Chemistry has a rich history. It is a human endeavor dating back thousands of years as philosophers tried to figure out how things such as fire and water worked. The evolution of chemistry technology is the topic of the Science History Institute, located across the street from the Independence National Historic Park and two short blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The Institute commemorates the evolution of chemical metrology as chemistry evolved to its place as the central science of our society.
The most conspicuous section in the museum of scientific instruments is located just inside the reception area. The exhibits include a large ultracentrifuge, DU Spectrometer, and pH meter, all from Beckman Instruments, and two gas chromatographs (PerkinElmer and F&M, now Agilent), a T-60 NMR from Varian, and Model 21 infrared spectrometer from PerkinElmer. The instrument display highlights the development of analytical chemistry.
The museum continues on the second floor with a collection of chemistry sets made by Gilbert. I recognized the set that started my chemical career at about 10 years old.
The Institute is designed to be a center for historical research of chemistry technology. The Institute’s library used to be the Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Collection of the library of the University of Pennsylvania, which is just across the Schuylkill River from Center City. However, a gift from Donald and Mildred Othmer allowed the Institute to establish its own dedicated library for the history of the chemical sciences and technology in a new building in the Old City section of Philadelphia.
The collection includes a formula book dating from the 1450s, plus original copies of Newton’s Principia, and Mendeleev’s chemistry textbook from 1869–71 containing his Periodic Chart, which shows predicted atomic weight and general chemical activity of the elements yet to be discovered.
I cannot think of a better meeting place for chemistry and life science seminars. The building at 315 Chestnut has two meeting rooms that appear large enough to handle audiences of up to 150 people. If you open the curtain of one, you can look out onto the backyard of Ben Franklin’s former home. I recall that his privy pit was located there, before it was excavated for artifacts.
In summary, chemists will probably enjoy perusing the collection of the Science History Institute. Non-scientists will have plenty of things to view in the historic neighborhood, including Ben Franklin’s home, the post office, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Betsy Ross house. So, make a day of it.
With a smile,
Bob
Robert L. Stevenson, Ph.D., is Editor Emeritus, American Laboratory/Labcompare; e-mail: [email protected]