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Kevin Sievers

@diplotomodon.bsky.social
433 followers 740 following 554 posts

paleontology | museums | Philadelphia | storytelling | 𓅽

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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 34m
"We have not received a formal proposal with a defined level of financial support" even though we've been handed a blank check for a full year www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/n...
dril tweet: Hello Drexel this is your lawyer speaking. I am advising you today to please keep posting this shit
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savetheacademy.bsky.social @savetheacademy.bsky.social · 46m
Drexel University claims that the William Penn Foundation never gave a dollar figure or a formal offer to fund the Academy of Natural Sciences. Hm. Maybe go have a talk, boys. #savetheacademy www.facebook.com/share/r/1b2H...
facebook.com
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Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 1h
Freimuth WJ, Lively JR, Zanno LE (2026) Reassessment of the Early Cretaceous North American “troodontid” Geminiraptor suarezarum as a therizinosaurian and mosaic evolution of coelurosaurian maxillae. PLoS One 21(9): e0356471. doi.org/10.1371/jour...
doi.org
Reassessment of the Early Cretaceous North American “troodontid” Geminiraptor suarezarum as a therizinosaurian and mosaic evolution of coelurosaurian maxillae
The only recorded member of the bird-like Troodontidae from Early Cretaceous North America is Geminiraptor suarezarum, known from an isolated maxilla recovered from the Suarez Site bonebed of the basa...
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Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 5h
Good news, but keep fighting! #SaveTheAcademy www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia...
cbsnews.com
Protesters push Drexel to accept funding to keep museum at Academy of Natural Sciences​ open
The museum at the Academy of Natural Sciences​ of Drexel University, the oldest natural history museum in America​, closed to the public Sunday, but for many the fight isn't over.
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Katie Slivensky @kslivensky.bsky.social · 5h
With these museum closures I feel strongly both for the communities themselves and for the museums' education and collections staff who not only lose their jobs, they lose what they have devoted themselves to and care deeply about. That is a crushing loss.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 10h
New Philly voice article on the fight to reopen the Academy of Natural Sciences! www.phillyvoice.com/academy-natu...
phillyvoice.com
Academy of Natural Sciences is closed, but the fight for the museum continues
A grassroots group is urging Drexel's board to disaffiliate from the institution and calling for a public process to decide its future.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 8h
Last night & this morning, the headline isn’t about the top-down decision. It’s about the will of the people of Philadelphia. It’s about what the kids of our city deserve, and the path forward, back to an open public museum. Don’t let people in perceived power dictate the story. The power is ours.
Two articles from the Philly voice and CBS, with headlines “academy
Of natural sciences is closed, but the fight for the museum continues” and “protesters push Drexel
To accept funding to keep the museum at academy
Of natural sciences open”
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 8h
By the time the museum closed its doors on Sunday, the press had changed its tune. Hey hang on a minute. This does not have to happen. We can have better for our city.
Two headlines, one saga academy of natural sciences closed its doors but it may not be gone forever” and “the doors of rhe academy of natural sciences closed an hour ago. Is this really how it’s going to end?” With pictures of the protest and a crowded museum
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 8h
September 1 was the day the news was delivered that they planned to close the museum. Press printed the story that the museum was closing. This could have been the end of The story. But the people of Philadelphia resoundingly rejected the proposal, despite having no “official” seat at the table.
Two headlines, “philadelphias academy of natural sciences
Museum to
Close after nearly 200 years” and “academy of natural sciences of Drexel u to close museum on Sept 30”, each with pics of the museum from the outside and dinosaur ball
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 8h
When people in power deliver bad news to you, they expect you to just take punch, accept it, and move on. In these situations, we need to empower ourselves to reject the premise. I want you to look at three time points in the fight to save the academy of natural sciences with me. (Thread)
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Dirk Puehl @wunderkammertales.eurosky.social · 8h
"St George and the Pterodactyl" 🎨 Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (1873) #WyrdWednesday
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Catbus @catbus.phd · 20h
social media dot jpg
newspaper clipping of a tiny chick perched on a hand in front of some sort of large primitive microphone captioned 

you are now listening to a three hour old chick giving its opinion of things in general
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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This! The federal government holds a lot of sway over universities. They could create a better academic culture by requiring shared governance (e.g. faculty senates with actual power), capping ratios of higher admin vs teaching faculty, limiting adjuncts, etc. in order to receive federal funding.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 21h
We took the protest to an event where we knew the Drexel board would be tonight and I blasted a bullhorn directly into the door crack of the gathering, disrupting the event 💅 Drexel President Anthony Merlo was supposed to be there but a person slipped to us that he canceled 👀 gosh I wonder why.
Sarah is smug as fuck on public transportation
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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Whenever you hear Drexel claim that closing the Academy was inevitable (but still committed to public education, somehow), know that the museum's historic Irish elk skeleton from 1853 is currently on display in a high-traffic area in their main academic building with close to zero protection
The skeleton of an Irish elk, "protected" only by a set of small stanchions and ropes, clearly still within arm's reach
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Stereogum @stereogum.com · 29/09/2026
Watch prog legend Rick Wakeman perform for an audience of 150 rescued moon bears in Vietnam
stereogum.com
Rick Wakeman Performs For 150 Rescued Moon Bears: Watch
Things are generally quite difficult for the Asiatic black bear, sometimes known as the moon bear. The moon bear’s bile is used in some traditional Chinese medicines, and many of the animals are being...
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savetheacademy.bsky.social @savetheacademy.bsky.social · 22h
Thanks, all, for liking our last minute protest posts, for commenting, for sharing, for making some NOISE. Because this fight is just beginning. If you have not yet signed up for our mailing list, you can do that at save-the-academy.org. Follow us on TikTok! IG! FB! We can #savetheacademy !! 💪
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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Whenever you hear Drexel claim that closing the Academy was inevitable (but still committed to public education, somehow), know that the museum's historic Irish elk skeleton from 1853 is currently on display in a high-traffic area in their main academic building with close to zero protection
The skeleton of an Irish elk, "protected" only by a set of small stanchions and ropes, clearly still within arm's reach
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🚨🚨Emergency protest🚨🚨 The Drexel board will be at the constitution center in Old City (525 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19106) from 5-6. We're asking Drexel to disaffiliate from the Academy of Nat Sci to allow them to negotiate what's best for them w/o Drexel interference. Be there.
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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
JOB'S NOT DONE Surprise Drexel board meeting in Old City tonight. The Academy of Natural Sciences is following them there. Constitution Center, 525 Arch St, Philadelphia PA, TODAY (Sept. 29) at 4:30pm @savetheacademy.bsky.social
EMERGENCY PROTEST TODAY
DEMAND DREXEL DISAFFILIATE
Constitution Center
525 Arch St
Tuesday Sept. 29
4:30pm-6:30pm

ft. Chris DiPiazza's excellent Pachycephalosaurus
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Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The beak of Camarasaurus: inferring the perioral soft tissues of fossil archosaurs using the rostral neurovascular system preprints.arphahub.com/articles.php...
preprints.arphahub.com
The beak of Camarasaurus: inferring the perioral soft tissues of fossil archosaurs using the rostral neurovascular system
A rostral beak, a highly keratinized tissue covering the perioral region of the skull, has been hypothesized for many sauropodomorphs and eusauropods over the past few decades by several authors, base...
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Sean Closson🦖🦕 @coffeeblack.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I think everyone should watch very closely if the administrators of Drexel University suddenly get raises or bonuses if they still go forward with the closing the Academy of Natural Sciences.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Although I can't be with those of you who are out in the rain advocating for your museum today...I thought I might be a good idea to post some Academy of Natural Sciences fossils to keep you warm and dry on the inside. @savetheacademy.bsky.social
An ammonite scultpure outside the side entrance of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
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Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I wrote a bit about the two university museums slated for closure. There is *still* time to do something about each! 🧪🦖
coastalpaleo.blogspot.com
A tale of two university museums: there is still time to save the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Sternberg Museum
September 2026 has been a pretty dispiriting month for American paleontologists. In early September, Drexel University gave a surprise annou...
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Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 28/09/2026
“You close museums, you close minds,” said Suzanne Ryan, a retired teacher and grandmother who has volunteered at the Academy of Natural Sciences since June.
inquirer.com
A final day at the Academy of Natural Sciences brought tears, nostalgia, and disbelief
Inside the museum, a steady stream of visitors took photos, touched the skin of a scaly anteater being circulated by educators, and guided toddlers in dinosaur costumes through exhibits.
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Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 28/09/2026
In the steady rain Sunday evening, many protesters shouted angrily about Drexel University’s seeming coolness. They hoped and urged for a miraculous resurrection. “Don’t let Drexel off,” some chanted. “Tell Drexel to get out of the way.” 🔗 www.inquirer.com/news/pennsyl...
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Mara Abolish I.C.E. @mauratwit.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Second and third ring suburbs have been hit hard in the last few weeks.
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Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I became a biologist because of a museum exhibit. Real artifacts tell stories that are more powerful than anything we can get from scrolling. They are part of our engine for training the next generation of scientists. 🧪 scienceforeveryone.science/the-awesomen...
scienceforeveryone.science
The awesomeness of museums
Genuine artifacts tell the richest stories that fill our souls. And they fuel the scientific enterprise.
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Entomological Collections Network @entcollnet.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
#SaveTheAcademy Our position in regard to the resolution about the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. This issue deeply affects our community, with many members having visited or worked closely with the academy over the years. We stand with @savetheacademy.bsky.social
The Entomological Collections Network is a society dedicated to uplifting natural history collections around the globe. We are deeply affected by the sudden announcement to close the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Museum, which is the oldest natural history museum in all the Americas. We stand behind the critical importance of not only safeguarding research collections for scientific use but also making outreach and educational displays that are available to all. At its core, a museum is a bridge to the community connection with the collections. And this connection is perhaps more important now than ever because of the continual threats to biodiversity around the globe and rising documented disconnect between the public and nature. It is through this institution and so many like it that we all can spark wonder and cultivate joy in the natural world, for an untold number of people of all ages and walks of life.Shuttering a museum that provides a tangible connection to the natural world sends a shocking statement about what priorities are being set with regards to education and caring for the community in which we live. Although Drexel has expressed its intention to retain the research collection, it has presented no plan for the monumental task of safely moving their more than 19 million specimens and establishing a suitable facility to house it. As a Society we urge the City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, and Drexel University to do what is best for the Academy of Natural Sciences’ collections, research, and public museum by exploring any creative avenue to ensure that this center of education and exploration can continue to inspire for generations.
From the Governing Board of the Entomological Collections Network
Isa Betancourt
Patrick Gorring
Adam Haberski
Andrew Johnston
Oliver Keller
Pete Oboyski
Ashleigh Whiffin
Jack Whisenant
Chris Wirth
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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
No words to describe the day. Everything I am is because of that place and all the people in it. Big things coming
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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Academy of Natural Sciences is the oldest Natural History Museum in the America’s, and it houses incredibly important research collections as well as public displays. Drexel decided to close it. This thread has links to more info and petitions to keep it open.
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savetheacademy.bsky.social @savetheacademy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Tonight, The Academy of Natural Sciences’ doors were closed to the public. For now. The fight to #savetheacademy has just started. www.instagram.com/reel/Dd0GD92...
instagram.com
Instagram
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today was incredible. The fight to save the academy of natural sciences is far from Over
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Heather Kostick @heatherkostick.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
As more information emerges, it’s seeming like intentional financial mismanagement from Drexel. They must be held accountable.
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savetheacademy.bsky.social @savetheacademy.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Academy of Natural Sciences is set to close its doors to the public after today. We can #savetheacademy! 8000 people visited yesterday. Today at 5pm, there will be a vigil and a walk to City Hall. Join us! and visit save-the-academy.org for action items all of us can do! ❤️🦖
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Regina Fairbanks @reginafairbanks.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The fight isn't over yet! Please keep calling, emailing, and making your voices heard. Suggestions for action items can be found here - save-the-academy.org Ecologists, evolutionary biologists, botanists, etc - please distribute throughout your professional networks!
save-the-academy.org
Save the Academy of Natural Sciences
Don't mourn — organize. The museum's last public day is Sunday, Sept 27. Ten things you can do today.
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lighthouse prince @historiancole.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Outside In, the hands-on exhibit space at the academy of natural sciences, is absolutely COVERED with notes from visitors of all ages thanking the staff & wishing them luck for the future.
the staple exhibit tree and a wall of Outside In, covered in multi-colored pieces of paper, notes from visitorsa green note with a red-eyed tree frog drawing on it that says "Save the museum" signed "EP <3"a yellow note with a sauropod drawn on it that says "diploDONT let it close-asaurus"
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Cringe Fry @cringefry.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I got to see the Academy of Natural Sciences today. It made me even more excited to pursue a career in field research or specimen collection My ecology professor started his career here. 200+ years of history. Lets fight to keep it alive #SaveTheAcademy @savetheacademy.bsky.social
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
We’re not going down without a fight
A bunch of people protesting in front of the Academy of natural sciences
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Senator Nikil Saval @pasenatorsaval.com · 26/09/2026
My letter to Drexel and the Academy of Natural Sciences Board. The museum is of incalculable value to our region and to international scientific and cultural fields. Philadelphia bears a serious responsibility to do everything we can to preserve it at its current location.
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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Was not able to tune into this (on account of rally business) but the support from all corners of the globe keeps us going
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Ausarchosaur @ausarchosaur.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Never thought I’d ever want to collect postcards
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Anybody who would decide to close this museum does not have Philadelphia’s best interests at heart.
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em miller @cypressure.ink · 26/09/2026
Hadrosaurus on #paleostream this week in support of Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences, which is being inexplicably shuttered despite its incredible + historically significant collections (such as this dinosaur)!
A hadrosaur seen from the front walking across a beach. It is inflating a red sack on its nose, and two birds are flying above it.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
As the executive director of a small nonprofit working my absolute ass off to bring science to this city, hearing that the people negotiating with Drexel and the academy might brush off funding that would provide the kids of our city with access to a science museum *for a year* is boiling my blood.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
ANSP 22341, an unassuming slab from the Famennian Catskill Formation with portions of a few articulated lobe-finned fishes (Holoptychius) and a placoderm (Bothriolepis). Special to me as the first fossil I found to end up in a museum, collected during the first summer of my PhD. #FossilFriday
Red siltstone block containing blue-to-brown fish remains, including areas of articulated scales, fins, and skull bones. A collection label is on top of the specimen.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
A good read on the the state of the academy as it stands today. We're in a pivotal moment right now. The academy board must accept the bridge funding or find another way to keep the museum open immediately. neighborhoodfundamentals.substack.com/p/the-academ...
neighborhoodfundamentals.substack.com
The Academy Has an Offer. Does It Have the Authority to Take It?
A year of funding is on the table. What's unresolved is who actually gets to decide.
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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
If someone is offering your museum a full year of operations on the house and your immediate answer isn't "yes please," you might not, in fact, have said museum's best interests in mind share.inquirer.com/KXxZTj
share.inquirer.com
William Penn Foundation offers funding to keep Academy of Natural Sciences museum open
A Drexel spokesperson did not say whether the school had declined the offer, but said, “No proposal has been presented that would provide a permanent, sustainable path forward" for the museum.
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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A random guy putting up papier-mâché sculptures and laminated posters inside a rented shoebox for one (1) month is somehow better at displaying Philadelphia history than Drexel University is with the entire contents of the Philadelphia History Museum after nearly a decade
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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I cannot elaborate for obvious reasons but the university better accept it and fast
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