Photo courtesy of Penn Museum.

There’s a cool free event tomorrow at the Penn Museum and also check out other museum offerings this summer.

Firstly, in July and August, the Penn Museum (3260 South St) is offering admission for a third off the regular price. Adults, seniors, and children get in for one cool price: $10. As always, Penn Museum members, children under 6, PennCard holders and active military enjoy free admission. And through Labor Day weekend, active military families also get in for free.

And here’s a reminder of special summer activities community members are invited to enjoy during the summer months.

• Summer Nights Wednesday evening concert series. A diverse line up of music, a laid back outdoor vibe, as the Museum stays open. Optional gallery tours between sets! 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., through September 3.
• Summer Wonder Family Programs. International, interactive, and fun. Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. in July. (air-conditioned)
• Unearthed in the Archives. Fridays at 2 p.m. Join archivist Alessandro Pezzati and staff as they pull out a gem from the Museum’s archives—and bring Museum stories to life. (air-conditioned)
• Award-winning outdoor gardens. Penn Museum’s lush urban gardens feature sculptures and fountains by Alexander Stirling Calder, places to sit or eat, even a reflective koi pool.
• In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies. Conservators at work open their windows twice a day to chat with visitors. (air-conditioned gallery and workspace)
• Free bottled water at the admission desks, while supplies last.

This Thursday, July 10, Penn Museum is hosting a free event, This Planet is Doomed, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Sun Ra’s arrival on Earth. It will be an evening of poetry, futuristic sounds, archival films and an Afro-Futurist dance party dedicated to the jazz master and longtime Philadelphia resident who would have been 100 this year. This special multi-disciplinary event will feature readings of Sun Ra’s remarkable science fiction poetry by Pew Fellow CAConrad, writer Ras Mashramani, and Sun Ra biographer John Szwed, accompanied by the sounds of Buchla Music Easel pioneer Charles Cohen. The readings will be followed by an Afrofuturist dance party with DJs Anthony Campuzano and Jack Sloss spinning a music mix that includes the sounds of Sun Ra and his legendary Arkestra. Projections of a selection of archival Sun Ra films, courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, will provide the backdrop, and a cash bar will be available.

The event will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. For more information, visit the Penn Museum website.

By the way, parts of Robert Mugges’s 1980 film Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise were shot in the Penn Museum’s Lower Egyptian Gallery (check out the video below):