Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia to decrease its hours, eliminate 11 staff positions
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia will decrease its hours and eliminate several staff positions this week, the museum president said.
Starting this week, the museum at 19th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will only be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, which is when 70% of visits already occur, according to a statement from president and CEO Scott Cooper.
The museum will also be open for set times for school trips on Thursdays and Fridays, and will continue to schedule members-only hours throughout the year.
The museum will be closed Wednesday and Thursday this week and will open to the public on Friday to start the new schedule, the statement says. The website has already been updated with the new hours, which are Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Eleven staff positions are being eliminated, and three others will have a change in hours or scope, according to an internal memo Cooper sent to staff and obtained by CBS News Philadelphia.
The affected staff members will be informed by the end of Thursday, the memo says.
The museum conducted a yearlong strategic planning process to create a "roadmap for the Academy's future sustainability," according to the statement from Cooper. Museum attendance hasn't bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, and leaders are also concerned about possible federal funding cuts and "an uncertain philanthropic landscape," the statement says.
The Pew Center for Arts and Culture funded that planning process, the internal memo says. The process is ongoing, but these changes will help stabilize finances in the short term, according to the memo.
In the memo, Cooper thanks staffers for their dedication to their work and says resources will be available for those who are losing their jobs. The move "mirrors work that other science, culture, and higher education institutions are undertaking both in Philadelphia and across the country," the memo says.
"While these are not easy decisions, we are confident they are the right ones as we continue the vital work of stewarding our incredible legacy as the oldest natural history museum and natural science research institution in the Americas," Cooper says in the statement.
The Academy of Natural Sciences was founded in 1812 and has been affiliated with Drexel University since 2011, according to the museum website.