The State Museum of Pennsylvania is a non-profit

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

at 300 North Street in downtown

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It is run by the state through the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...

and was created to preserve and interpret the region's history and culture. It is a part of the

Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex The Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex is a large complex of state government buildings in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Set on more than of downtown Harrisburg, it includes the Pennsylvania State Capitol and a landscaped park environment with monume ...

. While it is officially named the State Museum of Pennsylvania, members of the public, as well as official publications, sometimes refer to the facility as the William Penn Memorial Museum; the museum's central hall features a large statue of Penn.

Exhibits

The museum includes a multi-media

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

, as well as four floors of exhibits and displays covering Pennsylvania history from prehistoric times through current events. Visitation averages 315,000 people annually. Among the features are a large collection of artifacts and displays related to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, as well as an extensive collection of industrial and technological innovations. Artwork, paintings,

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

s, and other audio-visuals aid in the interpretation. There are over three million objects in the museum's collections. The museum has many exhibits that showcase Pennsylvania history. The state museum divided there exhibits into three different categories; permanent, changing and online exhibits.

History

On March 28, 1905, Governor

Samuel W. Pennypacker Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker (April 9, 1843 – September 2, 1916) was an American politician serving as the List of governors of Pennsylvania, 23rd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1903 to 1907. He also served Pennsylvania as a judge and wrote abo ...

signed legislation creating The State Museum of Pennsylvania. The museums purpose during the time was to for the "preservation of objects illustrations the flora and fauna of the state and mineralogy, geology, archaeology, arts and history." The State Museum of Pennsylvania mission statement was influenced by the many other state museums that were already established such as New York, Illinois and Indiana. Later in the year 1905, Governor Pennypacker of Pennsylvania signed Act 481 which is what gave the State Museum their $20,000 start-up money for the museum. March 1, 1907, the museum staff and collection moved into the Executive Office Building. It became part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1945, and moved to its present building in 1964. It is located adjacent to the State Capitol Building. The building is round and the museum exhibits are located on the ground, first, second, and third floors, with offices of the museum staff and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission on the fourth and fifth floors. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2014.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:State Museum Of Pennsylvania 1905 establishments in Pennsylvania American Civil War museums in Pennsylvania Art in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Art museums and galleries in Pennsylvania Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania History museums in Pennsylvania Industry museums in Pennsylvania Modernist architecture in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State Museum Museums in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Museums on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Natural history museums in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex Paleontology in Pennsylvania Planetaria in the United States Transportation museums in Pennsylvania