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Featured events at Hagley Museum change year-round and are a mix of annual traditions and new activities that engage the environment and history that surrounds us. Keep an eye out for our ever-changing events schedule and be sure to contact us if you have particular questions, suggestions, or feedback!

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6 to 7 , 13 to 14 , 20 to 21 , 27 to 28

September 2025 , September 2025 , September 2025 , September 2025

Fishing on the Brandywine at Hagley

Enjoy a relaxing afternoon of fishing on the Brandywine — no fishing license required. See if you can catch a sunfish, bluegill, or even a largemouth bass! Bamboo poles will be provided with fishing line, bob, and hook. Poles will be pre-strung…

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28 to 29 , 12 to 13 , 26 to 27 , 9 to 10 , 23 to 24

June 2025 , July 2025 , July 2025 , August 2025 , August 2025

Summer Saturdays at Hagley

Spend a Summer Saturday at Hagley and relax with fun outdoor activities. These are drop-in activities, so feel free to join the fun at any time during the activity. Included in admission and free to Hagley Members. Check out Hagley's Science Saturda…

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30 to 1 , 14 to 15 , 21 to 22 , 28 to 29

June 2025 , July 2025 , July 2025 , July 2025

Enjoy an in-depth, special guided tour at Hagley. Tours begin promptly at 11 a.m. at Hagley's Visitor Center. $25 for adults, $15 for children 6-14, free for children 5 and under (includes museum admission). $5 for Hagley Members. Tours may involve w…

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Fireworks at Hagley - June 13 & 20, 2025

Don’t miss Delaware’s best fireworks show! This members-only event is a spectacular evening of family fun held two Fridays every Summer. This year, Hagley's Fireworks Shows will be held on Friday, June 13, and Friday, June 20, 2025. Rain dates a…

RESCHEDULED: Hagley Industrial Movie Series

This event is held at the 1313 Screening Room in Wilmington, Delaware. For times and tickets, click here. The theme for the evening is Hollywood at the Hagley. Kevin Martin, Curator at the Hagley Museum and Library, will showcase films from Hagley’s…

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Food Drive at Hagley

Hagley is teaming up with the Food Bank of Delaware for a Food Drive, running from Monday, April 21, through Friday, June 6. Because of a gap in essential resources and funding cuts, there is a critical need to keep Delawareans fed. Donatio…

Special Tour: Hagley Highlights Library tour

From coded telegrams to early computer games, connect with technologies past and present on this tour. Join our Head of Reference Services for a guided jaunt through our new library exhibit, "Just Text Me! Telecommunications and Computing History at…

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History Hangout: Conversation with Katherine C. Epstein

Roger Horowitz talks with Katherine Epstein about her new book Analog Superpowers: How Twentieth-Century Technology Theft Built the National Security State (University of Chicago Press, 2024). Click to read more

History Hangout: Conversation with Andrew Robichaud

Ice, ice, baby. In nineteenth-century America ice was everywhere. Extracted from northern ponds and shipped around the world, ice became a valuable commodity and a vital input in numerous industries. Click to read more

History Hangout: Conversation with Maia Müller

The mid-twentieth century emergence of multinational corporations wealthier and more powerful than many nations presented a problem for organizations tasked with overseeing international cooperation and development. How to create a regulatory framewo…

History Hangout: Conversation with Rebecca Geoffroy-Schwinden

Where can you find music in the archive? Everywhere, if you know how to look. So argues our guest musicologist Rebecca Geoffroy-Schwinden, associate professor at the University of North Texas and former NEH-Hagley postdoctoral fellow. Click to read m…

Author Talk: Lisa Jacobson

Lisa Jacobson will speak about her new book, Intoxicating Pleasures: The Reinvention of Wine, Beer, and Whiskey after Prohibition. Following prohibition’s end in 1933 alcoholic beverage producers struggled for decades to restore alcohol’s respec…

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Author Talk: David Suisman

On February 27, David Suisman will speak about his his new book Instrument of War: Music and the Making of America’s Soldiers. Whether the sounds came from brass instruments, weary and homesick singers, or a pair of heavily used earbuds, where…

Industrial Movie Night at the Screening Room at 1313

Hagley Museum and Library curator, Kevin Martin, will introduce a series of films sponsored by the Hercules Powder Company at the Screening Room @ 1313 in Wilmington, Delaware on January 23, 2025 at 7pm. Tickets will be available at the door or you c…

School Program Guide Open House

Are you enthusiastic about inspiring a love of learning among school-aged children? Hagley Museum is seeking energetic individuals who enjoy sharing stories and facilitating hands-on activities bringing 19th-century industrial history and techn…

History Hangout: Conversation with Emily Wells

The experience of girlhood in early national and antebellum America was both circumscribed and liberated by geography. Spaces defined who American girls were expected to be. Spaces, too, allowed girls to redefine themselves and to defend themselves a…

History Hangout: Conversation with Yaxi Liu

Chinese plastic is cheap and abundant. It wasn’t always. The ubiquity of plastic in twenty-first century consumer culture belies its past rarity and the many cultural meanings it has borne over time. How did plastic come to play such a central role i…

History Hangout: Conversation with Jacob Bruggeman

Large technological systems can be vulnerable to manipulation, perhaps especially when they are centralized, monopolistic, and complacent. That was the situation in American telecommunications in the early 1960s when a generation of hackers developed…

History Hangout" Conversation with Margot Canaday

In this episode of Hagley History Hangout Roger Horowitz interviews Margot Canaday about her remarkable book Queer Career: Sexuality and Work in Modern America that received the received 2024 Hagley Prize for the best book in business history that ye…

History Hangout: Conversation with Stefka Hristova

The positive image cannot exist without the negative, and the relationship between the two reveals the fundamental nature of the image as fungible, media as a process, and truth value as a matter of interpretation. Scholarship and conservation theref…

History Hangout: Conversation with Kara Schlichting

Excessive heat has presented a problem for public health officials in New York City since the mid-nineteenth century building boom that covered the island of Manhattan in bricks, concrete, and other heat-storing materials. Prior to that, however, Ame…

History Hangout: Conversation with Sam Schirvar

The political meaning of industry depends upon its context. Following the Second World War, Native American tribal governments engaged in a program of industrial development meant to secure the political self-determination of their nations. Initially…

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Author Talk: David Alff

David Alff will speak about his book, The Northeast Corridor: The Trains, the People, the History, the Region at the fall’s second author talk on December 5. It is the first comprehensive history of the most heavily-travelled train line in the…

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Author Talk: Rachel Gross

Hagley’s fall author talk series will open on September 26 with Rachel Gross speaking about her new book, Shopping All the Way to the Woods: How the Outdoor Industry Sold Nature to America. In it, Gross explores the irony of how trips into nature usu…

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Beer for Prosperity: A Drink and Find Adventure – Cancelled

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience Raise a glass to the unsung Delawareans who fought prohibition, with a scenic view of the Brandywine and Wilmington Brew Works’ beer in hand. Make your…

History Hangout: Conversation with Madison Krall

The DuPont firm was a leader in workplace and community safety communications during the twentieth century. This had been baked into the company culture from the first, as gunpowder manufacturing made essential. What changed over time were the techni…

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History Hangout: Conversation with Grigorios Antoniou

Scholars often think and write about business diplomacy as something that happens between firms and national governments. But the historical pattern is more complex than that, with contacts between businesses forming a significant portion of the inte…

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History Hangout: Conversation with Sean Vanatta

American households are awash in expensive credit card debt. But where did all this debt come from? In this history of the rise of postwar American finance, Sean H. Vanatta shows how bankers created our credit card economy and, with it, the indebted…

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History Hangout: Conversation with David Alff

Hagley’s Ben Spohn interviews David Alff about his recent book: The Northeast Corridor: The Trains, the People, the History, the Region. In this comprehensive history of America’s most heavily-traveled rail line, Alff shows ow what began a…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH ANDREA MATWYSHYN

In the United States, courts make policy through their interpretation of law and regulations. Through litigation, policy decisions are given the force of law. When litigation fails, then the object of regulation is often lost. This applies to the wor…

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To mark International Games Month in November, Hagley will host weekly board-game nights at the new Hagley Unboxed event. All month long, people are invited to play reproduction versions of historical games in Hagley’s archives. These games are…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH MAXWELL GREENBERG

The organization “Junior Achievement” was first conceived in 1916 when three wealthy, influential men decided that American youth needed to be educated on the values of hard work, thrift, and the developing hierarchy of corporate management. From tha…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH JACOB SAINDON

The “attention economy” has gotten lots of press in recent years as tech companies and advertising firms have begun to perceive human attention as a limited resource and to fight for their share of the potential revenue to be generated by it. However…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH HUNTER MOSKOWITZ

While it is often assumed that early industrialization was a spatially and socially concentrated phenomenon, associated primarily with white capitalists in the northwestern and northeastern corners of Europe and North America respectively, the histor…

Hagley Museum Store: Christmas in July

It's Christmas in July at Hagley! At Hagley's Summer Nights event on July 24, visitors are invited to stop by the Hagley Store for our first-ever Christmas in July Sale! Enjoy special store discounts to celebrate the occasion, and get a picture with…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN KENNY

In this episode, Ben Spohn Interviews Kevin Kenny on his book Making Sense of the Molly Maguires which recently had a special 25th anniversary release. The Molly Maguires were a secret organization operating in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region during…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH AMY EDWARDS

The self-employed have many motivations for choosing or accepting their working arrangements. A business model that taps into the desire for people to “work for themselves” can mobilize the capital, networks, and labor of large numbers of people at c…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH CHRIS MORRIS

Nitrogen is the most abundant element in the Earth’s atmosphere, it is essential to life and biological processes, and yet it is virtually impossible to access nitrogen absent the mediation of something or someone that can “fix” gaseous atmospheric n…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH REBECCA JANZEN

When miners go underground, they enter a spiritual realm distinct from that aboveground. Across time, places, and cultures, miners have made religious observance part of their work, building shrines, making offerings, and naming places after sacred p…

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SOLD OUT: Landscapes, Ideas, & Intellectual Adventures: The Worlds…

(You can download the slides shown here) This event is sold out. Thank you for your interest in this program! Thanks to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest for sponsoring this event with Hagley. Thomas Jefferson had a long association with the du…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH TINA WEI

Work tires folks, and if fatigue is allowed to continue unabated, it can wear them right out. Studies of industrial and workplace fatigue during the first half of the twentieth century sought to address this pressing social and economic problem. But…

Hiding in Plain Sight: Identifying Black Inventors in Hagley’s Patent…

The United States patent system was one of the most democratic government systems when it was first established. This is clearly demonstrated in Hagley’s unique collection of 19th-century patent models. Unlike other parts of American life…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH MOEKO YAMAZAKI

In the 1970s, the National Association of Manufacturers organized a subsidiary, the Council for a Union-Free Environment, to provide member firms and managers with tools to prevent labor organization and union activity in their business operations. T…

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Summer Kick-Off Celebration at Hagley

Enjoy the unofficial start of summer this Memorial Day Weekend at the Summer Kick-off Celebration at Hagley! On Saturday, May 24, Hagley has something for everyone with special programs, engaging tours, and hands-on activities that will “inspire all…

Hagley Fall Conference

Despite the central role that real estate development plays in the physical form and geography of buildings, cities, and suburbs in market economies, scholars have engaged in relatively little research on the inner workings of its figures and process…

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AUTHOR TALK: ROGER BILES AND MARK ROSE

A Good Place to Do Business: The Politics of Downtown Renewal since 1945 will be the topic of the author talk by historians Roger Biles and Mark Rose. It is rescheduled from last spring. Their book chronicles efforts to reinvigorate the downtowns of…

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Author Talk: Jennifer Black

Want to know about the origins of the brands and trademarks that now fill our marketplaces and media? In her author talk on Thursday February 29, Jennifer Black will tell all, drawing from her new book, Branding Trust: Advertising and Trademarks in N…

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Science Sparks!

Science Sparks is a drop-in family program encouraging innovation and creativity as visitors are given a hands-on engineering challenge to complete. Visitors may build, test, and redesign their creation as they take on the role of engineer! ••…

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Kid Inventors' Weekend

Hagley celebrates Kid Inventors' Weekend February 15 through 17 by offering activities that will ignite your kids’ creativity and curiosity. Participate in activities that celebrate the genius behind design. Learn about the patent process and se…

HISTORY HANGOUT: TRISH KAHLE

The history of American electricity is often told through the experiences of engineers and managers, but these were only a handful of the many thousands of workers who built, maintained, and ran electrical utility systems in the United States. T…

History Hangout: Clark Barwick

Americans love coffee, but the coffee in American cups has changed a lot over the years. Three waves of coffee consumer culture washed over the twentieth-century United States: the mass commodity wave, the differentiation wave, and the aficionado’s w…

Celebration of Rear-Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont

Please join us to honor and celebrate the recent induction of Rear-Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont into the Delaware Maritime Hall of Fame! 6 pm • Welcome and light refreshments with archival items on display 7 pm • Presentation by Lucas Clawson,…

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Walking Tour: Trees of Hagley

Enjoy the natural beauty of the Hagley Museum property as we observe the many trees grown here and the history behind them. This tour will highlight a variety of trees across the property and the importance of nature’s bounty to the du Pont family an…

Nation Of Inventors First Birthday Celebration

Hagley's Nation of Inventors exhibition is having its first birthday! We're celebrating with hands-on activities throughout the historic site on Saturday, October 7. Admission Special: Buy one full-price admission, get one free! Valid October 7…

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Uncovering Innovation: A Year of Discoveries in Hagley’s Patent Model…

Join Hagley for a celebration of the one-year anniversary of the opening of “Nation of Inventors,” as well as the grand opening of DuPont Discovery Loft! Hagley’s collection of nearly 5,000 patent models still has secrets to reveal. Patent model cura…

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RESEARCH SEMINAR: ANNA ANDRZEJEWSKI

(rescheduled from December 13, 2023) "MAKING PARADISE: LIVING IN SOUTH FLORIDA’S VACATION AND RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES" In the 25 years after World War II, the coastline of South Florida was transformed into a sprawling cultural landscape of leisure, m…

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RESEARCH SEMINAR: AI HISANO

"EVERYDAY AESTHETICS: INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND THE SENSES IN THE UNITED STATES FROM THE 1920S TO THE 1950S" “Our basic appreciation of design is ultimately dependent upon what we sense through vision, taste, hearing, smelling and feeling,” argued the in…

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RESEARCH SEMINAR: ADAM ROME

“SUSTAINABILITY ON THE CHEAP: WALMART AND THE CHALLENGE OF GREENING RETAIL” In 2005, Walmart stunned the business world by committing to become greener. That commitment seemed to go against the company’s core mission: Its slogan was “Always Low Price…

HISTORY HANGOUT CONVERSATION WITH RICHARD POPP

New York City played a starring role in the story of American broadcast media, perhaps especially when it came to television. The city was both a major market for television, a proving ground for television techniques and technologies, and an on-scre…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH EMILY BAKER

Artists bring a unique perspective to historical archives. Like any other researchers, they read and examine documents and collections to learn about their subject. Where their methods diverge is to use archival sources to shape the form and meaning…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH PETER KOVACS

The American tobacco oligopoly of five firms loomed large in the mid-twentieth century thanks to the addictive qualities of their products and the massive investment they made in broadcast marketing communications, influencing the media experience of…

Author Talk: Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler

Anyone who has worked in an office is likely to be aware of the open plan concept. An author talk on October 5 will place these design efforts in a historical context. Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler’s book Open Plan: A Design History of the American Office…

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Author Talk: Al Churella

Al Churella returns to Hagley for a talk based on the second volume of his monumental history of the Pennsylvania Railroad. His talk, Inflection Points: W. W. Atterbury and the Destiny of the Pennsylvania Railroad, charts the company’s dramatic…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH ALEX TAYLOR

In this episode of Hagley History Hangout Roger Horowitz sits down with Alex Taylor to discuss his new book, Forms of Persuasion: Art and Corporate Image in the 1960s, the first dedicated history of corporate patronage in post-war art. Taylor’s book…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH CYNTHIA MEYERS

What archive could possibly give you a total view of American business practice in the twentieth century? What industry touched and participated in nearly every other industry? What firm yields insight into a cavalcade of firms in one fell swoop? The…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH JAMES LEACH

Cognitive changes occur across the human lifespan, with consequences for economic conditions. How people have understood these changes, and managed their interaction with life and work has changed over time. As industrialization sped up work, and enh…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH MINSEOK JANG

How does a movement unite the disparate interests of producer and consumers? By directing their shared ire against a powerful middleman. That is how opponents of the Standard Oil monopoly on kerosene refining and distribution joined forces to take on…

HOW FLORIDA HAPPENED

The distinctive landscape of south Florida has its roots in the attempt by mid-twentieth century developers to transform the “last frontier” in American into piles of cash. Where they succeeded there now reigns an over-developed suburban landscape of…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH DYLAN GOTTLIEB

Young urban professional (yuppies for short) emerged as an archetype close to the heart of transformations taking place in American society during the 1970s and 1980s. These highly-educated individuals were products and architects of a new American e…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH IVANA ZIMBREK

Yugoslavian planners considered themselves to be architects of a third way “between the blocs,” aligned neither with the capitalist West nor the Communist East, but rather masters of their own socio-economic destiny. This ramified in the economy and…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH MARK H. ROSE

Since World War II the old industrial cities of the northeast and Midwest USA have repeatedly sought to end periods of decline by seeking to renew their downtowns. Convention centers, sports stadiums, hospitals, and tourist-oriented investment have a…

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Hagley After Hours: Mother’s Day Celebration – Women Inventors

In honor of Mother’s Day, we invite you to join Hagley curators on Friday, May 12, as we dive more deeply into the patent model collection focusing specifically on women inventors. Women in the 19th century were inventing in the same…

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POSTPONED: Author Talk: Roger Biles and Mark Rose

This Author Talk has been postponed. A Good Place to Do Business: The Politics of Downtown Renewal Since 1945 will be the topic of the author talk by historians Roger Biles and Mark Rose. Their book chronicles efforts to reinvigorate the downtowns of…

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Hagley After Hours: Behind the Scenes Tours of Nation of Inventors wi…

WINE down from your work week with a one-hour tour with Hagley curators! Hagley invites its members and guests to join Hagley curators Caroline Western-Osienski and Chris Cascio for a behind-the-scenes exploration of what it takes to transform o…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Can you build the longest, strongest bridge? Examine the structural engineering of bridges then build your own using basic materials. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-i…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Find out how robots are built and programmed and visit with a local robotics team to test out their designs! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Ghost writing and color-changing cabbage are the highlight of this creepy compilation of chemistry experiments! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to joi…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Discover the plethora of pigments that can come from natural sources and use them to create a piece of art! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join th…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Learn about buoyancy, density, and how boats stay afloat. Build your own boat and test how much cargo it can hold! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

There is a whole world of things we can't see with our eyes at the nanoscale. Get a glimpse of this tiny world and its unique properties! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Give yourself a "lift" by learning about the fundamentals of flight. Make a paper airplane and hoop glider that fly far! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, f…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Discover how thermal energy is transferred and use these concepts to free treasure trapped in ice. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Give yourself a "lift" by learning about the fundamentals of flight. Make a paper airplane and hoop glider that fly far! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity,…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Feathers, blubber, microclimates, oh my! Learn about all the ways that animals stay warm in cold climates. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to j…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Sound is produced by vibrations. Create a musical instrument that will vibrate to make sound. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

From grocery bags to clothing to slime, polymers are everywhere! Discover what makes polymers so useful in our everyday life. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, f…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Learn the coded language of computers and make a bracelet using binary code! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at any time. Activ…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Discover why we need bones and what happens if our bones aren't strong. Build a free-standing chair of bones to take home. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Transforming trash is fun! Up-cycle plastic bags and scrap paper to make new materials. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at any time.…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Celebrate International Women's Day by learning about some of the few women who have traveled to space and their contributions to science! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-i…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Learn about center of gravity and build a free-standing trophy that can balance a ball on top! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at any…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

In collaboration with Longwood Gardens’ Community Read, learn about unique ways you can turn one plant into many. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to…

Author Talk: Margaret Mulrooney

On March 9, Margaret Mulrooney will return to Hagley to discuss her book—Black Powder, White Lace: The Du Pont Irish and Cultural Identity in Nineteenth-Century America—and reflect on how it has stood up since its 2002 publication. She will trace the…

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National Inventors' Day

Come learn about the patent process and examples of early American ingenuity in our Nation of Inventors exhibit. In the "Tinker and Create” area, you can take apart electronics, use everyday household “junk” to create your own patent model, and submi…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH MEGAN ELIAS

Hilton Hotels started in Texas and swelled into a globe-straddling hospitality behemoth. Along the way company founder Conrad Hilton kept ideas about affordable luxury at the center of his business model. Among the affordable luxuries on offer in Hil…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH DAVID CORREIA

America at the dawn of the twentieth century ran on anthracite coal. Burning the hard, lustrous fossil fuel heated millions of homes and powered locomotives, steamships, foundries, and factories. Nearly all of this coal came out of the hills of easte…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH BENJAMIN KLETZER

Railroads unite. Across time and space the railroad has tied together diverse peoples and places with literal and figurative bonds. An outstanding example of this historical process is the transfer and elaboration of a railroad technocracy from origi…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN BUNCH

Kevin Bunch is a writer and communications specialist for the International Joint Commission and an independent researcher of video game history, centered his research at Hagley on RCA in the 1970s. In 1977 RCA released their own home video game cons…

Giving Tuesday at Hagley

Consider supporting Hagley's STEM programs for Giving Tuesday.

HISTORY HANGOUT: A CONVERSATION WITH PATRICIA CURTIN

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS: A LABOR-CENTRIC HISTORY OF THE U.S. PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSION Scholars have written histories of public relations. Scholars have written histories of labor. Scholars had yet to bring the two histories into conversation with o…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH REGINA BLASZCZYK

SYNTHETIC FASHION & THE MAD RUSSIAN DuPont was in the fashion business. The industrial giant cultivated markets for its novel synthetic textiles, such as Rayon, by interfacing with the wider world of fashion. This process brought one Alexis Ureyv…

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AUTHOR TALK: THOMAS ZELLER

REGISTRATION VIA EVENTBRITE Thomas Zeller will close the fall series with a talk based on his book, Consuming Landscapes: What We See When We Drive and Why It Matters. His book explains how what we see while driving reflects our view of societie…

AUTHOR TALK: WENDY WOLOSON

REGISTRATION VIA EVENTBRITE Wendy Woloson will lead off the fall series with a talk based on her book, Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America. She tells the history of “crap” by exploring its many categories: gadgets, knickknacks, novelty goo…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH JESSICA BORGE

From humble beginnings wholesaling at a small tobacconist-hairdresser shop in 1915, the London Rubber Company rapidly became the UK's biggest postwar producer and exporter of disposable rubber condoms. A first-mover and innovator, the company's conti…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH GAVIN BENKE

Corporate futurists made a living with their imaginations. These professional prognosticators spent their time looking at the world around them, observing its apparent changes and trends, and reporting to business and political leaders proscribed met…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH CORY FISCHER HOFFMAN

The Empire of Bethlehem stretched from a small eastern-Pennsylvania city across the United States and down to Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, and Brazil. It encompassed dozens of plants, concerns, and subsidiary firms, and touched the lives of millio…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH ALEX FLEET

During the 1920s, major American corporations established in-house labor unions to address worker agitation. Labor historian Alex John Fleet, PhD candidate at Wayne State University, explores the phenomenon in his dissertation research. Click here to…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH JEFFREY MULDOON

Which is better for business, keeping workers happy, or keeping workers in line? The movement for corporate social responsibility (CSR) argued that management and workers shared a partnership that could multiply productivity and profits if properly n…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH TIMOTHY YANG

In A Medicated Empire, Dr. Timothy Yang, associate professor at the University of Georgia, explores the history of Japan's pharmaceutical industry in the early twentieth century through a close account of Hoshi Pharmaceuticals, one of East Asia's mos…

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CONVERSATION WITH BEN SCHNEIDER

What happens to jobs when technology changes? How do new technologies change the ways people experience and think about work? Economic historian Ben Schneider, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Work Research Institute at Oslo Metropolitan University, …

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CONVERSATION WITH PETER ASTRAS

Hudson Maxim wanted his lake, and he didn’t mind twisting some arms to get it. The early-twentieth-century investor in Lake Hopatcong property wished to make it a destination for well-heeled travelers and pleasure seekers. Making his plans difficult…

CONVERSATION WITH SVEN KUBE

What did the Cold War sound like? How did political ideologies shape the differing experiences of musicians and consumers in the capitalist versus the communist world? Did the Iron Curtain muffle the raucous sounds of western popular music? Or were c…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH JASON BARR

Economist Jason Barr, professor at Rutgers University - Newark, dug into the records of John J. Raskob and Pierre Samuel du Pont records held by the Hagley Library to uncover an insider’s story of the Empire State Building. Conceived by Raskob,…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH CODY PATTON

How many species had a hand in making that glass of beer? From the perspective of environmental history, human artefacts like beer result from more-than-human collaboration across time. Barley plants, hop vines, single-cell organisms, and a multiplic…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH SAMUEL MILNER

Concentrated market power and the weakened sway of corporate stakeholders over management have emerged as leading concerns of American political economy. In his book, Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: Power, Profits, and Productivity in Modern America,…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH KELSEY MCNIFF

“PEOPLE OF SOME TALENT & SO MUCH VIRTUE”: FORGOTTEN LIVES OF DU PONT WOMEN HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH KELSEY MCNIFF Silence speaks volumes. Especially silences in historical memory, which reflect the values of a society as it chooses what…

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HISTORY HANGOUT CONVERSATION WITH JENNIFER KAUFMANN-BUHLER

OPEN PLAN: A DESIGN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN OFFICE HISTORY HANGOUT CONVERSATION WITH JENNIFER KAUFMANN-BUHLER Imagine an office without walls or hierarchies, a space that allows for the free and open exchange of ideas and a way to work… better…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH KELLY GOODMAN

TAX THE RICH: TEACHERS’ FIGHT TO FUND PUBLIC SCHOOLS HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH KELLY GOODMAN Education is among the largest public expenditures in the United States. How is school funding determined, and by whom? Between 1930 and 1980, teach…

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(CANCELED) Hagley Up Close LIVE! with Max Moeller

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED. When you take a tour at Hagley, where does the information you hear from our guides and read in our publications originate? How does the Hagley staff know what they know? How are decisions made on what to collect to supp…

Hagley Up Close LIVE! With Lucas Clawson

When you take a tour at Hagley, where does the information you hear from our guides and read in our publications originate? How does the Hagley staff know what they know? How are decisions made on what to collect to support the work of our Museum, ou…

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Author Talk: Rachel Lance

Rachel Lance will speak about her successful detective work uncovering the story behind the sinking of the Confederate submarine the HL Hunley. Deployed in the 1864 battle of Charleston har…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH DEREK VOURI-RICHARD

INDUSTRIAL SEMIOTIC & VISUAL COMPLEXES: A STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES VISUAL CULTURE FROM THE 1880S TO THE 1950S Twenty-first-century Americans are saturated with visual imagery and punchy messages authored by large organizations. This was not alw…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH AARON VAN NESTE

THE NOT SO INEXHAUSTIBLE SEA: FISHERIES SCIENCE & MANAGEMENT, 1863-PRESENT How many fish can people catch before we exhaust the supply? Fisheries managers have deployed the language and techniques of science since the mid-nineteenth century in an…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH JONATHAN ROBINS

OIL PALM: A GLOBAL HISTORY Oil palms are ubiquitous—grown in nearly every tropical country, they supply the world with more edible fat than any other plant and play a role in scores of packaged products, from lipstick and soap to margarine and cookie…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH MATTHEW O'NEAL

Millions of black Americans left the Deep South fleeing violence and seeking opportunity during the Great Migration, one of the most dramatic demographic shifts in twentieth-century American history. Some communities welcomed these newcomers with ope…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH PAULA DE LA CRUZ FERNANDEZ

Paula A. de la Cruz-Fernández’s book Gendered Capitalism: Sewing Machines and Multinational Business in Spain and Mexico, 1850–1940 explores how the gender-specific cultures of sewing and embroidery shaped the US Singer Sewing Machine Company’s opera…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH SEAN DELEHANTY

What is the purpose of an American corporation? Is it to serve as an integral organ of society, generating plural benefits for owners, workers, communities, and the general public alike? Or is it strictly to generate monetary benefit for it…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH ERIC S. HINTZ

Did the American independent inventor ever go extinct? In his new book, American Independent Inventors In An Era of Corporate R&D, Eric S. Hintz argues that they persisted despite the development of corporate R&D during the twentieth cen…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH NICOLE WELK-JOERGER

Americans love cows. The United States possesses an entire economic sector geared for rearing, feeding, slaughtering, shipping, and eating the big-eyed ruminants. So all-encompassing is the American cattle-industrial complex that it helps determine w…

Howl-O-Ween at Hagley

Halloween has gone to the dogs at Hagley! Bring your leashed canine companion (with or without a costume) to enjoy Halloween-themed activities designed especially for our four-legged friends. Go ghost hunting down the Bark-or-Treat trail and grab so…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH LARA FREIDENFELDS

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Lara Freidenfelds about her research into the history of marketers’ and advertisers’ intense targeting of pregnant women, and its implications for early pregnancy loss. In support of her pro…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH LI CORNFELD

Program officer Gregory Hargreaves interviews Dr. Li Cornfeld about her research into the history of theatrical live performance as a means of unveiling and promoting novel technologies. In support of her proje…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH REBECCA ALTMAN

Program officer Gregory Hargreaves interviews Dr. Rebecca Altman about her research into the intimate history of synthetic materials, industrial chemistry, & the human body. Altman, an environmental sociologist, has made extensive use of the Hagl…

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AUTHOR TALK: Eric S. Hintz

During the nineteenth century, heroic individual inventors such as Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell created entirely new industries while achieving widespread fame. However, by 1927, a New York Times editorial suggested that teams of corporate…

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AUTHOR TALK: KATINA MANKO

On October 7 Katina Manko will lead off the fall series with a talk based on her just-published book, Ding Dong! Avon Calling! The Women and Men of Avon Products, Incorporated. Founded in the late nineteenth century, Avon grew into a massive int…

Hagley Center 2021 Fall Conference

REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONE: A CONFERENCE ON COMMERCIAL INTIMACY AND PERSONALIZATION A CONFERENCE AT HAGLEY LIBRARY, WILMINGTON DELAWARE CALL FOR PAPERS In today’s wired world, marketers have heralded their ability to use apps, social media, and othe…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH MARCIA CHATELAIN

In Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, Marcia Chatelain explores how fast food restaurants saturated black neighborhoods and became, as well, a focal point in the development of “black capitalism.” To tell thi…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH ROGER BAILEY

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Roger Bailey about his research into how naval officers’ regional identities and beliefs about race, slavery, & territorial expansion affected their command decisions. In support of his proje…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH DAN TRAFICONTE

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Dan Traficonte about his research into federal programs for technology development and their relationship with private industrial interests. In support of his project, Traficonte, a PhD cand…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH GRACE ONG YAN

Ben Spohn interviews Grace Ong Yan about her recent book, Building Brands: Corporations and Modern Architecture. In her book, Ong Yan explores the development of corporate Modernism through architectural branding. She does this by…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN BUNCH

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Kevin Bunch about his research into the early history of video games, and his innovative use of Hagley materials to recreate forgotten games. In support of his project, Bunch, a writer & communica…

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DCAD Plein Air Drawing Marathon

Click here to register. This event is held at Hagley Museum and Library and hosted by the Delaware College of Art and Design Inspired by the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture, which founded the Drawing Marathon 25+ years ago…

AVON: AN INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON ITS ARCHIVE

Avon Products, Inc., is one of the oldest direct selling companies in America. It traces its origins to 1886, when David H. McConnell bought the Union Publishing Company and started manufacturing perfumes to give away with his books. McConnell d…

DR. WESLEY MEMEGER, JR. : SCIENCE INTO ART

When Wesley Memeger, Jr. started at DuPont in 1964, he was only the fourth African American with a doctorate in chemistry to join the firm. Over the course of a 32-year career, he amassed fourteen patents and left his mark on some of DuPont’s most fa…

Museum Store Mondays

During Hagley's winter clousure, the Hagley Museum Store will open for limited hours on Mondays. The store features merchandise reflective of the beautiful grounds and history of the site as well as the museum’s public programming. Inside you will fi…

HAGLEY HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH LOUISA IAROCCI

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Louisa Iarocci about her research project “Bin, Bag, Box: The Architecture of Convenience,” in support of which, Iarocci, an associate professor at the University of Washington at Seattle, received an exploratory grant f…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH WENDY WOLOSON

Wendy A. Woloson is associate professor of history at Rutgers University – Camden. With a career as a museum curator, artist, and scholar of 19th century history, her new book is called Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America. In this book Wol…

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HAGLEY HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH SARA WERMIEL

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Sara Wermiel about her research project “Introduction of the Rolled I-Beam in the U.S.A. in the 1850s, Revisited.” In support of her research, Wermiel, an independent scholar & historic preservation consultant, recei…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH SUNNY XIANG

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Sunny Xiang about her book project “The Transpacific Middle,” in support of which, Xiang, an assistant professor at Yale University, received an exploratory grant from the Hagley Center for the History of Business, Techn…

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HAGLEY HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH SALEM ELZWAY

ARMS OF THE STATE: A HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRIAL ROBOT IN POSTWAR AMERICA Gregory Hargreaves interviews Salem Elzway about his dissertation project “Arms of the State: A History of the Industrial Robot in Postwar America.” In support of his research, E…

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Hagley HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH TRISH KAHLE

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT: COAL & CITIZENSHIP IN THE AGE OF ENERGY CRISIS Gregory Hargreaves interviews Trish Kahle about her book project “The Graveyard Shift: Coal &Citizenship in the Age of Energy Crisis.” Kahle, assistant professor in the Edmun…

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Halloween at Hagley

Looking for a safe place to trick-or-treat this Halloween? Children are invited to come in costume and visit treat stations throughout the beautiful surroundings of Hagley’s powder yard. Halloween at Hagley features a trick-or-treat trail …

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH RACHEL LANCE

In In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine (Dutton, 2020) Lance documents how she developed and tested her own theory on the sinking of the HL Hunley, a Confederate submarine lost after sinking just o…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH BERNARDO BATIZ-LAZO

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Bernardo Batiz-Lazo about his book, Cash & Dash: How ATMs &Computers Changed Banking (Oxford, 2018). Batiz-Lazo, professor of FinTech History & GlobalTrade at Northumbria University, used Hagley collections r…

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HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH ISABELLE HELD

Gregory Hargreaves interviews Dr. Isabelle Marina Held about her recent research at Hagley, funded by one of our grants. Dr. Held, a recent PhD in the History of Design, used Hagley materials in her research on the “bombshell assembly line,” the adop…

HISTORY HANGOUT: CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN TENNENT

Dr. Kevin Tennent discusses his recent research at Hagley, funded by one of our grants. Dr. Tennent, Senior Lecturer at the University of York School of Management, used Hagley materials in his research on American industrial democracy between 1913 a…

History Hangout: Conversation with Laura Phillips Sawyer

Roger Horowitz interviews Laura Phillips Sawyer about her recent book, American Fair Trade: Proprietary Capitalism, Corporatism, and the 'New Competition,' 1890–1940 (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Sawyer, an associate profess…

History Hangout: Conversation with Joanne Yates and Craig N. Murphy

Roger Horowitz interviews JoAnne Yates and Craig N. Murphy about their recent book, Engineering Rules: Global Standard Setting since 1880 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019). JoAnne Yates (Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management, MIT…

History Hangout: Conversation with Ai Hisano

Roger Horowitz interviews Ai Hisano about her recent book, Visualizing Taste: How Business Changed the Look of What You Eat (Harvard University Press, 2019). Hisano, a senior lecturer at Kyoto University, used Hagley materials about…

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Free Admission Week

Hagley offers a week of free admission to all visitors from June 29 through July 5, 2020, to celebrate its reopening. No advance reservation is required, but admission will be monitored and capped at 250. If capacity is reached, new arrivals wil…

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Member Preview Weekend

Hagley members are invited to preview Hagley's re-opening that will include the Powder Yard Trail Experience and Sunday cannon firings. Cannon firings will take place near the Machine Shop on Sunday, June 28, at 1, 2, and 3 p.m. Visitors are invited…

Hagley Reopens!

Hagley will re-open on June 1, 2020, with visitation limited to Hagley Members. Click here for more information.

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Holidays at Hagley - November 27 through January 1

Holidays at Hagley Holidays at Hagley will feature Holiday Home and Garden Tours, the eighth-annual Gingerbread House Contest, Santa Day, Holiday Nights Tours, and more. November 27, 2025, through January 1, 2026 CLOSURES: Hagley closes at 2 p…

Free admission for current military members, veterans, and their families, November 9, 10, & 11. Enjoy cannon firings at 1, 2, and 3 p.m.

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Invisible magnetic fields can be used in so many ways. Build a magnet toy and tinker with the force! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join th…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Optical illusions and tricks of the mind will have you guessing what's real! Test out your perception and make a spinning disc picture. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in a…

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Hagley Craft Fair

Advance online tickets: $8 for adults, $6 for children 6-14. Hagley Members and children under 6 are free and do not need advance tickets. Onsite tickets: $12 Adults, $8 children 6-14, free for Hagley Members and children under 6. Celebrating 4…

Hayrides at Hagley

Families can take a hayride to experience the beautiful fall foliage at Hagley. The hayride route offers unique views of Eleutherian Mills, including the meadow, orchard, garden, residence, and other historic buildings. The ride will last…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Find out how sound is produced and create a musical instrument that will vibrate to make sound. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at an…

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Hagley Car Show

The Hagley Car Show brings together hundreds of antique and restored cars for what has been called “The Best Car Show in Delaware!” This year’s show includes more than 500 cars from the early 1900s through the late 1990s. The theme for Hagley's…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Learn how living things get their unique traits and discover what strawberry DNA looks like with out a microscope! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel fr…

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What’s for Dinner? A Tale of Two Gardens Walking Tour

Click here to reserve your walking tour ticket. NOTE: This ticket is for the tour only and does not include general admission (Hagley Members admitted free). Dig into two very different gardens – one fed the du Pont family and the other DuPont C…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Find out what causes earthquakes and how seismologists detect and measure them. Create your own seismograph! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to…

Explosions Tour at Hagley Museum

Click here to reserve your walking tour ticket. NOTE: This ticket is for the tour only and does not include general admission (Hagley Members admitted free). Visitors will experience in-depth the devastating power of black powder while exploring…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Explore the fascinating properties of different materials and how they shape the world around us. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Learn about the Summer Solstice and why we have different amounts of daylight throughout the year. Create your own model of the sun and earth! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a dr…

Independence Day

Free for all visitors as part of Hagley's Free Admission Week. No advance reservation is required, but admission will be monitored and capped at 250. If capacity is reached, new arrivals will wait until people exit to be admitted. At 1, 2, and 3…

H2 Oh! Waterpower Walking Tour

Click here to reserve your walking tour ticket. NOTE: This ticket is for the tour only and does not include general admission (Hagley Members admitted free). In the H2 Oh! walking tour, visitors discover the evolution of waterpower at Hagley fro…

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Fireworks at Hagley Presented by M&T Bank and Wilmington Trust

Don’t miss Delaware’s best fireworks show! This members-only event is a spectacular evening of family fun held two Fridays every Summer. This year, Hagley's Fireworks Shows will be held on Friday, June 13, and Friday, June 20, 2025. Rain dates a…

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Summer Nights at Hagley presented by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Relax and enjoy an after-work stroll along the Brandywine’s most beautiful mile on summer Wednesday evenings from June through August. Bring the whole family for summer fun in a beautiful outdoor setting. Bring a picnic or sample local food trucks.…

Memorial Day Weekend

Free admission for current military members and veterans. Enjoy the most beautiful mile of the Brandywine and cannon firings!

Sights, Sounds, and Smells Walking Tour (CANCELED)

This tour is canceled for Monday, September 25, 2023. Enjoy an in-depth, hands-on tour focused on gunpowder production in the Hagley Powder Yard and visit production areas rarely seen by guests. This tour ends with an explosive finish! Tour involves…

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Have a blast during your visit to Hagley with a demonstration of our signal cannon! Be prepared, it may seem small, but really packs a punch! Demonstrations take place next to the Millwright Shop in the historic powder yard. Demonstrations take plac…

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Hagley’s 5K Along the Brandywine

Join us for the Seventh Annual Hagley 5K/1K run/walk along the Brandywine River through the beautiful grounds of Hagley Museum. Hagley's 5K along the Brandywine - Registration fee is $25 through March 23, $35 beginning March 24.…

Free Day at Hagley sponsored by Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate

On Saturday, December 21, admission to Hagley will be free for all visitors courtesy of Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate. The holiday season at Hagley is a busy one - visit the Holidays at Hagley page to see everything you can enjoy that day. Hagley th…

Author Talk: ACCESSIBLE AMERICA: A HISTORY OF DISABILITY & DESIGN

Have you ever hit the big blue button to activate automatic doors? Have you ever used curb cuts to roll a stroller across an intersection? If so, then you have benefited from accessible design—design for people with physical, sensory, and cognitive d…

RESEARCH SEMINAR: DAVID SUISMAN

In 2015, the U.S. military spent approximately $435 million on music—nearly three times as much as the entire budget of the National Endowment for the Arts. This paper puts such an investment in historical perspective by examining the character and i…

RESEARCH SEMINAR: DANIEL WORTEL-LONDON

Between the 1870s and the 1930s New York City underwent a fiscal crisis approximately every twenty years. This paper examines the causes of and responses to the periodic fiscal crisis of late 19th and early 20th century New York. It argues…

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Author Talk: Bright Signals: A History of Color Television

Susan Murray will offer the featured author talk at Hagley this fall on her new book Bright Signals: A History of Color Television. Drawing creatively on the David Sarnoff and RCA materials now held by Hagley’s library, Murray will trace color t…

Center Fall Conference: “Commercial Pictures and the Arts and Technics…

The 2019 fall conference will convene an international group of scholars concerned with the power of pictures in the world of commerce. As pictures became a central feature of the advertising message in the second half of the nineteenth century,…

"The Day We Walked on the Moon" - Special Screening

On July 16, 1969, hundreds of thousands of spectators and an army of reporters gathered at Cape Kennedy to witness one of the great spectacles of the century: the launch of Apollo 11. Over the next few days, the world watched on with wonder and raptu…

Explaining Hamilton Mania

An evening talk will explore Hamilton, the Tony-winning musical about American statesman and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Dr. Richard Bell, a University of Maryland associate professor of history, will review what its succe…

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Fall Celebration Happy Hour

Hagley celebrates the return of the fall season with a member appreciation event on Thursday, October 3, at the Hagley Barn. Entertainment will be provided by The Acoustic Jam, a band from Newark, Delaware, which plays blues, country, folk, pop…

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Farm-to-Table Dinner

Please join us for the second annual members-only, family-style, Farm-to-Table dinner. This unique experience will be held on Tuesday, September 24, at 6 p.m. at the Hagley barn. Taste Catering of Columbus Inn has created a mouth-watering…

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Research Seminar: Denise Sutton

MARKETING LOVE: THE GLOBAL EXPANSION OF ROMANCE PUBLISHING COMPANIES MILLS & BOON AND HARLEQUIN ENTERPRISES, 1930-1990 When Harlequin Enterprises acquired British publisher Mills & Boon in 1972, the merged firm became the world’s dominan…

Holiday Nights at Hagley

Enjoy a rare opportunity to see Eleutherian Mills, the first du Pont family home built in America, dressed for the holidays and illuminated with softly glowing lights. This year’s theme, “Our Storied Past” reminisces upon holiday tales and traditions…

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Santa at Hagley

Santa stops by Hagley for a visit! Visitors are invited to include Santa in their festive holiday photo. Santa will be on break from 1 to 1:30 p.m. Gingerbread houses will be on display in the Hagley Barn for the annual Gingerbread House Contes…

SCIENCE SATURDAY PRESENTED BY YOUNG CONAWAY STARGATT & TAYLOR, LLP…

Use Newton's laws of motion to build a catapult and test out how far you can launch a projectile. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at…

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Explosions Tour at Hagley Museum

Despite DuPont's motto of "safety first" and the procedures they had in place to prevent them, gunpowder explosions at Hagley were inevitable. Learn about how they affected the lives of the workers and their families. Tour involves walking on un…

SCIENCE SATURDAY PRESENTED BY YOUNG CONAWAY STARGATT & TAYLOR, LLP…

Learn about buoyancy, density, and how boats stay afloat! Build your own boat and test how much cargo it can hold! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to…

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Independence Day

Free admission for military veterans and their families.

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What’s for Dinner? A Tale of Two Gardens Walking Tour at Hagley Museum

Dig into two very different gardens – one fed the du Pont family and the other DuPont Company workers in the nineteenth century. This tour explores the socioeconomic factors influencing the architecture, produce, and the philosophies of each garden.…

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Hagley’s Nineteenth-Century Faire

Step back in time to enjoy a festive fair with carnival games, period dancing, fresh lemonade, hand-cranked ice cream and so much more. Use Hagley’s main entrance off Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware. Included with regular admission, free for m…

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Free admission for military veterans and their families.

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Learn how to gauge the health of our local waterways by observing the variety of critters living in and around it. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel f…

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Apollo Spacesuits: History, Technology, and Culture

In July of 1969, the first men landed on the moon. But did you know the suits that made those first steps possible were created here in Delaware? In “Apollo Spacesuits: History, Technology, and Culture”, Dr. Lantry will discuss space suit…

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Writers in the Round

Click here to purchase tickets A bit of Nashville is coming to Delaware with a concert by singer-songwriters. This concert presents four local songwriters who will showcase their original music and engage with the audience on the creative process of…

Hagley's Invention Space Station

Enjoy your favorite Invention Convention activities over four winter weekends at Hagley's Invention Space Station. Tinkering Tables - Take apart machines to see what makes them tick. Create an Invention - Build your own incredible invention and apply…

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MakerFest Presented by Agilent Technologies

Click here to purchase tickets. Hagley is looking for Makers for the MakerFest! Click here to apply. Enjoy a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. This event features demonstr…

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SCIENCE SATURDAY PRESENTED BY YOUNG CONAWAY STARGATT & TAYLOR, LLP…

Discover the wondrous transformation from kitchen scraps to yard waste with Plastic Free Delaware! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at…

Black Friday Membership Special

Special offer for current and new members! This holiday season, enjoy the many benefits of Hagley membership with this Black Friday special. Join Hagley or renew your membership and save $15! Use this link and enter the code THANKS15 Offer…

Museum Store Sunday

On Sunday, December 1, 2019, more than 700 Museum Stores representing all fifty states, ten countries, and three continents will offer relaxing, inspired shopping inside your favorite museums and cultural institutions. Museum Store Su…

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Member Appreciation Event: Hagley’s Harvest Happy Hour

Hagley members are cordially invited to our Member Appreciation Event: Hagley’s Harvest Happy Hour. Celebrate the fall season and meet other Hagley Members! Listen to the sounds of The Acoustic Jam band, which plays blues, country, folk, p…

Research Seminar: Regina Lee Blaszczyk

THE SYNTHETICS REVOLUTION AND THE SENSES This paper examines the synthetics revolution in fashion and fibers within the context of the new field of the history of the senses. The story of the synthetics revolution—the introduction of man-made a…

Research Seminar: Jennifer Black

POLICING FAKES: EARLY TRADEMARK REGULATION IN THE U.S. This paper examines the problem of counterfeit goods in the antebellum years, contextualizing the rise of these products and their prosecution by the state within the "freewheeling mar…

Research Seminar: Jessica K. Burch

A NEW DEAL FOR DIRECT SALES: HOW DIRECT SALES FIRMS HELPED CREATE MODERN NON-EMPLOYMENT, 1910–1935 Direct sales firms utilize a model of independent labor that can be traced back to the peddlers of the colonial period. With the creation of the New De…

Research Seminar: Laura Puaca

DOMESTICATING DISABILITY: THE CREATION OF ASSISTIVE DEVICES FOR DISABLED HOMEMAKERS IN THE POST-WWII U.S. Thursday, January 10, 2019 This analysis of gender, technology, and disability will explore the creation and implementation of assistive devices…

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Author Talk: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs: How the 1960…

From fair trade coffee and organic foods to “shop small” and “buy local” campaigns, the notion of ethical consumption has pervaded many aspects of our daily lives. In this talk, historian Joshua Clark Davis will uncover the roots of these movem…

Author Talk: Julius Rosenwald: From Sears Executive to Passionate Phil…

Julius Rosenwald (1862–1932) rose from modest means as the son of a peddler to meteoric wealth at the helm of Sears, Roebuck. Yet his most important legacy stands not upon his business acumen but on the pioneering changes he introduced to the practic…

Nineteenth-Century Faire with Flair

Join us for Hagley's Nineteenth-Century Faire with Flair! Experience fun games, food tastings, and activities from the nineteenth century. Coordinated by the Hagley Youth Leadership Program. Faire activities are included with admission. Rain date is…

Farm To Table Dinner

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. We apologize for any inconvenience. Remember to book early next year! The gardens at Hagley were used as food sources by the du Pont family and the powder yard workers and their families. For one-night only, we're hosting a…

Author Talk: Sarah Igo, “Invasions of Privacy: An American History”

Privacy – and the threats to it – are everyday items in our news, and a worry to many in our digital age. Sarah Igo, a professor of history at Vanderbilt University, will explain how our concerns about privacy have a history stretching back to the la…

Research Seminar: The Transformation of the Cold War U.S. Military

Facing a military of unprecedented size and scope after World War II, leaders in the U.S. Department of Defense recruited managers from private industry to help them run the Cold War national security state. Attendees are encouraged to read Murp…

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Research Seminar: Seth Lunine

Attendees are encouraged to read Lunine's paper, “Groundbreaking Technology: California Dynamite and the Eastern Frontier, 1866-1886” which may be obtained by contacting Carol Lockman at clockman@hagley.org. Free, reply requested, call (30…

Research Seminar: Nadia Berenstein

Attendees are encouraged to read Berenstein's paper, “A Flavor You Can’t Forget: NuGrape Soda, Synthetic Chemistry, and Modern Thirst,” which may be obtained by contacting Carol Lockman at clockman@hagley.org. Free, reply reques…

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Summer Break Activities

School’s out for summer - don’t let the brain drain happen on your watch! Bring the kids to Hagley this summer and try some fun learning activities for families. The second floor of the Visitor Center will feature various activities daily all summer…

Author Talk: Benjamin Gross - "The TVs of Tomorrow: RCA and the I…

Did you know that RCA was hard at work on a flat panel television in the 1950s? Ben Gross, vice president for research and scholarship at the Linda Hall Library, will explain how RCA’s imaginative leader David Sarnoff set his talented scientists and…

Dinner with a View

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. We hope you can join us next time! Take advantage of this unique opportunity to enjoy dinner by the Brandywine and a guided walking tour through Hagley’s gardens. Includes a boxed dinner prepared by the Belin House Organic Caf…

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Spring Break Family Fun

Trying to find something fun to do with the kids during spring break? Plan a trip to Hagley! The second floor of the Visitor Center will feature fun activities for families and Easy Does It! will be open for visitors to explore. Activities begin at 1…

Hagley Center Fall Conference "Seeing like a Capitalist: Historie…

The 2018 fall conference of the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society will explore the history of commercial surveillance in the United States, from settlement to the present. For more information, please see the call for…

Hayrides at Hagley

Take a hayride along the Brandywine to experience the beautiful fall foliage in the Powder Yard. Guests can create fall-themed crafts, and see a gunpowder explosion, roll mill in action, and working nineteenth-century machines. Included with admissio…

Thanksgiving Weekend Family Programming

Bring your family and friends to enjoy the holidays at Hagley. While in the Visitor Center, visit Santa's Workshop (although Santa may not be home!) and view the entries of the gingerbread house competition. Visit Eleutherian Mills, the du Pont famil…

Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

Did you know trees can recognize their kin? In collaboration with Delaware Forest Service and the Brandywine Zoo, visitors will learn about the amazing ways that trees work together. Create a mini forest from cardboard. Visitors of all ages are invit…

SCIENCE SATURDAY PRESENTED BY YOUNG CONAWAY STARGATT & TAYLOR, LLP…

Discover the plethora of pigments that come from natural sources and use them to create a piece of art! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the f…

Sights, Sounds, Smells Walking Tour at Hagley Museum

Visitors experience an in-depth, hands-on tour focused on gunpowder production in the Hagley Powder Yard and visit production areas rarely seen by guests. This tour ends with an explosive finish. Tour involves walking on uneven ground. Included in ad…

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Science Saturday Presented by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP…

How do we generate power from wind? Build and test your own wind turbine to find out! Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity, feel free to join the fun at any time. Ac…

Independence Day

Celebrate Independence Day at Hagley! Enjoy cannon firings in the Hagley Powder Yard at 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30 p.m., and Hagley's Bike & Hike & Brews from 5 to 8 p.m. Free admission for military veterans.

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Stroll into Fall at Hagley presented by The Kenny Family Foundation/Sh…

Stroll into Fall at Hagley! Hagley's property will be open to give visitors a unique opportunity to take a leisurely walk to the residence and garden, normally only accessible by bus. The 3-mile roundtrip walk to the family home and back will be…

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Research Seminar — “DuPont and the Limits of Corporate Environmentalis…

Adam Rome, University at Buffalo, will discuss his paper "DuPont and the Limits of Corporate Environmentalism." Author's abstract for the seminar paper: In 1989, Edgar Woolard began his tenure as CEO of the chemical giant DuPont by calli…

Author Talk — Private Pilots and the Rise of Civil Aviation

In his talk, Alan Meyer provides an engaging account of private aviation, taking the audience inside a community that required exceptionally high skill levels, celebrated facing and overcoming risk, and encouraged fierce personal independence. …

Summer Camp at Hagley

Summer Camp at Hagley offers day camps with experiences ranging from STEAM discovery to old-school fun. Campers can journey back to the 19th century or use STEAM concepts to complete challenges and bring new ideas to life. Ages: 7-12. Prices: $290 to…

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Invention Convention Presented by Agilent Technologies

Hagley's Invention Convention, held April 30 and May 1, 2022, returns with science shows, robotics demonstrations, and hands-on activities. In our two science shows, “Cool Chemistry” and “Fun with Physics,” sometimes-intimidating subjects l…

Walking Tour: Sights, Sounds, and Smells

In this walking tour of the powder yard, guests experience an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the black powder process and can try their hand at graining some powder. The tour ends with an explosive finish! Tour involves walking on uneven ground.…

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Walking Tour: Workers' World

Discover the fascinating stories of the immigrant workers who lived along the Brandywine and worked for the DuPont Company in the black powder manufactory. This is the only tour that offers in-depth commentary on Workers’ Hill. Tour involves walking…

Walking Tour: Rocks and Roll Mills

Click here to reserve your walking tour ticket. NOTE: This ticket is for the tour only and does not include general admission (Hagley Members admitted free). Visitors explore the geology of the Brandywine Valley and its impact on the milling ind…

Golden Pheasants Game Dinner

The Game Dinner is SOLD OUT. Contact Kim Kelleher at kkelleher@hagley.org or (302) 658-2400, ext. 235, if you would like to be added to a wait list. Robin Kusumi, Golden Pheasants Committee Member, will discuss Hagley's Seagram Collection a…

Thanksgiving Weekend Family Programming

Bring your family and friends to enjoy the holidays at Hagley. Head up to Workers’ Hill where you can sample individually wrapped cookies outside the Gibbons House and peek into a nineteenth century kitchen where cookies would have been baked in a wo…

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