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.
Medical Residents Explore Implicit Bias at the Penn Museum
By: Pam Kosty
Fresh Eyes in the Galleries It was 8:00 am on a Thursday morning in July, early for most Museum staff, but the special visitors from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania—seven medical residents and a program director—appeared wide awake and ready to engage. The residents had agreed to participate in a pilot program at […]
Sharing a Passion for Ancient Egypt, or Who Is as Smart as a Nine-Year-Old?
By: Pam Kosty
More than 23,000 people from around the world signed up to take Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization, a free online class with Dr. David Silverman, Curator-in-Charge of the Penn Museum’s Egyptian Section, via Coursera. I am one of those 23,000 people. And now a confession: I started the class, but grew nervous about […]
One Woman’s Efforts to Celebrate Women’s History
By: Pam Kosty
Robyn Young, who visited Senior Archivist Alex Pezzati and me at the Museum in mid-June, is on a singular mission: to bring the stories and accomplishments of Pennsylvania’s women into the broader conversation of Pennsylvania history. A few years ago, when she did an informal review of the approximately 1,600 official historical markers throughout the […]
6,000 Year-old Grape Press for Making Wine Found in an Armenian Cave
By: Pam Kosty
A group of archaeologists working in Armenia had something to toast in the new year: they announced that they had unearthed a surprisingly advanced winemaking operation, discovered in a cave hear a remote Armenian village. The operation dates back 6,000 years-making it the earliest known site in the world for wine-making with grapes! This exciting […]
West Wing Renovations–Week 9
By: Pam Kosty
At long last, the air conditioning units for the West Wing arrived on November 18. Just a tad tricky to bring them up over the wall, into the Upper Garden, and then– –down a specially prepared shaft. Ah, can’t you feel the cool breeze already?
West Wing Renovations–Week 7
By: Pam Kosty
Friday, November 12, 2010–Construction has been taking place on all three floors of the West Wing, as the restoration and air conditioning project continues apace. Brian Barger, Project Superintendent, Hunter Roberts Construction Group, stands in the room behind the Secrets of the Silk Road exhibition gallery and points out the wooden doors, soon to be […]
West Wing Renovation Project – Week Five
By: Pam Kosty
The West Wing Renovation Project is in full gear, with construction workers in the Museum from very early morning to late at night, to meet the Secrets of the Silk Road deadline. Here are some of the recent activities seen on Friday morning, October 29:
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. […]