Your ideas for how to save the Academy of Natural Sciences
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Photo courtesy of Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Axios Philadelphia readers say they would offer up the naming rights to the Academy of Natural Sciences to save the prized institution.
Why it matters: Academy leadership is on the clock to come up with a creative, long-term plan for the institution amid financial woes that have already led to the planned closure of its museum later this month.
Driving the news: Selling the naming rights to a wealthy benefactor got the largest share of votes (33%) in our unscientific poll last week asking how to save the academy and its collection.
- That's out of more than 88 votes.
✅ Zoom in: Other top vote-getting ideas were:
- Sharing the academy's collection with other institutions — 20%
- Establishing a new city museum tax — 19%
- Relocating the museum to smaller digs — 14%.
🙅♀️ 1 no-no: Readers didn't back the option of selling parts of the museum's collection as a fundraiser.
- It garnered a mere 2% of votes.
Catch up quick: The academy and its museum are facing an uncertain future after failing to adjust to the post-pandemic world, while also facing falling attendance and higher operational costs.
- The institution's leadership, along with help from the state and city officials, are still hammering out a plan for what comes next.
Meanwhile, its nearly 200-year-old museum is set to close Sept. 30.
🗣️ What you're saying: Readers were not short on their own ideas for the academy's future.
- Here are our favorite responses.
😂 I would happily visit the FanDuel Golden Nugget Museum of Natural History.
🏷️ Sell the academy's building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to bankroll a similar museum elsewhere.
👥👥 Crowdfund and keep it open as a smaller destination.
🤝 Merge with the Franklin Institute.
🔁 Transfer ownership of the museum to the state.