March 13—October 31, 2027
March 13—March 28, 2027
Saturday and Sunday 1:00–4:30 pm
March 30—October 31, 2027
Tuesday–Sunday 1:00–4:30 pm
$5 per person, included with a guided tour/event attendance
Free for all Glencairn Museum membership levels and children 4 and under

In 1878, the Academy of the New Church established a museum in Philadelphia under the leadership of one of its founders, the Reverend William Henry Benade. From its earliest days, the Museum brought art and artifacts into the educational life of the Academy, making the study of religious beliefs and practices tangible, sensory, and experiential. As the Academy developed and later moved from Philadelphia to Bryn Athyn, the Museum moved with it, and its growing collection became an enduring part of the Academy’s educational mission.

Presented as part of the Academy of the New Church’s 150th-anniversary celebration, “A Museum for the Academy”: The First 100 Years traces the Museum’s history from its founding in 1878 until 1980, when it joined the Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn collection to become Glencairn Museum. The exhibition explores the people, objects, and places that shaped the Museum during its first century and reveals how its commitment to object-based learning remained central to its mission. The exhibition’s title comes from an 1878 letter by Benade, who envisioned the growing collection as “a Museum for the Academy.”