Events for July 2012

July 2, 2012 - December 7, 2012

The Alchemical Quest

Chemical Heritage Foundation | Visit site »

The Alchemical Quest, an exhibit featuring rare alchemical books of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries drawn exclusively from the collections of the Othmer Library of Chemical History, engages visitors in an exploration of the golden age of alchemy and encourages them to recognize alchemy as the root of modern chemistry. As the science of matter, alchemy had a wide range of applications, including metallurgy, distillation, chemical medicine, and transmutation. The exhibit also highlights two fathers of modern science, Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton, showing their involvement during this transitional period.

CHF gratefully acknowledges the generous support provided by Kathryn Hach-Darrow and the ExxonMobil Chemical Company for The Alchemical Quest. 

The Alchemical Quest will run from July 2, 2012, to December 7, 2012.

July 9, 2012

Jane E. Boyd

Science on Tap: “Flash! A Quick History of Photography in Motion”

Wagner Free Institute of Science, American Philosophical Society, Chemical Heritage Foundation, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, The College of Physicians of Philadelphia | Visit site »

Ever wanted to stop time? For centuries, artists, scientists, and dreamers have tried to seize the fleeting moment, to picture phenomena that occur too fast for the human eye and brain to perceive. When photography arrived on the scene in the 1830s, it amazed people with its ability to render a scene in meticulous detail. Though the first photographic processes were slow, ingenious photographers were soon capturing events never before recorded: a horse’s gallop, a bullet’s path through the air, a wave crashing on the shore, a meteor’s track across the night sky, and much more. Join us for a swift flight through the remarkable story of photography in motion, from its earliest days to today’s advanced digital techniques.

Art historian Jane E. Boyd, Ph.D., is an independent curator and freelance writer, editor, and translator in Philadelphia. She specializes in the history and visual culture of science, technology, and medicine. Dr. Boyd has worked on projects for all five of the Science on Tap sponsoring institutions. Visit her website at www.jane-e-boyd.com for more information and links.

This month’s Science on Tap is presented by the APS Museum

Monday, July 9, 2012 at 6:00 pm
National Mechanics
22 South Third St.
Philadelphia 19106
www.nationalmechanics.com

Ages 21+ or accompanied by a chaperone 25 years or older

July 11, 2012 - July 14, 2012

Three Society Meeting

Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

Three Society Meeting
Philadelphia, PA
July 11-14, 2012

Join hundreds of historians of science who will be meeting in Philadelphia next month, July 11-14.

The conference website is available at hssonline.org/Meeting/3_Society. The conference program can be found here: 2012_3_Soc_Program.pdf.

The Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science and its consortium partners look forward to welcoming you to the 2012 Three Society Meeting.  The meeting will take place at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) with an opening plenary at the American Philosophical Society (APS) and a reception at the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF).  In addition to attending many stimulating conference sessions, participants will have opportunities to tour several other consortium members: the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (founded 1787), the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (founded 1812), and the Wagner Free Institute of Science (founded 1855) and to visit many other sites in a city rich in history and historical collections.

Philadelphia is home to some of the New World’s oldest scientific institutions.  They, and other area institutions established later, have been collecting books, manuscripts and other historic artifacts since the eighteenth century and their collections now span most of the world and reach back to the fifteenth century.  Our consortium, now five years old, provides research fellowships for using area collections, hosts academic and public events, and produces online resources about the history of science, technology and medicine.

The Old City neighborhood, where the APS and CHF are located, has many of the city’s best restaurants and galleries and is home to an active nightlife.  Dining options of every variety, live music, and many other entertainment options are within easy walking distance.  Within a few blocks you will find: Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell; Pennsylvania Hospital (North America’s oldest), with its archives and surgical amphitheater, the home of Phillip Syng Physick (known as the “father of American surgery”), Christ Church Burial Ground, Elfreth’s Alley (oldest continually inhabited street in the U.S.), historic City Tavern, the First and Second Banks of the United States, Carpenters’ Hall, Franklin Court Museum and Historic Site, the Betsy Ross House and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.  Restaurants, nightlife, historic sites, museums and libraries are sprinkled from Old City by the Delaware River across Philadelphia to UPenn in University City by the Schuylkill River.  Of particular interest to conference participants would be the Library Company of Philadelphia (established in 1731), the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (1824) and the Franklin Institute (also founded in1824)—in addition to the libraries and museums of the APS, CHF and UPenn.

Philadelphia is once again a growing city with a vibrant cultural and intellectual life.  The region is home to a large and active community of historians of science.  The city has an extensive mass transit system and easy bus, rail and air connections to other cities in the US, Canada and UK.  We are very please to be helping with the local arrangements for the Three Society Meeting this year and look forward to welcoming you to Philadelphia, the city in which all historians can find something to enjoy.