Museums & Galleries in Phoenixville

Bernard Katz Glass Studio and Gallery a hidden gem in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia PA. From designated viewing areas, you will see the process of creating unique and stunning works using hot blown glass and cold glass construction. View and purchase Katz's glass sculptures, vase, tumblers in the gallery.

The 43,000 square-foot facility of America On Wheels is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the expansive history of American transportation. Within that, 23,000 square feet are devoted entirely to exhibit space, where guests will find a variety of classic cars, racing vehicles, trucks, and motorcycles. Rotating exhibits have included topics such as classic cars of the 1930's–including a 1933 Buick–, muscle cars, and trains. In addition to offering family memberships and group tours, the facility hosts rentals of its space and a museum store, as well as a classic café complete with ice cream, shakes, floats, and hot dogs.

It's a child's paradise in the Garden State Discovery Museum, where pint-size patrons can climb up rock walls, cavort with wildlife, and imagine themselves as vets, doctors, and news anchors in hands-on exhibits. Red-eared turtles lounge in the wildlife area, inviting kids to gaze upon their slimy shells, and science displays teach guests about gravity, lava, and light.

By most people’s standards, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is old — founded in 1812, it’s the oldest natural sciences institution in the Western Hemisphere. But the Academy is a baby compared to the specimens it houses, some of which date back more than 350 million years.

Explorers Stephen Long and Ferdinand Hayden’s series of western wilderness expeditions formed the foundation of the Academy's 18-million-item collection, which it began displaying to the public in 1828. Over the subsequent 60 years, the Academy grew to three times its original size through donations, museum purchases, and daily doses of multivitamins. Now situated at 19th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Academy houses more than 35 dioramas of plants and animals collected during global wildlife expeditions, a live animal center with ceiling-to-floor observation windows, and nearly a hundred mollusk specimens. A tropical garden hosts live butterflies from around the world, while Dinosaur Hall contains skeletal mounts of more than 30 Mesozoic species, including a 42-foot-long T. rex.

The National Museum of American Jewish History's core exhibition traces more than 350 years of Jewish people in America, documenting their triumphs and struggles since first settling in 1654. Spread across 25,000 square feet on three-and-a-half floors, the exhibition's historical objects and lifelike environments cover subjects such as the late 19th-century Jewish immigration and the experience of American Jews during World War II. As the exhibit moves into the present day, visitors can share their own stories and opinions in two of the museum's interactive stations: It's Your Story and the Contemporary Issues Forum. After sharing their own journey, guests can explore the Only in America Gallery/Hall of Fame, where multimedia displays and original artifacts highlight the lives of prominent Jewish Americans, including Irving Berlin and Estée Lauder.

Cups of Old City Coffee, baked goods from LeBus, and vegetarian and dairy cuisine from Di Bruno Bros. reenergize museum-goers at the Pomegranates Café; kosher fare is also available. Additional museum programming includes educational opportunities for adults and kids, as well as live events such as lectures, discussions, and concerts.

In 1754, Richard Stockton, a leading attorney who would go on to be a signer of the Declaration of Independence, acquired land on his grandfather's 5,500-acre tract to build a home. The house later traded hands among Stockton family members until the 20th century, when it served as the state's first Governor's Mansion, eventually housing five governors.

Since its restoration and conversion into the Morven Museum & Garden in 2004, galleries on two floors of the dwelling have housed permanent and temporary exhibitions relating to New Jersey history and culture, as well as the Morven property, now a National Historic Landmark. As guests wander the museum’s halls, Stockton family portraiture and decorative art speaks of past eras while contemporary art and photographs keep visitors grounded in the present day. Meanwhile, 5 more acres outside host a massive garden that includes a recreation of Morven's old Colonial Revival¬–style blooming garden and its charismatic, singing Venus flytrap.