Something very important is happening in the world of science and history. The oldest natural history museum in the United States, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, is under threat of being closed forever. This museum has been open to the public for 198 years, and owns a collection of 19 million specimens, including dinosaurs, plants, bugs, fish, minerals, and more. 73,000 of these specimens are holotype specimens, which are used to define species and are irreplicable. Not only is their collection ginormous, it also contains some incredibly important artifacts, such as the first ever mounted dinosaur skeleton, Thomas Jefferson's personal fossil collection, and Lewis and Clark's plant specimens from their expedition to America. Losing this collection and this historic museum would be a tragedy. The closure was only announced September 1st of this year, and the last day the museum would be open to the public was September 27th. This is unfair to the employees who are suddenly out of a job, to the residents of Philadelphia who they tried to sneak this past, and to the thousands of people who love this museum and want it to stay. All month, there have been rallies to save the Academy, people have been contacting the local government trying to reason with them, and we have gotten over 100,000 signatures on a petition. Yesterday may have been planned to be the last day, but we aren't giving up. There is still an upcoming City Council hearing which will give another chance to reason with the Council to keep our museum open. But we need as many people as possible to show their support and help out as much as they can! What you can do to help: - Sign the petition. This is how the government will see how many people want this important museum to stay. Link is at the bottom of the description. - Remix this project. This spreads awareness throughout Scratch so more people will learn about this issue. - Tell others. Tell your friends, family, and teachers about the museum and how it needs their help. Give them the link to the website and petition! - Share on other sites. If you have other social media, post about the Academy there too! We need to spread the word as much as possible. -If you live near Philadelphia: check the website save-the-academy.org or sign up for alerts about upcoming events to go to and help out! Thank you for taking the time to read this, with your help we can SAVE THE ACADEMY! Links: https://save-the-academy.org/ https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-keep-the-academy-of-natural-sciences-open-to-the-public
