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Welcome to the Penn Museum blog. First launched in January 2009, the Museum blog now has over 800 posts covering a range of topics in the categories of Museum, Collection, Exhibitions, Research, and By Location. Here you’ll hear directly from our staff and Penn students about their work, research, experiences, and discoveries. To explore the Museum's other digital content, visit The Digital Penn Museum.


The great FREEZE out

By: Stephen Lang

On Friday the 29th of October starting at 6:00 PM,  the Penn Museum will officially be frozen out of our collections database ARGUS.  For two months we will be unable to update locations for objects or input new information about the collection.  This is because we are finally transitioning to our new database KE Emu! That […]

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International Students Reception

By: Amy Ellsworth

On October 22, 2010, the Penn Museum hosted a reception for international students and scholars from across the Philadelphia region. Among the 1,300 attendees was Mayor Nutter, a Penn grad himself who patiently posed for snap shots with a long parade of beaming students and scholars. Many people have a hand in organizing this major […]

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Fun Friday Image of the Week – Sunglasses from 7th-9th Century AD

By: Amy Ellsworth

Quite possibly the first pair of sunglasses ever made. Not only did they keep out sun glare, but they also kept out all that sand that was blasting around the Taklamakan desert. Imagine if you were a Silk Road merchant sitting on your camel, peddling your silks and spices. You’d probably want to sport this […]

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Dr. Pat’s New Biblical Beer Hits the Big Screen

By: Amy Ellsworth

Okay, so it hit the tiny youtube screen, but we like that even better. Dr. Patrick McGovern, has the tongue-tying title of Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. (It’s just nice to see “fermented beverages” and “health” all […]

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West Wing Renovation Project – Week Three

By: Pam Kosty

On October 4, 2010, the Penn Museum officially announced the start of construction on the first phase of an exciting renovation project: a major renovation of the West Wing of its original 1899 building. On the agenda: refurbished galleries, including climate control (that means air conditioning!), and the creation of a ceramic petrography teaching laboratory. […]

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For the good of the exhibit

By: Allison Francies

Down in the exhibits department, we’ve been busily working on the upcoming Secrets of the Silk Road exhibit. There is a lot to create, coordinate, and figure out with an exhibit this size. One thing we really wanted to focus on for this exhibit was adding experiences where the visitors can interact with the exhibit. […]

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Remarks from Righteous Dopefiend

By: Amy Ellsworth

In Righteous Dopefiend: Homelessness, Addiction and Poverty in Urban America, anthropologist Philippe Bourgois and photographer-ethnographer Jeff Schonberg document the daily lives of homeless drug users, drawing upon more than a decade of fieldwork they conducted among a community of heroin injectors and crack smokers who survive on the streets of San Francisco’s former industrial neighborhoods. […]

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Fun Friday Image of the Week

By: Amy Ellsworth

Scarecrow with cow’s skull, 1932, Damghan, Iran. Penn Museum Image 83373.

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I love Dirt

By: Katy Blanchard

There are two types of dirt out there, I used to tell my field school students. Dirt Dirt, and People Dirt. People Dirt? You need to wash your hands before you eat, you know, you just got off the subway and hold on for the whole ride? But Dirt Dirt? You can safely eat your […]

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