PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Activists and Drexel students gathered outside the shuttered Academy of Natural Sciences to observe a month since its closure and demand the institution be reopened.
Nearly 200 years of history was abruptly interrupted a month ago, when Drexel University closed the Academy of Natural Sciences on the Parkway to the public.
But hope is not lost for Save the Academy co-organizer Sarah McAnulty. She said the testimony City Council heard Monday revealed that funding the reopening of the museum is well within the city’s capabilities.
“What we’re really coalescing around right now is that the closure of this public museum, it’s not necessarily a lack of support. It’s a lack of will,” said McAnulty.
McAnulty said 120,000 people have signed a petition to reopen the Academy. Dozens were outside the museum Tuesday evening holding candles and signs.
The Academy’s STEM Educator Amber Redfield said she’s fighting to restore her dream job at the museum she grew up attending.
“I’ve done everything here at the academy and I love every second of it.,” said Redfield. “So to basically be ripped out of my second home, it’s been earth shattering and I feel like part of my soul has been ripped out.”
The next hearing in City Council is on Nov. 16.
The march and vigil marked a month since the museum closed.
The march and vigil marked a month since the museum closed.
