Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences cuts museum hours over funding concerns

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Starting this week, Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences will cut back its hours and only be open on the weekends, citing “several challenging factors.”

In a statement, CEO Scott Cooper said the impacts of federal funding cuts and “visitation rates that have not rebounded from pre-pandemic levels” have led to a reduction in hours.

The visiting hours will change starting Wednesday, Oct. 1, “to better align with visitor demand,” Cooper said. The CEO said 70% of visits occur Friday through Sunday.

“We will also designate set times for school visits on Thursdays and Fridays, as well as continuing to offer members-only hours throughout the year,” Cooper said.

In addition to the new times, a restructuring of Academy staff is expected to take place in early October.

“While these are not easy decisions, we are confident they are the right ones as we continue the vital work of stewarding our incredible legacy as the oldest natural history museum and natural science research institution in the Americas,” Cooper said.

The museum will now be open to the public Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This comes almost a year after Drexel first announced it was exploring staff cuts due to budget issues stemming from decreased enrollment, including a total operating loss of $63 million for the 2024 fiscal year. A month later, Drexel laid off 60 employees, roughly 1.4% of its workforce.

Last year, the Philadelphia university introduced a “multi-year financial resiliency plan” to reduce $150 million in costs, citing a “flawed rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid” in 2024.