On 17th and Montgomery in North Philly (3 blocks west of Temple) lies the Wagner Free Institute of Science...it was founded in the 1850's as a free school for physical sciences...when Seymour Wagner (partron and founder) died in the early 1900's, he basically left his estate to carry it on...mostly family members...and pretty much nothing has changed since then...today, when you go thru the doors, you are basically looking at a museum of a museum...the place looks like it has not been touched since about 1910...I think they still have free lectures there, and their collection is pretty amazing (lots of taxidermy, some dinosaur specimens...all natural sciences...)

Are there any other hidden/ little known museums people have experienced in Philly? I know the Civil War museum is another one (1805 Pine Street)...

The Wagner is in a pretty frightening area of North Philly (it was actually outside the city when it was founded) but well worth the trip...check the hours before you go...

How would you compare this to the Mutter Museum?

Very Different...certainly less morbid...I like the Mutter, but the Wagner is more of a true "museum" (as opposed to a medical exhibition)...the history of the place, and the story of the collection is fascinating, and I find the natural history more compelling than medical oddities. I think the Wagner, because of the location (decrepit area of North Philly) and its moribund physical plant, (looks like it has not had maintenance since 1920), has more of the "museum lost in time" feel to it than the Mutter, which is part of a thriving modern institution...it's like the House of Usher of museums...

Went to the Wagner for the first time today with my neighbor and five-year-old daughter. It was wonderful. Sort of a step back in time...a Victorian cabinet of curiosities with thousands of taxidermied animals, fossils, shells, mineral specimens, etc. all carefully arranged in oak and glass cases. It is an incredible place for discovering all manner of natural specimens.

Wonderful and welcoming staff. Everything is well maintained (not rough around the edges as I thought might be the case). The windows of the 1860s building have recently been restored and they are now working on the roof. Beautiful natural light streams through the upstairs where the specimens are. They provide worksheets with scavenger hunts and questions to answer for the kids and their adults.

The neighborhood is pretty rough, but there is plenty of street parking on the block and the 23rd District police station is right across the street.

It's free, donations suggested. They also offer a series of classes, many off site. Some of my colleagues at Bartram's Garden have taken the botany classes and which they found very informative.

It's one of those hidden Philadelphia treasures that you must see once, and better to go more often.

LOL! I'm planning on taking my husband there in June the good thing about it is it's free.

I had to evaluate both for work and they're very different. The Mutter Museum will make you feel happy you're alive and well. Seriously, I totally stopped stressing out about silly things like losing a few pounds after seeing a lot of those medical oddities. Sidenote: Syphillis is a horrible affliction and the Native Americans should've beat the sh*t out of the Europeans for bringing it to them.

I enjoyed the Wagner, simply because I totally dig biology and life science-y stuff. Its small, but cool.

Even though its free, make sure you give a bit of a donation. Wagner's estate and the grants they get only just last a century and a half, they need help making it for another 150 years. That place is really unique, and close to my home.

I also recommend spending a bit of time talking to the attendents at the front desk, I don't think they get a lot of traffic through there.

The Wagner Institute is quite fantastic for its old time physical plant which has recently had soem repair and for the wonderful courses that are available to anyone who wishes to attend for free.

I'm planning on making a trip to this museum tomorrow. I didn't realize just how close it is to Temple's main campus. Certainly I can out run anyone chasing me for three blocks.

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Beer Me

Folks, it's not that BAD of a neighborhood. It's 17th & Montgomery. The 27th Police District is directly across the street. Temple's presence essentially ends with the turf field at 16th. It's one more block.