PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — “Flash! Bang! Boom! A History of Fireworks” at the Science History Institute is a blast.
“Our newest exhibition, ‘Flash! Bang! Boom! A History of Fireworks,’ explores the history of science behind this exciting and ephemeral way that we often celebrate the Fourth of July,” says Jesse Smith, co-curator of the exhibition.
Smith is also the Science History Institute’s vice president of interpretation and education and director of the museum.
Visitors get a literal look inside the aerial shells that burst into those sparkly explosions.
“These are called stars, and this is basically what’s burning when you’re seeing a firework,” says Smith.
He says the appeal of fireworks comes from it being such a “multisensory experience.”
“We really think of fireworks as a kind of social technology. It brings people together,” he says.
The exhibition is organized according to the different elements of a fireworks show.
“So making fireworks, testing, designing, launching and selling,” he says. “We can trace the origins of fireworks to the invention of black powder in China.”
It is believed the Chinese were the first to make fireworks.
“The kinds of fireworks that you would see today on the Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve, those are really derived from the fireworks that Italian immigrants brought to the United States around the turn of the 20th century,” he says.
American Fireworks was founded in Hudson, Ohio in 1902. A few of the company’s recipe books are on view.
“Fireworks are a relatively simple technology and what you see in the sky is based on the physical arrangement of the chemicals in the shell, and also the chemical composition of those elements,” says Smith.
Beautiful artwork shows how different fireworks have looked over time.
“The most significant advancements in fireworks came in the 1800s, when we had new chemicals that were available to create new effects, and especially, to bring new colors to fireworks,” he says.
Safety is also explored.
“We hope visitors to the Science History Institute learn something more about the world,” says Smith. “We also hope that we help them see the world in new ways, and ask questions of the world around them, and think historically about the sciences that have really shaped our lives.”
“Flash! Bang! Boom! A History of Fireworks” is on view through July 31, 2027 at the Science History Institute.
For more information:
“Flash! Bang! Boom! A History of Fireworks” | Science History Institute
Science History Institute
315 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106
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