Paleontology 1776 (Winter Course)

6 Saturdays from February 28 - April 4, 2026; 10 - 11:30 am

Location: at the Parkway Central Library, Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street (between 19th and 20th streets), Philadelphia. This course meets in the Science and Wellness department (room 202).

This course requires pre-registration. Separate registration is required for each student. Sign up here or call 215-763-6529 x14 for assistance.

The nation states that arose from the political revolutions of the late 18th century play a role in shaping human society as we understand it today. Similarly, the geological and paleontological revolutions of those same few decades shape scientific practice today. With this course, audiences will be transported back to a time when fossils, long dismissed as divine tricks or inorganic curiosities, first developed an international reputation as important tools in understanding the history of life. To call this time a revolution point for paleontology is supported by the tension that existed between the longstanding belief in a creation of known life on a young Earth and a developing understanding of Earth’s complex history of origins and extinctions across deep time. Professor Jason Downs will present historical stories but also use his own experiences as a paleontologist to reflect on how this time of revolution continues to reverberate in current scientific research.

1. Saturday, February 28, 2026 – Fossils as evidence of once-living organisms

This class meeting will discuss how cultural appreciation of fossils shifted away from ‘natural curiosities’ and to ‘evidence of past life,’ thus setting the stage for paleontology as an empirical science.

2. Saturday, March 7, 2026 – Comparative anatomy and life reconstructions

Well before evolutionary process was understood, the anatomical similarities between fossils and living organisms fueled the earliest reconstructions of extinct bodies and lifestyles.

3. Saturday, March 14, 2026 – The “origin” of extinction

This class will focus on the rise of ‘extinction’ as a scientific concept and the tensions that arise when nature’s ‘failures’ disrupt views of divine creation and continuity.

4. Saturday, March 21, 2026 – The American story: mammoths, mastodons, and Thomas Jefferson

Indigenous Americans, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Wilson Peale and others shape 18th century American paleontology.

5. Saturday, March 28, 2026 – Biostratigraphy and the relative timing of fossil life

In the late 18th century, the succession of fossils in the stratigraphic rock record provided the earliest and most persistent method of dating rocks.

6. Saturday, April 4, 2026 – Geology 1776: Earth as an ancient plant

Shifting away from fossils for this final meeting, the late 18th century was also a time when geology was coming of age. Biblical creation stories and chronologies were being challenged by new arguments for deep time and a dynamic planet Earth.

Readings will be provided with the course syllabus.

Dr. Jason Downs is the Philip Lian & Joan Mueller Professor of Paleontology and Geology at the Wagner Free Institute of Science. He is Professor of Biology at Delaware Valley University and a Research Associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences in the Vertebrate Paleontology Group, where he has done active research since 2006. At the Academy, he was one of the team members who discovered the Tiktaalik roseae, a specimen that shed new light on the vertebrate transition to land. Dr. Downs has been teaching for the Wagner since 2012.

What is the cost?

Wagner courses are free; donations are encouraged!

Are there minimum age requirements to enter the course?

The adult lecture courses are offered on an introductory college level. They are open to anyone seeking an introduction to various areas of the sciences as well as those familiar with the subjects who wish to broaden and update their knowledge. The courses also provide an excellent opportunity for motivated junior high and high school students to supplement their current science courses and to help prepare them for further study in these fields at a college level. The courses are appropriate as well for teachers seeking to expand their knowledge.

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the course?

The Free Library of Philadelphia Parkway Central Branch is located between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway. It is close to many SEPTA lines, including buses, Regional Rail, and the Broad Street Line Race/Vine station. Most parking near the library is metered street parking. There is also a Philadelphia Parking Authority lot behind the library on Callowhill Street between 19th and 20th Streets.

Is the building wheelchair accessible?

Yes. The Wood Street entrance (at the back of the building) is wheelchair accessible and there are elevators in the building. Enter Wood Street by going south on 19th Street and drive west towards 20th Street. If the gate is down press the buzzer and security will open the gate. There are handicapped parking places right next to the building.

How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Click the "Contact the Organizer" link, email [email protected], or call 215-763-6529 x14.

Images:

National Museum Cardiff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Charles Willson Peale, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Plot, Robert. 1677. The Natural History of Oxford-shire : Being an Essay Toward the Natural History of England. https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00plot/page/142/mode/2up

The Wagner Free Institute of Science is a National Historic Landmark natural history museum and educational institution. It was founded in 1855 by William Wagner, a Philadelphian who had a dream of providing free science education to anyone who wanted to learn, regardless of background or ability to pay. Today, the Wagner offers more programs to more people than ever before! Your support helps us provide free education through its museum and a wide range of courses, lectures, field trips, and children’s science programs.

In keeping with its original charter, admission to the museum is FREE—donations are suggested to ensure the future and quality of Wagner's free education programs and to preserve its National Landmark building and collections.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, United States

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