It’s Electrifying!

We were without power for a couple of days after Sandy blew through town.  Our many thanks go to the men in the Mississippi Power trucks for their efforts in our neighborhood to restore our electricity.  Though there is a certain charm to living by candlelight, after a while you start fantasizing about being able to take a hot shower, or make yourself a cup of tea.

No. Not THAT Sandy. I mean the Hurricane.

How about that Sandy, huh?

(And I mean the hurricane, not Sandy, baby, in “Grease”)

If, post-superstorm, you’re feeling the need for a little lightness after the darkness, have I got an event for you!

What’s more — it’s electrifying!

By which I mean that you buying a ticket to sip a cocktail in a National Historic Landmark and mingle with other cool people like yourself will help raise money to upgrade the electrical system at the wonderful, quirky, Victorian Wagner Free Institute of Science.  (Oh, did I mention that it’s a National Historic Landmark, a designation awarded to only 2,500 sites in the United States that are considered exceptional examples of our shared American history?)

At some cocktail parties, “small talk” is a challenge. Not at the Wagner. You are surrounded by conversation starters! “Is that a wombat?” “Have you ever seen a Chinese pangolin before?”

When?  Where?  Mark your calendar.

A Sip of Science: Electrifying!

2012 Benefit Cocktail Party

Wagner Free Institute of Science

1700 W. Montgomery Ave (nr Temple)

Friday, November 9, 2012, 5:30-8:30pm with a special “welcome” @5:45

If you can’t make it to SIP OF SCIENCE  but you like the idea of the spark of knowledge and bolts from the blue, you can still make a donation.

You and the Wagner’s stuffed alligator, crocodile, three-toed sloth, and whatnot will be rubbing elbows with more than 250 guests.  Guests who love cool science, and want to support the Wagner’s efforts to provide FREE science education to Philadelphia schoolchildren (and all the grown up visitors too; I always learn something whenever I visit).

Mayor Nutter and Governor Corbett are Honorary Event Chairs.  Senator Casey, Senator Toomey, Congressman Fattah, and Councilwoman Reynolds-Brown are members of the Honorary Committee.

Founded in 1855, the Wagner Free Institute of Science is dedicated to providing free public education in science. Its programs include free courses and lectures, field trips and lessons for children and museum tours for all ages.

The evening science courses — for all ages — are in their 157th year, making them the oldest program devoted to free adult education in the United States.  The Institute also has a strong commitment to children’s science education and offers a range of programs for school groups and through partnerships with neighboring schools and community groups.

The Institute’s Museum houses more than 100,000 natural history specimens, a collection begun by founder William Wagner in the early nineteenth century and expanded by the pre-eminent scientist Joseph Leidy in the 1880s.  Completed in 1865, the Institute’s National Historic Landmark building is essentially unchanged since the late-nineteenth century and includes a Victorian Exhibition Hall filled with fossils, shells, minerals and mounted animal skeletons and skins displayed in original wood and glass cabinets.  The Museum is open to visitors Tuesdays – Fridays, 9 AM to 4 PM, year-round.  Evening and weekend programs are offered during the fall, winter and spring.