' annual Back-to-School Fair!
Join us for an afternoon filled with free backpacks and school supplies, giveaways (including bags of fresh produce), children's haircuts, family activities, community resources, snacks, and more. We're excited to help students and families start the school year feeling prepared, confident, and ready to succeed.
📅 Friday, July 31, 2026 ⏰ 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM 📍 5301 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19128
Want to support the event? Check out our Linktree to help provide backpacks, school supplies, and essential resources for local children and families.
We can't wait to see you there! 💜📚

Local Event: Back-To-School Fair

Back-To-School Fair

🎒✨ LEVEL UP YOUR SCHOOL YEAR! ✨🎒
Mark your calendars for Northern Children's Services' annual Back-to-School Fair!
Join us for...

Nearby Communities

State Edition

National Edition

Ella Scalese, Neighbor

Posting Activity

Civic Engagement in the Revolutionary City, 1776 and 2026

JUL

15

6:00 PM

American Philosophical Society: Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA

Feeding the Digital Fire: Community Memory, and Digital Stewardship

JUL

29

6:00 PM

American Philosophical Society: Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA

Science on Tap: Untapped Revolution

AUG

10

6:00 PM

American Philosophical Society: Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA

National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America

AUG

19

7:00 PM

Philadelphia, PA

Back-To-School Fair