Penn Museum

We were originally scheduled to go to a different museum, but it ended up being closed. At the last minute we decided to pivot to Penn Museum… what an unexpected and delightful experience. We really enjoyed the exhibits, but there were also experts posted at different stations that provided a wealth of knowledge. I was told I could touch and pick up a darling little Egyptian lamp… and then the expert told me it was 2,000 years old… I promptly put the lamp back down. :) lol. The only disappointment was that we were originally told by staff that the museum closed at 4:30, but were told later it was closing at 2:30 due to an event. We weren’t able to see all the exhibits because of this. It appears there was just confusion among the staff of what was going on. Overall, I think this is a gem of a museum that isn’t overrun by the masses. Definitely worth checking out!

If you like history, antique artifacts, and other countries exhibits, this is your place. Is a well cared place, even though there some parts under renovations. Very interesting. The main entrance is breathtaking, like a place for a beautiful wedding picture. The Cafe is ok. The giftshop has a variety of chocolate, jewelry, clothing and souvenirs. If you are using the GPS for the parking garage, at least mine, took me to the side, being a little distracted as I am, was a little difficult to find the main entrance. Sings are a little small. I gave it a 4 because the bathrooms I used, was clean but it look soo outdated and weird.

We went in winter. There was not much crowd inside. The people in the museum were very gracious. They were still reconstructing some areas but there was a lot we were able to see. Would recommend highly to see.

This is an awesome museum I got to go here during the concerts and it was amazing. Such a good time the exhibits were educational and interesting and were beautiful to look at. Bathrooms 5.5 and 6.7/10

Today I visited the Penn Museum. In the Asia gallery on the upper level, there were many Buddha statues, stone carvings, and Guanyin figures. I saw that banquet tables had been set up among these sacred statues. In China, these figures are considered extremely sacred, and people come to worship them. How could a banquet be held in such a place? I even saw staff prepared beer for this events. It was truly unbelievable. I don’t know who they were hosting, but in my view, holding such an event in this setting shows a lack of respect for cultural heritage.

What a gem! I had a spare 4 hours while on a work trip and wish I could have spent a whole day, or more, at this wonderful museum. It is huge, and exquisitely designed for curious antiquarians. I absolutely loved the Mediterranean cultures and the Ur exhibits. Signs told me there were major parts of the Egyptian section under development. I wouldn’t have known - there was so much to look at! I happened to be there for the daily dig (daily short informal talk by a staff docent) and it was delightful. Super friendly staff. I will definitely be back next time I’m in the city.

The Penn Museum offers an incredible experience for history and archaeology enthusiasts. With an entrance fee of $18 for adults, it provides excellent value considering the depth and quality of the exhibits. The museum houses remarkable artifacts from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and beyond, each displayed thoughtfully with detailed descriptions. The architecture and garden areas also add to the charm of the visit. Parking is $22, which is a bit steep, but the convenience of on-site parking balances it out. Plan to spend a few hours exploring—the collection is extensive and captivating. Highly recommend for anyone visiting Philadelphia!

I visited the Penn Museum last week for a Teacher Talk. This is one of the most amazing museums in Philadelphia. The collections are world class and the staff are top notched. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to view artifacts from antiquity.

This is a very interesting museum. It's located on Penn's campus and while it's small, it has a very nice variety of collections. We particularly enjoyed the Greek World section and the collection of ancient coins were fascinating. They're undergoing a renovation so some areas like the Asian section are limited, but it's still a very nice museum overall. Give yourself 2-3 hours to explore the whole museum and don't miss the Ancient Food and Flavor exhibit in the basement as it's definitely a highlight!

In honor of spooky season, I'm going to drop a long overdue review on Philadelphia's best place to see mummies! But whether you're looking for Egyptian artifacts, pieces from the Roman empire, early African culture, Asian deities, Native American treasures, and then some; the Penn Museum is your anthropological haven I first came across the haven and became aware of what it housed when Yelp Philly held one of its grand events inside around a decade ago and meant to explore it even further. But with West Philly more often being off the beaten path away from me, and with it being a great distance away from those other great Philly museums, visiting it is something that has often slipped my mind compared to the others. But when a friend and I had a Saturday to catch up before going to a show at World Cafe Live it was the first place that crossed our mind. And even though we gave ourselves three hours to explore before it closed we barely even scratched the surface! We crossed through as many continents and civilizations that are represented within the great hollowed halls as we could. But the Penn Museum is definitely one of those awe-inspiring foundations that will have you trying to read every placard of knowledge while staring in awe at every statue and artifact that you come across. Honestly, the only reason I'm giving here a four instead of a five is because, compared to the other iconic Philly museums out there, I barely even scratched the surface of exploration. Since this one happens to be the one most likely has me ready to channel my inner Indiana Jones, doing so could be as much of a blessing as a curse. But I'm also here for the challenge and ready for more!

Super cool museum filled with so many artifacts from around the world!! It was a bit overwhelming but either way was so cool to see so much all in one place!! If you're into history this is your spot!!!

Small but incredibly interesting. The Egyptian section has some very rare and interesting pieces. The library is a hidden gem. In the recent, sill ongoing, renovation a very nice part of the exposition has been devoted to Native populations.

had a few hours to kill before plans later, so I spent part of the day at the Penn Museum. the museum is a lot bigger than I thought..covering archaeological and anthropological exhibits and displays from across the globe--Africa to the Americas to Asia (+ Babylonia)...sadly the Egyptian section was under renovation (and that's the one i wanted to see). there's a lot to see and learn. the museum is multi-floored with a numerous curated sections dedicated to different geographic areas, historical periods, cultural themes, etc. there's a small cafe if you need a bite or drink and a small gift shop. honestly you could spend hours here BUT the museum feels more geared to kids and education imo, not that anything is wrong with that! i will probably come back here when the Egyptian exhibit is open again but i don't think i would re-tour the rest of the museum as that wb a bit tedious. anyway, the museum is on the outskirts of U of Penn campus and the museum is a worthwhile visit if you're a museum nerd or just looking to see some cool stuff on display.

Came back and it's all so shiny! The garage is all cleaned up and well labeled, though still very low clearance. I was able to leave through a side entrance and be just across the street from the well labeled entry, but it was locked by the afternoon so I had to walk the long way round to get back to the car. Otherwise, the museum is mostly all open and very impressive. This is not a museum for kids and I'd recommend choosing 3-4 areas to really absorb everything into in a session and come back another day for the rest. They have lots of different free tours and I was there right on time for the Middle East one. The guide was obviously very knowledgeable about the era but would have liked more story telling than always asking us what we were seeing. The current What We Wear exhibit is almost over but worth some time to check out. The Marion Anderson dress alone is worth the history and showcase it has. The different eras and continents are well chosen and I really enjoyed the descriptions of the different costumes and uses. Every other section is just bursting with artifacts and mostly ancient historical context. An excellent way to compare and contrast civilization through the centuries and how we know what we know about eachother. One caution- the cafe closes at 1 on Saturdays! I chose to check out the 1pm artifact exploration mini lesson hoping to get lunch after and was disappointed and had to settle for vending machine food. It looked like it was well stocked with options though. Definitely would plan a return again and again not just for the new exhibits and events but also to absorb deeper into all the different eras and parts of the world. The museum itself is a fascinating mesh of architecture styles and eras as it built around itself and worth a story on its own.

(To show how much Yelping means to me, our visit here was back in January...of 2021 and I'm just getting around to thinking about this now. Obviously I forget way more than I remember. Yes, I took a bunch of pictures and no, I don't care enough to repost them so that they'll attach to whatever I'm about to write.) What do I remember: Back at the time, parking here was a mess. Construction everywhere around the museum and CHOP which made for a very interesting experience trying to find the lot let alone get inside the structure. Construction guys are not known for the customer service or their want to move out of the way, but anyway. It was a weekend and the entrance had a bit of line to get inside and I guess with pandemic protocols had about ten people waiting outside until it was "your turn" to come up to pay/get your map. Having some kind of map here is best because the layout is all over the place. If you've got all day and don't mind meandering then I guess it doesn't matter but at the time some of the signage was poor and plenty of people, us included, were at times trying to find a particular area only to feel like you're walking in circles. For us the winners were everything on the Upper Level (Asia - Egypt - Italy - Greece). I particularly enjoyed looking at the collection of Roman coins. Amazing that as many of them have managed to survive thousands of years and actually look as good as they do. Where as other exhibits like the Mexico and North America personally, I didn't really came much about. Nice and all but they pale in comparison to things from Egypt, Africa or a room with a bunch of Bodhisattvas. One thing that still sticks out that I hated. On the ticketing page of their website it lists a few possible discounts. www.penn.museum/tickets/#special Seeing as I have two teens and it was a Sunday I was pretty sure the discount for teens 13-19 would be applicable. Nay-Nay on that one. The person I dealt with said she had no idea what I was talking about and that if I wanted to pursue this further, I should wait until I get home, call and ask for some type of manager of admissions who would be in the next day on Monday. Obviously I didn't do that even though it would have saved me $26. It shouldn't be this hard or you should ask someone if you don't know. Whatever. We visited Penn for about six hours and still left things on the table that we never got to or only glanced at. In the future I would love to come back when it's not January and see the courtyards outside, the museum store and more of the Main Level since the bulk of our time was spent enamored with the Upper Level. Truly an amazing place with so many different pieces all very close to home. A+

We booked online, while on the train. This is a gorgeous space. Unfortunately, the artifacts hall is only open on the weekend. I was NOT happy, because I like mummies. But there was one in the Egyptian exhibit, so... The Etruscan, Greek, and Roman exhibits are carefully curated and VERY interesting. They have a coin collection that surpasses any other that I have seen. The commentary on the exhibits are thorough and scholarly. I learned several things that I hadn't known, such as the fact that embalmers/mummifiers started slacking, in some cases breaking the neck to remove the brain, and in others, not even removing the brain at all! Shocking. They also had some examples of mummified animals. I knew that cats were frequently mummified. I didn't know they were commercially bred and then killed :( There was also a mummified ibis, now extinct in Egypt. Thousands were mummified. Also Apis bulls and alligators. The "Stories We Wear" exhibit was small, but interesting.

This place is my favorite museum, particularly the the Middle Eastern collection. Lots of interesting pottery and other artifacts from all over the world, which helps to connect you to the people of the past. I find something new and interesting here every time I visit.

Well organized, expansive museum that's not as overwhelming as a place like the MET or AMNH (which I do adore). Sections on Israel, Rome, Greece, Etruria, the Middle East, and more. Their Egyptian and Asian section is spectacular, and is housed in a beautiful rotunda. They also have wonderful Native American/First Nation people/Central American peoples exhibits with easy to use, fun interactive kiosks so you can learn more about the artists or artifacts that interest you. They also have a well done small African section. I spent about three hours here, including a leisurely lunch at the cafe, which includes basic sandwiches, snacks, and drinks--and isn't as expensive as other museum cafes--assuming because it's a campus museum. You could spend more time if you read every single thing, but I focused more on specific things that interested me. I did this along with the mutter museum. It's about a mile walk between the two. Mutter takes about 1-1 1/2 hours. I finished up around 2 after starting at 10 AM.

When you visit the museum, please take advantage of the guided tour which is offered for free. Today there's one for Asian collection. It didn't cover each artifacts but very informative.

We finally got to visit the Penn Museum. So much to see and do. The halls of the Penn Museum have several galleries: Egypt, Middle East, Mexico & Central America, Asia, Greece, Etruscan and Native American As well. The exhibits were excellent, I loved being able to read all the information. You can literally be there for 5 hours and still not get to see it all. The artifacts displayed are top notch and they obviously tell the story of these great civilizations. I know I will definitely be back because I did not get to see it all. If you are in Philadelphia and you have several hours, I highly recommend a visit to this museum.

The Penn Museum is a world class museum. Their Ancient Egypt collection, which includes the largest Sphinx in the Western Hemisphere and one of the largest outside Egypt, a permanent exhibit on mummification, which includes a wrapped mummy, exposed mummified remains, cat mummies, etc., and very well preserved statues from the reigns of Egypt's most famous Pharoahs, is the biggest draw. However, they also have a fantastic collection of sub-Saharan African artifacts and of mid-Atlantic Native American materials, and their East Asian collection includes some real gems. On my recent visit, I spent much of my time in their featured main-floor exhibit on ancient Mesopotamia/the Ancient Near East. I studied these cultures to some degree as a college student and try to visit exhibits on them whenever I can, and this might've been the best exhibit I've seen of more than a dozen. It has incredible unique items like a pretty well preserved early Babylonian copy of Gilgamesh, and some of the best written narration as you walk through the exhibit as I've seen. It manages to provide enough information and insight that I'd recommend it to subject matter experts while also making the exhibit accessible to everyone else who's like to spend a couple of hours casually learning. It's a very well done museum that I'd recommend to just about anyone.

First impression: From the second you walk through the gates, Penn Museum is an otherworldly experience! The beautiful tranquility of the Koi pond is now dwarfed by the steely new Penn Pavilion tower. Just like the renovated museum interior, it's a beautiful juxtaposition of classical and modern architectural influences. Exhibit-wise, I particularly enjoyed the Ancient Egypt / Ancient Rome wings. I crawled through at a snail's pace, but I'd love to come back for a second look soon.

Penn Museum is situated in the heart of the University and the Penn Medical campus. The museum is going through various renovations, so certain sections were closed off. It took us under two hours to cover the whole museum. The museum has a vast collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt, the Romans, Asian exhibits and more modern exhibits from other parts of the world. I've always been fascinated by mummies and the history of ancient Egypt, so I really enjoyed this portion of the exhibits. They offer tours, but we self guided our way through the museum. Penn employees can enter free with their Penn ID.

The bastion of archaeology across the world since 1800s. Not exactly the louvre in breadth, but certainly representative of most major regions of the globe and lots of artifacts from decades of extradition. THE BUILDING Perhaps the most fascinating parts of this museum are its architecture. The grand entries, the ornate exterior masonry brickwork, the metal gates, the massive domed circular rotunda and hall, and the delicious grand staircase! THE ARTIFACTS My fave was easily the 9000-ton sphinx, now sitting proudly atop the dais just past the main entry ticket booths. WOW, that thing came across the Atlantic on a ship! Remembering my studies of ancient Mesopotamia and of the cities and towns that became the building blocks for civilization and city life, this was a very pleasant journey through history. Pottery fragments, full pieces, jewelry set against silhouettes of bodies depicting how they would have been worn, So much of what we can know about these civilizations comes from how they treated and preserved their dead. What a fun trip!

I came here because it was listed in a book called "100 Things to do in Philadelphia Before you Die". To say the least I was not disappointed. Probably outside of Cairo and Turin, Italy, they might have the best Egyptian artifacts, some 4,400 years old that are in amazing condition. Sometimes I don't like it when we take ancient materials from other countries but they are doing an unbelievable job of maintaining the condition of these items with state of the art environmental equipment. Another highlight is they have 20-30 ancient Chinese items from various dynasties. The highlight were the Fu Lions and the various Buddha statues. I highly recommend visiting the Penn Museum, especially if you like mummies, and it is only $15 for adults.

The Penn Museum is located near the University of Pennsylvania. The museum offers so much. I recommend coming here.

I love this place! I am Lenni Lenape (Delaware Indian) and this is the only place I can find that has an exhibit dedicated to my people. I also love the exhibits dedicated to Asian and African cultures. You could spend a long time here, so pack a lunch and take your time!

For $10 per student (free for Penn students), Penn Museum is really quite an amazing find with a world of historical artifacts, mummies to unravel, civilization to unearth and knowledge to be enriched. The one downside is that when we came here on a blistering hot summer day, either the AC wasn't working or only one exhibit had AC, but we had to literally sprint between sauna-like halls and skip the learning because it was simply unbearable. To the museum's credit, they offered free water. Of the exhibits, we really enjoyed Asian gallery and was glad to have joined in on a tour guide that described some of the artifacts and their historical significance. I thought the egyptian section was also quite educational and certainly don't forget to go to the basement of the museum, where you will find the hidden sphinx (not sure if it was done intentionally, but we almost missed it had it not been for the wife who noticed the sign in the gift shop). Since we were on a time-crunch, we couldn't fully analyze all of the displays, but I think this is definitely a manageable afternoon museum, even if you were a completionist and wanted to read every panel. If you're around the area, I'd stop by and take a tour!

So anyone in the greater Phila area who took a Spanish class is likely to have taken a field trip here. Thus, my first visit in the 90s. I visited again when I worked at Penn in my 20s and had Penn Pass perks. But since, I hadn't been for a long while. So when my library offered up FREE admission with their museum passes, I was all over it. Overall, the permanent displays are beautiful and look recently updated. One exception was the first room for the Egyptian collection; the "blue curtain room" (much like the red curtain room in "Twin Peaks"). It is a beautiful space, architecturally, and the magnificent pieces in there are well complemented by the structure of the room, but the weird blue curtains that look like the backdrop of an eternal political debate are just not cutting it. There are so many contemporary options that would be so much more appropriate to honor these spiritual relics. Also, the blue just absorbs light, whereas white background, either as didactic walls, or some kind of tapestry panel (printed with relevant scenes or text) would do so much more to allow these pieces to stand out, and elevate them. Just my two cents. Otherwise, with the exception of the "blue curtain room," the designing of the galleries was spot on. Penn has a crapton of antiquity. They were well connected in the age of tomb raiding, and claimed a lot. While I freak out at the spiritual disruption that I believe occurs when sacred objects are removed from their rightful resting spots, I appreciate being able to see and learn firsthand, from a remote distance. That said, I remember criticizing the British Museum (London) for their ridiculous collection of ancient artifacts, which went on so much and so long (with duplicates of almost every vessel any household could have contained), it got inane, and worse, actively boring. I thought, "these REALLY old, cool things should be exciting!" I was sad that BM was having a pissing contest with the world, rather than set up a donation to a lesser-privileged museum, somewhere far away. Give 'em five pieces, and let more of the world look at this stuff! I am sure they will more than appreciate it, and seriously, your visitors will care less, actually they'll be grateful if it saves 5 more steps along this huge glass display case. So like BM, PM, they're kind of hoarders. They have a sick collection of EVERYTHING ancient. Worth a long look, yes, but can they spare some treasure for the deserving people in another place who can't make it here? Hells yes. For example, the Roman section had these miniature animals. (I'm sorry but even with my kid in a harness, I was dragged all over, and barely had time to snap an in-focus photo. So I didn't read any didactics and can't tell you the DL on these, but they were cool mini animals.) So there were fantastic mini animals, but heaps of them, including literally a PILE of them at the bottom of the display. It was a cute pile, but a PILE, come on, these should be individually mounted. Just give some to worthy institutions elsewhere. Help elsewheres set up worthy institutions. Penn Museum with kids: It works! I had my 19-month-old with me. We were greeted with a smile. A guard held the door for my stroller. Admissions happily took my library museum pass, and after encountering plenty of other visitors there, we never got a dirty look, nor a raised eyebrow. I did have to constantly engage my son by asking questions, pointing out the many animals in all the symbolism, and allow him to touch anything that was touchable (e.g. the audio equipment, elevator buttons, and push the stroller). Thankfully, there was one interactive panel with Braille cuneiform and an Obsidian stone. He LOVED that! Overall the staff was welcoming and helpful. It worked for my son (over an hour, entertained), and the collection is exceptional! (Just please trash those blue curtains.) This is a great spot to hit on a touring list, and if you're local but haven't yet visited, get on down! You have a local library with a free pass. No excuses!

Yo! I have been dying to go here for years. Archaeology had always been a huge interest of mine, and when I decided to take a random trip to Philly this was legit the ONLY thing I planned out. I grabbed a hotel off Priceline on the road up there and made sure it was within walking distance. We woke up early Friday and made the 1.5 mile hike to the museum and just walking in I was super stoked. They have a koi pond out front and the koi are ginormous, clearly they have been there for some time. The museum entrance fee turned out to be free for me because of the Blue Star promotion-so that made everything 5x better. As per the suggestion of the workers, we started at the 3rd floor and it was mummies on mummies and BABYLON! Sorry... I told you this stuff excites me. We worked our way through 3-2-1 and it was really cool to go early on a weekday because Penn students were working on preservation and revelation of exhibits while you are going through. For example there was a preservationist in the Mummy lab as well as archaeologists revealing a mural in the Chinese/Japanese section. The Etruscan, African/Evolution and Sphinx areas were all my favorites. A must visit if you are in Philly!

Free to penn faculty, this museum is a great rainy day option for kids. It's clean and well organized with spacious classical exhibits. It does not compare to larger Philly museums such as the Franklin Institute but is not often crowded...which is obviously a huge perk when you have young kids! Parking is in the penn museum garage which is empty on weekends but used for Penn Hospital employees on weekdays so it can be very full.

Up until this last weekend, I had only been to the Penn Museum in middle school because we were learning about the Middle East. I saw that the Egyptian gallery was going under renovations for 4-6 years and figured why not go and check out the Sphinx. In July and August they are offering admission at $10 for everyone, although I still have my student id if needed, lol. The galleries are really interesting. So much to take in. I would say it's not a kid friendly museum, so you might want to leave your young ones at home unless you know that mummies are going to hold their attention. The sphinx is really cool, its the 6th largest one in the world, the 4th outside of Egypt and the largest in the Western Hemisphere / the US. I actually enjoyed the skulls I saw in the Middle Eastern gallery that were flattened for thousands a years under the ground and they had them on display and then a computer representation of what the people looked like when they died. The pros - all of the amazing items from around the world. To have a place here in Philadelphia is really special. The museum is also close to the University City train station so taking Septa was great. Cons - I don't know if its always like this, but the temperature! There were parts of the museum that were HOT and in July I can't. I. can't. I wasn't the only one fanning themselves with the free map. Also, like I said, it's not really kid friendly. I could see some getting really bored. In that case, just sit them in the Egyptian gallery.

Amazing museum and valuable collections! Very safe to visit during COVID-19 Cafe inside and parking just. Ext to the museum Also public transportation

Everything in Penn Museum will absolutely give you the chills. From the beautiful architect of the museum itself, to the INSANE artifacts they have in there. You will not believe it until you see it! It is super cost friendly and it is a blast for all ages. Will go back ASAP

This gem of a museum & building are a must-see when you come to Philly. I especially loved the Egyptian gallery. It is closing this Sunday for an extensive renovation which will take 4-6 years. I got there just in time! The model of the throne room was incredible! The stone sphinx was so cool. The fact that I could walk right up to everything was so inspirational to me. This was a museum well worth the time!

Definitely take this place for granted sometimes. Rotating exhibits, some classic wings, and lots of classes take place here. Well written information in each exhibit and plenty to explore, good for all ages! I've been to many events here, and the staff and organizers make sure to put a lot of work into everything for the public.

If you're into human history or digging up old stuff, you've hit the jackpot. There's a ton of old stuff to see: Egyptian sarcophagi, tattered paintings, shiny jewelry. Honestly, considering the exhibitions held here, admission prices (see the web site) are a steal. Remember, no flash photography. The signs didn't say it at the time (and still may not) but you should know better. Flash photography kills kittens, and damages art. (To be honest, I think camera flash only damages my eyes.) The cafeteria's pricey - think ballpark concession stand prices - but actually good quality. I still have museum dreams about that lunch.

I didn't give myself enough time! I went here around 3pm today (Sunday) and they close at 5pm. I explored the Maya and the Africa exhibit. I did briefly run to the 3rd floor of which I saw a small portion of the Greek exhibit, but this is not a two hour stop. Well for me it's not. I like to read each description listed by each item in the different collections. So I was rushing in hopes of covering as much as the museum as possible. The staff approached me on the exhibit floors and ask if I had any questions. I thought that was nice, I also like the suggestion boxes. After seeing some of the pictures on yelp I believe I would like to try the cafe next time. I can't wait to visit this museum again. I also like that they have ample parking. Another note, they also have student discounts, tours, and gift shops.

An amazing museum right on Penn's campus. Since I'm an employee I get free admission but the normal admission is well worth what you get. The museum is large with multiple floors full of interesting artifacts and exhibits. They divide up into sections of the world so you get to immerse yourself into one culture and then hop over to the next. The collections they have are expansive and does a great job of being interactive, educational, and approachable. I see lots of families come which I absolutely love but this really is a museum for all. They have lots of cultural events such as for Lunar New Year and Dia De Los Muertes that fun for young kids and people over the age of 12. They also have a wonderful summer music series in the courtyard that is very fun to go to.

If you have a college student ID, make sure to bring it because you can get the discounted tickets for $10. For that price, this place is definitely worth checking out! Overall, this museum is quite quaint. The Middle Eastern Gallery exhibit was pretty large and had a lot of items on display. I also really liked the Egyptian exhibit, which had numerous real mummies on display and a lot of interesting information to read. The China & Japan exhibit seemed to have mostly Chinese, and it was almost entirely statues and Buddhism-related displays. Some of the exhibits had an interactive screen for more information rather than your typical signpost. Just a note, especially if you visit on a hot summer day: not all of the exhibits are air conditioned. There are also renovations underway right now, so we didn't get to see some things that I had been looking forward to, such as the Sphinx.

I've been to the University of Pennsylvania many times in my off and on living in Philadelphia ... and despite me wanting to not say this 'I have never been wowed.' It has always struck me as a scattered museum experience with a few exceptional objects and a lot of average archaeological findings. The displays have always been heavy on reading and never feel very comprehensive concerning any region or period. They have just redone the Near East galleries. They look okay. A lot of cases, better lighting, a lot of reading ... and a few notable objects like the Ram in the Thicket from Ur. In the rest of the museum, there are a couple of wonderful Egyptian items (although the Sphinx was closed on my recent visit) and an amazing crystal ball in the Chinese section. Sadly it doesn't appear they have any major exhibit on the Lenni-Lenape who were the Native Americans who first lived in this area before the Europeans arrived. There was no line to get in and only one person working the admissions desk which was quite enough because the museum was not crowded at all. I wish it were and I wish perhaps the museum might expand and show more cultures and objects because then maybe it would attract even more locals and Philadelphia visitors and truly become the world-class museum I always have thought it could be.

Great place right by UPenn hospital. Beautiful area to come sit even if you don't want to go inside the museum. I been inside 3 times total. It's a bit expensive for my taste. If you are a penn student, it's free. For all other student it's $10 and without student ID it's $15. Museum isn't that big. Today I went to go check out their middle eastern exhibit. Wants worth the $15 dollars I paid. However, it's perfect to check out if you are a pen student and going for free.

Cool ancient artifacts from around the world, though the museum will be undergoing renovation for some exhibits, including the Sphinx.

My sentiments mirror those of the previous reviewers. This museum is really a hidden jewel. It's amazing more people don't know about this museum. It's especially great because it's so darn cheap! You'll pay more for parking than you will for admission. I don't know why the city doesn't give this wonderful museum more attention. My husband and I decided on a whim we needed some alone time and only had a few hours to do something. We searched the web for museums in Philly and wanted to see something we had never been to before. I'm so glad we ended up here. Exhibits include an impressive mummy collection, Roman & Etruscan wing, and North and Meso American Indian wing, as well as smaller exhibits including Africa, the Maori and Polynesia, the Middle East, Asia, and everything in between. Be warned that parking is a bit of a hassle. We had to park in Children's Hospital 3 blocks away and wind our way through the serpentine hospital to get to the museum. Stop at the hospital info desk for directions.

Great old museum. The building and architecture are just as impressive as the artifacts of the museum. Great Egypt displays and a wonderful spynx. They have night at the museum programs and host lots of school trips. If you have an opportunity to see this museum, then you absolutely need to see it

I went to the Penn Museum yesterday on a behind-the-scenes tour. I've only been here a couple of times before, and both times were because events were held here, not for the exhibits themselves. The Penn Museum has a LOT to offer, and it's a shame not that many people are taking advantage of it. There are world-class scholars working here, with some of the most prized artifacts, knowledge, and even technology. The Egyptian and Roman/Greek/Etruscan exhibits are crowd favorites, but take the time to roam through others too. Right now they have the Righteous Dopefiend exhibit on the heroin-addicted homeless in SF, as well as the Goodlands exhibit, a collection of photographs taken by children in a "bad" neighborhood in N. Philly (with adorable captions like "my neighbor" and "nice man"). Both are amazing and really makes you think. Free for Penncard holders... you already paid for it with your tuition money, might as well go check it out. It's BEAUTIFUL. Also, they have events all the time, including Harry Potter Day :)

Collection from around the world largely acquired during colonialist times that should be returned or displayed for free for impoverished Philly residents. Much like the antiquities of the British Museum much of the collection was taken from countries and native peoples during times of their oppression. Although the museum is beautiful and the pieces are well maintained and cared for, they should be returned. However, if the exhibits were made free to Philadelphia's poor communities of color then perhaps an education mission could be justified instead of using the proceeds to line Penn's already overflowing (and under taxed) pockets.

It's hard to smack-talk any place that gives me free admission (Penn student). But regardless, this is a great museum to spend a couple hours at. Right now the special exhibit is Cultures in the Crossfire, about the heritage and art currently being destroyed in Syria and Iraq as a result of the ongoing warfare. I found it intriguing and the information was displayed in an easy to follow format. Apart from that, the sphinx and other Egyptian galleries were incredible and well-curated. Not to mention the nice gardens outside. Would highly recommend to anyone in the area.

As my daughter was out on the field hockey pitch sweating her butt off my wife, son and I were in the air conditioning of the Penn Museum. the three of us are museum nerds and made a whole day of this visit. The exhibits here are very well organized and the descriptions of the exhibit were worth the read. Very well maintained (as one would expect from a place like this) and clean this place has one spectacular room after another. My son LOVED the Egyptian exhibit and was literally pulling me along to get to the next display. The food in the cafeteria is a little pricey, but that was expected. Parking was close and we really had a great time here. If you love wandering through a museum and learning about the cultures and art and architecture of those cultures then this is a museum for you!

The collection is as good or better than many university museums (and I've been to both Yale's and Oxford's). I had not realized how active the school was in the early days of archeology. The Middle Eastern collection in particular is outstanding, and they have updated that part of the museum with interactive displays. I was fascinated by the ornaments from the burial of a queen from what is now Iraq. I also like that they work with people in Syria and Iraq to save artifacts there from ISIS. There is also an extensive Egyptian collection, housing the only sphinx in the Western Hemisphere.  She will be under wraps for a while, though, while they renovate that part of the historic building. Visitors have a chance to watch conservators at work in two parts of the museum, with glass-sided labs.

Excellent Museum. 1) One of the best museum in the Northeast. 2) Came here with the joint ticket from the Mutter Museum. Totally worth the price. 3) I enjoyed the Chinese and Japanese exhibit.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I wasn't expecting the Penn Museum to be as wholly amazing as it turned out to be. I mean, it's not like I didn't Yelp it before going. I read the rave reviews. I don't know why I so shamefully underestimated the joint. Maybe because I come from DC where we have a collection of world-class museums at our fingertips, and all for free. But the Penn Museum is a *real* peach, and completely worth the short three-hour ride from The District. Moms and I came to see The Secrets of the Silk Road exhibit. China's been a bit, ahem, stingy about where it travels and how long they'll loan out the collection. In fact, the Penn Museum was the only museum on the East Coast to have the honor. So we wanted to get in to see the exhibit before it left for the homeland on March 28. Again, I was expecting a bit of a rinky-dink affair, so I had to eat a crow sandwich as we toured this phenomenally executed exhibit. I was beyond impressed by the quality of the one- to two-thousand-year-old artifacts, from textiles to petrified dumplings! But the permanent collections at this sleeper gem are equally enthralling, rivaling Natural History in DC, the Met in New York, and Field in Chicago. Greek and Roman statues, glass, mosaics, and coins. Mesoamerican fertility figurines and Aztec ceramics. Mesopotamian lapis lazuli. Asian deities and African rugs. Egyptian jewelry, tomb relics, and a mummy so well preserved it made me feel woozy. There is SO MUCH to see here you could pass an entire day wandering the halls and exhibits. Technically admission is "free," but we didn't seem to have a whole lot of choice about paying the $10 entrance plus the cost of admission to The Secrets of the Silk Road. No matter, because this is a place well-worth supporting.

This museum is beyond amazing...make sure you bring enough quarters cause this isn't one of those quick skip through type of museums. ( Yea to cover everything ya gonna need about a good 3 hours..stack ya quarters lol) I swear I felt like I was in the middle of an episode of Mysteries at the Museum and for only $15 all the stuff they have there the view and experience is crazy...I'm definitely going back without a doubt..

Penn Museum is a cool space housing relics and artifacts mostly from antiquity - ancient Egypt, classical Greece, etc. The sculptures and the information were all cool. The museum is also in a really nice place on Penn's campus, and the garden outside the entrance and the surrounding areas are all quite pretty. The museum isn't too large, but it's overall a neat experience.

Very nice and worth a visit! A TON of artifacts in each exhibit, and a ton of exhibits. You could definitely spend a long afternoon in here. A great mix of photos, replicas, dioramas, interactive media, digital touch screens, audio recordings, and of course actual artifacts. Plenty variety for anyone and everyone to find something interesting. For only $10 during the summer, definitely worth the visit. It's clear that this is a long-established and reputable place.

I've been dying to come here for their Egyptian exhibit and I made it 40 minutes before closing on my last day in Philly! (They close at 5) YES Jackpot!!! I zipped straight to the beautiful Egyptian exhibit on the first floor and was blown away by the huge captivating sphinx in the middle of the room surrounded by 4 pillars. The 3rd floor mummy exhibits were colorful and descriptive, and though this Egyptian exhibit is smaller than that of the NYC MET, it is equally as intriguing and equally as magnificent as the MET. I am very satisfied with my quick trip to PENN!

This working museum (I call it that because they do a lot of research and perservation work here), I like the entry way, a long pool and a ornate gate. You enter through the downstairs. The architecture is reminiscent of the rest of Penn's campus with the dark red-brown brick. Free admission, and if you would like to donate, you can. Inside, you'll find Egyptian sculptures, one of the largest Chinese crystal balls, mosaics, and more. Tours for people who want to look around with a guide are available, and lots of local school children passing through here. Also classrooms for the Penn students. A classroom downstairs available for tests or larger groups, too.