More than 100 Years of Learning and Culture
The History
For more than a century, the Reading Public Museum has been at the forefront of hands-on learning. RPM’s enthusiasm for providing rich, tactile experiences sparks curiosity and learning for visitors of all ages in the areas of science, art, history, and more!
A World of Curiosities
In the decades that followed, The Museum developed a world-class collection of more than 300,000 objects, including art, antiquities, and scientific and cultural artifacts from around the globe. Thanks to RPM’s sponsors and generous community support, the collection continues to grow and diversify.
Echoes of the Past, Visions of the Future
Dr. Mengel’s dedication to sensory education was ahead of its time, and the work he began continues today. RPM’s cutting-edge interactive exhibits offer visitors inspiring, hands-on learning opportunities that are unique to The Museum, and there’s always something new to see and do.
A Classroom Collection
Dr. Levi W. Mengel, founder and first director of the Reading Public Museum, wholeheartedly believed in the value of a “sensory education.” As a teacher at Reading High School, Dr. Mengel used his personal collection of antiquities in his teaching to help bring history alive for his students in the early 1900s. He recognized that young minds hunger for active participation and personal experience, and he continued collecting scientific and anthropological materials to use as teaching aids.
Thanks to donations from Dr. Mengel and nearly 2,000 pieces acquired at the St. Louis World’s Fair, Reading students could see, touch, and learn about objects from around the globe. In 1907, the third floor of the Reading School District administration building was converted into a museum to provide students with exciting hands-on learning experiences.
An Extraordinary Gift
With the addition of several paintings to the fledgling museum’s collection, Dr. Mengel’s creation was renamed the Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery in 1913 and opened to the public. As The Museum’s collection continued to expand, it became clear that it would eventually outgrow its home. The Museum’s present location, which welcomed its first visitors in 1928, was a generous donation to the Reading School District from local industrialists Ferdinand Thun and Irvin F. Impink.