Get to Know the Schuylkill River - Kayak Program
2025-06-21 10:30 - 14:30 (America/New_York) | Fairmount Water Works, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130, United States
Start at Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center: collect water samples from the river and try your hand at identifying some of the microlife we’ll find. Explore the history of Philadelphia’s innovative water supply system. Get to know the freshwater mussel species we are propagating in our hatchery.
After a brief lunch break (bring your own), we will hike down the Schuylkill River Trail (about 1 mile) to the Walnut Street Dock, where kayaks await. Hidden River Outfitters will give a brief orientation to paddling and then we’ll get into our kayaks and out on the river!
This program is geared towards families with youth ages 12 and up. (12 years is the minimum age allowed). All participants must sign a kayak waiver, and participants aged 12-18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who will need to sign the minor’s kayak waiver.
Meet at Fairmount water Works at 10:30am. Space is limited; 20-person maximum. Advance registration required. Fee: $10/person.
This program is made possible through a partnership between Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center and Schuylkill River Development Corporation.
A bus will be available at Walnut Street to take participants back to FWWIC instead of walking back, if desired.
Email stacey.heffernan@phila.gov, Environmental Education Planner, FWWIC, for more information.

Curator-Led Tour of CONFLUENCE
2025-06-21 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-06-21 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-07-12 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-07-12 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-07-26 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-07-26 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-07-26 15:00 - 16:00 | Fairmount Water Works, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130, United States
ART EXHIBIT TOURS
CONFLUENCE: 3rd ANNUAL ART EXHIBIT AT FWWIC
We welcome visitors to register in advance for personal and engaging tours with Thom Duffy, Curator. Visitors will also be greeted by contributing artists. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from artists who are featured in this special exhibition !
Register HERE.

Wawa Welcome America Free Museum Day: Propagating Mussels
2025-06-25 10:00 - 15:00 | PA
Propagation of Freshwater Mussels
A trial for propagating freshwater mussels is tentatively scheduled for June 25th.Visitors will see our scientists at work inoculating Largemouth Bass with Eastern Pondmussel glochidia. Eastern Pondmussel is one of the native freshwater mussel species we can still find in our local rivers. Learn about the freshwater mussel’s unique life cycle and about our research and interest in restoring populations of these filter feeders in the Delaware River watershed. In the event the trial needs to be postponed, we will have a simulation of the propagation trial for visitors. Our Wet Lab will be set up with hands-on activities and games about freshwater mussels to help visitors get to know this fascinating critter and understand why the Philadelphia Water Department is investing in this kind of innovative approach in source water management.

Pop-Up: Pollinator Workshop
2025-06-28 11:00 - 14:00 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130
Pollinator Workshop Pop-Up
Celebrate National Pollinator Month 2025 with us! Explore pollinators by playing games, doing a scavenger hunt and making a bee hotel! Free, no registration needed – just drop in! Limited supplies for the bee hotel: first come, first served.

Location: Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive 19130

FLOW INTO SUMMER: Book Giveaway
2025-06-28 14:00 - 16:00 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130

CITY HOLIDAY-BUILDING CLOSED
2025-07-04 | PA

Lafayette Historic Tour of Fairmount Water Works
2025-07-12 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-07-19 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-09-13 10:00 - 11:30 | Fairmount Water Works, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130, United States
The Marquis de Lafayette was 19 when he first came to America in 1777 to fight for its freedom. When he returned in August, 1824 for his farewell tour he was 67. At the end of his tour, in the summer of 1825, Lafayette visited Philadelphia once more, specifically to see the dedication of the Fairmount Water Works with a tour by the watering committee. He referred to it as “the perfect embodiment of the American Government, in which were combined simplicity, power, and economy.”
Join us for a guided interpretation of the 1815 engineering marvel that so impressed Lafayette on his Philadelphia visit. Tours will include excerpts from the extensive writings of both Lafayette and his secretary, Auguste Levasseur, about their experience at the site, that is now designated a Historic Landmark building.
Open to all. Free. Registration preferred.
Open to all, free admission

Bodies of Water
2025-07-12 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-07-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130
The Naked Stark is a Partner in Movement at Fairmount Water Works. Come and celebrate the first performance of their residency!
Free performances will be shown in tandem with free gallery tours of the Fairmount Water Works’ new art exhibit “CONFLUENCE.”
May 3, 12 PM & 12:30 PM
Come for am art tour at 11pm and stay for a dance performance at 12pm!
Come for a dance performance at 12:30 and stay for an art tour at 1pm!

Schuylkill Acts & Impacts
2025-07-13 07:00 - 2025-07-18 17:00 | PA
This program is filled. Information will be available about next year’s program in January 2026. Check our website!

PHILLY FUN FISHING FEST 2025
2025-09-06 07:00 - 11:00 | Schuylkill Banks on the Schuylkill River Trail between Locust and Chestnut Streets, Schuylkill Banks on the Schuylkill River Trail between Locust and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, 19130, United States
Join us on the Schuykill Banks for the annual Fish Fest!
There will be fishing gear for you to borrow and prizes for you to win! Kids and beginners welcome. For more information and to register, click here.

The Delaware River Festival
2025-09-27 10:00 - 16:00 | Penn’s Landing
The Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center is excited to be a part the Delaware River Festival!
Enjoy a ride on the RiverLink Ferry between Philadelphia and Camden…
Visit the Independence Seaport Museum…
Spend time on the water at Paddle Penn’s Landing…
Live bird shows…
Get your face painted…
Learn from environmental exhibitors…
Win prizes from the scavenger hunt…
Views of sailboats racing in the Philadelphia Cup Regatta
…and so much more!
More info at www.delawareriverfest.org.

Bodies of Water
2025-09-27 13:00 - 15:00 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130
Bodies of Water
The Naked Stark
Art for Young Audiences, Dance, Immersive & Interactive Experience
Meet The Naked Stark at Fairmount Water Works!
Our 10th annual community gathering offers a glimpse into our process and a sneak peek into our 2026 production. Dive into an exploration of water, time and space celebrating the site’s architecture, and the mosaic of memories in the former Kelly Pool.
Bodies of Water co-creators, Amalia Colón-Nava, Chloe Marie, Harlee Trautman, Katherine Kiefer Stark, Marcie Mamura, and Meredith Stapleton, navigate the interplay of each performers’ relationship to water. We are at once streams flowing together and humans making space for each other, carrying and being carried along, discovering the power and possibilities that emerge when we come together.
This piece is an offering to drift, pause, and plunge into a shared inquiry of place and process; a phase in an ever evolving project. We invite you to enter the current of unfolding together, between the seen and unseen, and the water nearby.
Join us for a performance and reception as we discover mutual buoyancy, find each other in the vastness, dive through turbulence, and surface together.
The event is 1-3pm, featuring three experiences, including a 20 minute performance. The event ends with a reception open to all.
This event is for all ages – meet us at the river!

The Green City, Clean Waters Tour of the Fairmount Water Works
2025-10-11 13:00 - 14:30 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130
Philadelphia is spending billions of dollars to direct rain into the ground instead of the river. Join us as we tour examples of green stormwater infrastructure from Lloyd Hall of Boathouse Row to the South Garden of the Fairmount Water Works. Learn about the environmental, economic and social benefits of this 25-year initiative to green our city and redirect stormwater runoff. Our walk will also continue inside the building and include a video of the site’s history, exhibits and a visit to our freshwater mussel lab and hatchery.

Disease, Public Health and Fairmount Water Works Tour
2025-11-08 13:00 - 14:30 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130
Learn how an epidemic influenced the transition from wells to using the Schuylkill River as a drinking water source for Philadelphia. Throughout the history of the Fairmount Water Works, disease and the interest in public health played a role in how we treat our water and our landscape. Join us as we discuss the diseases, the presumed cures and public health solutions as we explore our outside site, inside exhibits, and our freshwater mussel research lab.

Pop-Up: River Crafts and Collaging
2025-11-29 11:00 - 14:00 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130
Did you know we have an insect in our river that makes its own home from the environment? Collage custom caddisfly cases with found objects from in and around the Schuylkill River.
This is fun for the whole family ! No registration needed. Just drop-in and let your creativity flow! No charge.

Watering Committee to Water Department: History of Fairmount Water Works
2025-12-06 10:00 - 11:30 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130
Join us for a guided interpretation of the 1815 engineering marvel that is the Fairmount Water Works, a National Historic Landmark. Find answers to questions on how the Water Department over centuries has provided water to the people of Philadelphia. We will explore what has been, and continues to be, a major tourist attraction exciting visitors such as Lafayette, Mark Twain and Charles Dickens. We will finish our tour inside viewing our exhibits and ending at our freshwater mussel lab.

OPEN 10am-1pm
2025-12-24, 2025-12-31 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130

Holiday - Building Closed
2025-12-25 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130

Pop-Up: Wondrous World of Winter Adaptations
2025-12-26 11:00 - 14:00, 2025-12-27 11:00 - 14:00 | Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, 640 Water Works Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19130
Join us for a winter POP-UP!
Learn how cold-blooded residents of the Schuylkill River survive in the winter. Then get creative and design your own aquatic invertebrate to take home!
All ages. No registration needed. Just drop in!
FREE
