The Free Library will host students from Philadelphia's celebrated Science Leadership Academy for a ladies-only program about cars, their care, and the role they play in our lives.

With Special Guest Dr. Frederick Simeone

On Friday, October 22, twenty female students from the Science Leadership Academy will get a chance to learn everything they ever wanted to know about cars and more by rolling up their sleeves and getting under the hood.

Recently appearing on the Ladies’ Home Journal list of America’s 10 Most Amazing Schools, the Science Leadership Academy, operated in partnership with the Franklin Institute, uses few textbooks and employs instead a ‘learning by doing’ method of education.

Learning by doing is exactly what the students will be doing under the careful tutelage of automotive technician Lori Johnson, instructor for Ladies, Start Your Engines. An automotive repair class just for women, the class gives them not only basic knowledge of cars and instruction in light maintenance but also confidence in talking to automotive technicians when a vehicle needs service.

The program will begin with a special visit from one of the city’s most distinguished gear heads, renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Frederick Simeone, whose lifelong love of all things automotive has culminated in the Simeone Foundation Museum. Assembled over a span of 50 years by the good doctor himself, the Museum collection contains over 60 of the rarest and most significant racing sports cars ever built. Dr. Simeone will provide the students with some perspective on the tremendous role the automobile has played in shaping human society, and the impact it has had not only on civilization but also on the way in which we perceive ourselves.

Responsible for conceiving and coordinating this event is the staff of the Free Library's Automobile Reference Collection. Founded in 1948 when socialite and antique car collector Thomas McKean presented his personal collection to the Free Library of Philadelphia, the "ARC" is one of the largest public archives of automotive literature in the USA. Housed on the 2nd floor of the Parkway Central Library, visiting patrons may access materials in the collection via the reference desk in the Business, Science and Industry Department, or by contacting the Automobile Reference librarian by phone or email: 215-686-5404; erefarc@freelibrary.org.