The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was fo
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in March 2024
The Academy in 1912
A bronze Deinonychus statue located outside the museum
A historical marker outside Academy of Natural Sciences, where Meriwether Lewis met with scientists and purchased supplies in May 1803 before departing on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Bone Wars
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The Bone Wars, also known as the Great Dinosaur Rush, was a period of intense and ruthlessly competitive fossil hunting and discovery during the Gilded Age of American history, marked by a heated riva
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
…Edward Drinker Cope, who also worked extensively on other vertebrates, is best known for his rivalry with Othniel Charles Marsh during the infamous Bone Wars. Curator Edward B. Daeschler is currently studying the evolution of Devonian tetrapods, but he will be retiring in September 2023. He is a co-discoverer…
The rivalry between Othniel Charles Marsh (left) and Edward Drinker Cope (right) sparked the Bone Wars.
Marsh (back row and center), surrounded by armed assistants for his 1872 expedition. Marsh spent little time in the field himself, generally delegating these tasks to his agents.
The Morrison Formation at Como Bluff, Wyoming
Arthur Lakes's sketch of expedition members W.H. Reed (left) and Edward Kennedy in Como Bluff