Franklin Institute
The history of this Philadelphia icon of culture and science is quite interesting. Today it is a popular museum dedicated to educating young and old in science, engineering, and modern innovation, however the original institution was founded in 1824 by a group of Philadelphian industrialists to promote the mechanical arts in the spirit of Benjamin Franklin who had a persistent passion for the useful sciences. Operated more as a club and think tank, membership quickly grew throughout the rest of the 19th century, even allowing women and African Americans to join. Just one year after establishment, famed architect John Haviland designed the institute’s new home at 15 S. Seventh Street. Annual exhibitions honoring American industry gave rise to the coveted Franklin Institute Award which manufacturers would proudly advertise. Lectures and publications proliferated inspiring a new generation of innovators. The Franklin Institute was a key contributor to the historic 1876 Centennial Exhibition that profoundly shaped our nation’s scientific advances and has left it’s footprint in Philadelphia still to this day. So endeared to the public, the Institute was able to raise $5.1 million in two weeks during the Great Depression to start construction on a new museum, which opened in 1934 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Today, this museum remains in the same building, expanded on and renovated over time. The Franklin Institute holds the Fels Planetarium, just the second of its kind in the United States. The famous giant walk-through heart appeared in 1954, and an IMAX theater appeared in 1990. Today visitors experience a vast array of exciting yet educational exhibits with topics ranging from electricity to the mechanics of sports to space travel to how your brain works, along with the latest innovations such as AR and Virtual reality. Most times throughout the year, an area of the museum is dedicated to a special traveling exhibit. The timed tickets for this portion are separate and often sell out quickly so reservations must be made in advance to avoid disappointment in line. At the time of this writing, Franklin Institute is featuring “Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes,” which I imagine will be a big hit with the boys (young and old!) My husband and I attended a little while back when the special exhibit was the Terra Cotta Warriors from China. We loved it, learning so much about this ancient period of China’s first emperor. Augmenting the exhibit was an IMAX show on the same topic we attended. Check back often as the special exhibits change several times a year.
The Franklin Institute caters to all ages with plenty of hands-on interactive exhibits, supplemented by thrilling entertainment, yet plenty of textual displays for the more studious and patient. The museum is quite large and contains many different rooms so you could conceivably spend a whole day here if you really want to see it all, especially if you are attending the special exhibit and a show or two. Shows include the Tuttleman IMAX theater (separate tickets required), Fels Planetarium, live science show (separate tickets required), and live science demonstrations. If you enjoy astronomy and the weather permits, you can go to the rooftop and visit the Joel N. Bloom Observatory and catch a peek at planets, stars, nebulae, a few galaxies, and you can even safely view the sun through their historic Zeiss refracting telescope! So the last two times we went we only spent about 2-3 hours. The first time we took our oldest children and there was no special exhibit at the time. We saw an IMAX show and most of the permanent exhibits but ran out of time for the planetarium. The second time was for the Terra Cotta Warriors and we just did that and the IMAX show which took about 2 hours. As an aside, FI even offers Escape Rooms, for groups/parties, and apparently they are the most technologically advanced in the area (separate tickets required).
Our children loved the famous giant heart room, Sir Isaac’s Loft—exploring the laws of physics and gravity (VERY similar to the Lancaster Science Factory), and the Virtual Reality rooms the most, but all exhibits are worthwhile and interesting.
Of course like most museums, amenities include a cafeteria called Franklin Foodworks (and an express), serving typical American fare such as sandwiches, salads, and burgers. The express has many side items such as soft pretzels, chips, salads, yogurt, fruit, and cookies. As you would expect, the prices reflect the sole restaurant status it commands. A large gift shop rounds out the museum experience selling marketing specialties, science-themed items, and toys.
Special Note:
Do be mindful of the time of year you are visiting. When we took the children, it was the end of May, hence “field trip season!” It was a total zoo and definitely impacted our enjoyment of the museum. Afternoons are also much less busy, particularly a few hours before closing time. Consider the fact that you may be able to get through the exhibits in half the time if you go when it’s not busy. Carefully plan out your visit, deciding ahead of time what you definitely want to see, and then purchase your tickets in advance. This saves time and potential disappointment if shows are sold out. Also be prepared in the summer to bring a sweatshirt as they keep the air conditioning quite cold. We went on a boiling hot day but were freezing cold in the museum and had to take “warm up” breaks out in the hot sun!
Besides Independence Hall, the Franklin Institute is probably the most likely destination people will visit in Philadelphia. Not without reason, this archetypal science museum thoroughly explores the popular sciences giving visitors a crash course while being thoroughly entertained, if not a bit overwhelmed. With some forethought you can have an amazing experience the family will talk about for years to come.
Parking:
You can park in the designated parking garage behind the FI…however it fills up very quickly and costs $20 a day. They recommend other parking garages close by on their website. These will run you about $25 a day. My best recommendation IF YOU COME ON A WEEKEND is to go to the Gateway Parking Garage off 16th Street and Spring St. Amazingly, it only costs $7 a day (only on weekends though)! It is less than half a mile away. In fact, I recommend this garage for anything you do in Center City on the weekends.
Hours:
Generally 9:30AM – 5:00PM
Admission:
regular admission $23/adult 12 and up, $19/child 3-11, FREE/child 0-2. You can expect to pay about twice that amount for each ticket when you add in the Special Exhibit and an IMAX show. As always, see website for specifics.
(Franklin Institute is included in the CityPASS ticket, see https://www.citypass.com/philadelphia for details!)
Franklin Institute
222 N. 20th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 448-1200
Please visit www.fi.edu for complete details and to purchase tickets.
