Chocolate: The Exhibition on Display at Academy of Natural Sciences

The sumptuous world of chocolate is being explored at Chocolate: The Exhibition at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia that opens Oct. 11.

The exhibit, presented by Mars Chocolate North America, traces the intriguing story of this “food of the gods” from its origin as a unique tropical rain forest plant to the Maya who made it into a spicy ceremonial drink, to the Aztecs who used cacao seeds as currency, to the Spanish who added sugar and transformed the bitter drink of kings to the sensuous sweet millions of people crave today. 

On view through Jan. 24, Chocolate is presented in both Spanish and English. There is a $5 fee to enter the exhibit in addition to regular museum admission. Visitors to Chocolate: The Exhibition will explore the plant, the products, the history and the culture of chocolate through the lenses of botany and ecology, anthropology and economics, conservation and popular culture. 

Attendees can stand beneath a cacao tree in a lush rain forest replica and examine cacao seed pods up close; engage with animated modern-day machinery that turns cacao from seed to sweet, solid bar; follow a cacao harvest on a Mexican plantation and cacao’s preparation for market; barter cacao seeds for goods in an Aztec market and learn about Quetzalcoatl, the god who brought the sacred source of chocolate to the Aztec; and admire beautiful porcelain and silver chocolate services from Europe.

“Chocolate: The Exhibition will change the way you enjoy chocolate,” said Jennifer Sontchi, director of exhibits. “The fun of the exhibit is that afterward, every bite of chocolate you taste is richer for what you learned about it here.”Mars Chocolate History Ambassadors will share chocolate’s rich journey through time in hands-on chocolate demonstrations and American Heritage Chocolate drink tastings throughout the course of the exhibit. Hot chocolate bars, a beer and chocolate tasting, and other activities are planned. For more information, visit www.ansp.org.