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Second Bank of the United States / Photograph by Dalibor Briek/Alamay
Museums aren’t just places to look — they’re places to see differently. This week, we’re rolling out a full guide to the Philly museums that are asking questions, sparking ideas, and surprising visitors at every turn. Stay tuned all week as we spotlight how much more there is to our museums than just the galleries.
Philly is full of surprising cultural spots that don’t always make the usual museum lists. Whether you love nature, photography, craftsmanship, or stories that aren’t often told, these six underrated museums are worth a visit.
If you like Mother Nature, visit the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.
This urban environmental education center boasts 365 acres of fields, forests, and waterways, a wildlife clinic, and a variety of children’s programs. Explore all that greenery via self-guided tours or hikes anytime between dawn and dusk. By the way: If you don’t think this counts as a museum, the environmental art installations presented in the center’s gallery and on its trails will change your mind. Roxborough.
If you like craftsmanship, visit the Museum for Art in Wood.
Tucked away in Old City is a center for exhibitions, research, workshops, and events on all things art in the realm of timber. Don’t miss their shop, brimming with one-of-a-kind art, accessories, furniture, kitchenware, toys, and more from woodworkers in Philly and around the world. Old City.
If you like studying famous faces, visit the Portrait Gallery at the Second Bank.
Here, you’ll see more than 150 18th- and 19th-century portraits of early American figures like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Architecture buffs will also enjoy the building’s Greek Revival design, original vaulted ceilings, and marble columns. Old City.
If you like photography, visit the TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image.
Photo lovers can check out exhibitions dedicated to today’s most innovative image makers, while photo creators can make great use of the institute’s printing, framing, mounting, and scanning services, or DIY it in the Artist Lab outfitted with the latest equipment and software. Kensington.
If you like art in open spaces, visit the Woodmere Art Museum’s Outdoor Wonder.
This sculpture garden — complete with a pollinator garden, century-old trees, and an amphitheater — just wrapped up an expansion that added four acres and two new statues by Walter Erlebacher. Heads up, picnickers: Admission to the grounds is free. Chestnut Hill.
If you like under-represented stories, visit the Colored Girls Museum.
Founded in 2015 in a three-story Victorian twin house, this memoir museum, archive, and gathering venue champions the lives of Black women and girls through art and everyday objects. Germantown.
