The Wagner Free Institute of Science

Now surrounded by row houses in busy North Philadelphia, the Wagner Free Institute of Science once stood alone in the outskirts of the city. In 1855 William Wagner’s collection of various natural science specimens became officially founded as an institute. Incorporating a library, museum displays, and a lecture hall, the Wagner Free Institute of Science became a primary institute for research, and free educational opportunities.
The Wagner Free Institute of Science is a perfect example of how personal collections, or “cabinets,” gradually turned into public exhibits and displays. A significant element of the Wagner Institute is that it was free. This fueled the spread of knowledge and created opportunities for more people to experience a different view of the world. Between the Egyptian crocodile skull, English draft horse skeleton, and humming bird nest, a Darwinian philosophy is evident. This secular knowledge represents the world as William Wagner saw it, and others who have maintained the Wagner Institute after him. The power of the Wagner Institute is in its scientific origins; the objects are presented as facts and evidence of our natural world.
My visit on Tuesday afternoon was my first trip to the Wagner Institute. As I walked down the corridor, as directed, my jaw dropped as I found myself looking down into a lecture hall of wooden stadium seating. As I sat down in a wooden seat I imagined the painting by Thomas Eakins, The Gross Clinic. The lecture hall was my favorite part of the Wagner Institute. It placed me into the late 1800’s and prepared my mind for the collection upstairs. I think that the emphasis that is placed on the institute’s history gives the Wagner a unique spin. Most museums seem like they simply house the history, but in the Wagner’s case, the building and interior space is possibly more significant than the objects. Of course I do not mean to down play the amazing collection of exotic skeletons, minerals, coral, birds, and insects. But as I walked through the Wagner I kept saying to myself a cliché phrase, “If these walls could talk…”