Programs and Events
Water Walk Weekend: Discovering Dock Creek
EXPLORE H2O THROUGH HISTORY, SCIENCE AND ART
September 20 – 21, 10 a.m.– 5 p.m. (Check each event for specific times)
APS Museum and other nearby locations in Old City
All events are FREE (unless otherwise noted)
Inspired by Dock Creek, an ancient tidal stream that used to wend its way through colonial Philadelphia, this weekend is dedicated to H2O, explored through history, science and art.
11 DIFFERENT EVENTS AT 5 NEARBY LOCATIONS:
● APS Museum, Philosophical Hall, 104 South 5TH Street
Experience an exhibition, a virtual Philly sewer tour, and book arts workshop
● APS’s Jefferson Garden, South 5TH Street
See water quality demos by Fairmount Waterworks and Stroud Water Research
● Independence Living History Center Archaeology Lab, Chestnut & 3RD Street
Discover archeological finds from Dock Creek privies and wells!
● Independence National Historic Park, Walnut & Chestnut between 3RD & 5TH Streets
An artist’s installation, an artist’s performance, and a tour of historic Todd House
● Penn’s Landing
Explore the Seaport Museum and enjoy a rockin’ Delaware River festival
SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS…
Water Walk Weekend Self-Guided Tour
Enjoy this activity-filled tour of Philadelphia’s historic district for adults and families that is centered around an art installation in Independence National Historical Park. Titled Drawing Dock Creek, this art work challenges us to see anew a now-buried waterway. The Water Walk tour is filled with interactive, hands-on activities that highlight conservation, environmental stewardship of our freshwater resources, and the history of Philadelphia’s public water system.
● Stop 1: APS Museum, Philosophical Hall, 104 South 5TH Street, 10 a.m.– 4 p.m.
- Pick-up a Water Walk Weekend map.
- View UNDAUNTED, an exhibition about five explorers. Get to know Philadelphian Ruth Patrick, one of the explorers, who pioneered the science of freshwater ecology.
- Take a “Virtual Sewer Tour” with historian Adam Levine, featuring fascinating images from the Philadelphia Water Department. (20-minute presentations begin at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30.)
- Create a hand-made book using historic images and recent photographs of Dock Creek in a workshop taught by University of the Arts book artists Rosae Reeder and Kay Healy.
● Stop 2: APS’s Jefferson Garden, South 5TH Street, 10 a.m.– 4 p.m.
- Learn about river health and water quality through interactive demonstrations led by Meg Malloy of the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center.
- Act as a “stream scientist.” Vivian Williams from the Stroud Water Research Center uses hands-on activities to show visitors how to identify macroinvertebrates (tiny aquatic insects) and interpret what they tell us about the water quality of the Schuylkill River. (Sunday only)
(Rain location for Jefferson Garden activities is Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut)
● Stop 3: Independence Living History Center Archaeology Lab, Chestnut and 3RD Streets, 10 a.m.– 4 p.m.
- See the archaeological fragments from a recent dig in historic wells and privies in the area. Jed Levin, head archaeologist for Independence National Historical Park, will talk about new evidence of the severe pollution of Philadelphia’s drinking water in the 18th century.
● Stop 4: Independence National Historic Park, Walnut and Chestnut between 3RD and 5TH Streets
- Follow the whitewash lines that trace ancient Dock Creek. Guides will lead visitors along artist Winifred Lutz’s extraordinary two-block long art installation titled Drawing Dock Creek, bringing the long-buried waterway back to life.
- Tour Todd House, and learn about a family that lived along the creek (Tours of both Drawing Dock Creek and Todd House begin in the second-floor lobby of the APS Museum at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00.)
- Watch a live outdoor performance, “Tann, Horns, & Dead Dogs: Tales of Civic Effluvia,” by artist-in-residence Brett Keyser of the performance troupe Nightjar Apothecary. In a raucous blend of humor and history, you’ll find wordplay and wild invention are an unlikely eulogy for the creek that became a sewer. (Saturday and Sunday: starting at 4 p.m., Independence National Historic Park, enter at 3rd and Chestnut)
● Stop 5: Penn’s Landing, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m.
- Explore the Independence Seaport Museum’s exhibition Once Upon the Delaware, a history of the Penn’s Landing waterfront and Dock Creek (reduced admission on Saturday).
- Enjoy Southeastern Pennsylvania Coast Day, sponsored by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. This festival celebrates the Delaware waterfront history and spotlights the current environmental concerns and conservation efforts. Take part in the interactive displays, food and fun. (Saturday only)
What Is/Was Dock Creek
Once upon a time, there was a tidal stream that ran from the Delaware River through what is now Independence Park. It was called Dock Creek, and in the 18th and early 19th century it went from pristine creek to polluted sewer to underground waterway. Over the past five months, sculptor Winifred Lutz has created a “river” through Independence National Historical Park where Dock Creek once flowed. Whitewash lines over cobble, slate, and brick mark this site-specific installation, called Drawing Dock Creek. In September near Third and Walnut Streets, Lutz animates the “creek” with thousands of blue elastic bands stretched from “shore-to-shore” over the swale of the dry creek bed. Signage and a map trace the Creek’s ecological history from chestnut groves to tanneries and slaughterhouses. The work is on view through September 27.
More about Drawing Dock Creek
Partnering Host Organizations
About the Delaware Estuary
www.delawareestuary.org
About the Fairmount Waterworks Interpretive Center
www.fairmountwaterworks.org
APS Museum, 1–4 p.m.
2008: September 14, October 12; November 9; December 14
September 14, Stream Studies with Vivian Williams of the Stroud Water Research Center
October 12, Surveyor's Chain Book with Kay Healy of the University of the Arts
November 9, Audubon’s Bugs of America with Greg Cowper of the Academy of Natural Sciences
December 14, Collection Containers with APS book conservator Denise Carbone and artist Martin Campos
Enjoy family-friendly afternoons in the APS Museum on the second Sunday of each month. Enjoy two Science Sundays (September 14 and October 12) and two Book Arts Sundays (November 9 and December 14). Second Sundays are suitable for families with children five and above.
Science Sundays feature interactive science projects inspired by the UNDAUNTED exhibition. Come learn from an expert about compasses and surveying, find out how to make a mini-microscope laboratory, or see a demonstration of "stuffing" birds—the preparation of bird specimens for scientific study.
Book Arts Sundays feature hands-on bookmaking projects led by professional artists. Inspired by objects and concepts found in the current exhibition, you can make a different book each Second Sunday, using special papers and methods. Come for one Sunday or drop in every Second Sunday to enhance your artistic skills and create your own collection of unique, handmade books.
Contact the Museum at museum@amphilsoc.org for more information on Second Sunday events.
back to top
Secret Cinema Film Series
APS Museum, 7 - 9 p.m.
2008: October 29 and November 5
View a two-film series about exploration, observation, and other themes in the UNDAUNTED exhibition. After each cinematic adventure, enjoy light refreshments and engage in a discussion about each film and its relevance to past and present-day issues. The featured films are:
● Nanook of the North, 1922 (Wednesday, October 29)
In Robert Flaherty's famous documentary, Nanook, an Inuit hunter, and his family struggle to survive harsh conditions in the upper Hudson Bay region. Nanook of the North was the first full-length, anthropological documentary in cinematographic history.● The Sky Above, the Mud Below, 1961 (Wednesday, November 5)
In 1959, documentarian/adventurer Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau organized a seven-month expedition deep into the heart of New Guinea, accompanied by six fellow explorers, four soldiers, and 60 bearers. The expedition encounters many challenges such as headhunters, cannibals, leeches, and swarms of insects while they cross the rugged landscape. The film won the 1962 Academy Award for "best documentary feature.”
Keep Informed of APS Museum Events
To receive e-mail announcements of APS Museum exhibitions, programs, and events, subscribe to our mailing list.
Volunteer at the APS Museum
If you would like to volunteer for the APS Museum, we would like to hear from you! Email Jackson Shellenberger, Marketing Coordinator, at jshellenberger@amphilsoc.org for more information.
