Last weekend Mr. Rosemary Lane and myself took the kiddies down to visit the Franklin Institute in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia.
Just off the main entrance we were greeted by the national Benjamin Franklin Memorial in the institute's amazing rotunda. This 20 foot tall statue sits on a pedestal of white Seravezza marble.
From the top of the rotunda...
...to the bottom of pendulum staircase, a world of discovery for kids and adults alike lies in between.
There were so many things for the kids to do at the Franklin institute like riding the SkyBike. This two wheel bike is on a high wire which is 28 feet above the floor of the atrium. The bike is weighted with a 250 lb weight to prevent it from tipping over. This is a really cool to learn about the law of "center of gravity".
On the second floor of the institute there is a 5,000 square foot exhibit which surrounds a 2 story high walk through heart. This attraction is called The Giant Heart: A Healthy Interactive Experience.
You can also see the actual size of a whale heart all the way down to that of a field mouse.
Here Grace is demonstrating two ways of how the brain works. The challenge is not to read the word but the color it is written in. See how you do...Grace did pretty well.!
We had to go check out the Franklin flight and air show.
Here's Michael in the cockpit of a 1948 T-33 jet trainer...he looks like a natural.
Grace and Michael are learning that air does take up space. They are inflating the balloons by pumping air into them.
The main reason why we made the trip down to the Franklin Institute was so tour the Titanic Artifact Exhibit. I wish I could show you pictures of the exhibit but unfortunately there was no photography allowed. They had exact replicas of the grand stairway, first class accommodations and a reproductions of the ship's hallways and crew member accommodations. There was also a real iceberg for you to touch along with many personal effects of Titanic's passengers.
All in all we roamed the Franklin Institute for a good four plus hours, but we could have easily spent more time there.
If you are in Philadelphia anytime before April 7, this would be an awesome place for you to check out.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
XO
We have plans to take the kids there soon. I am excited to see the Titanic Exhibit. My husband and I went to one in Atlantic City about 10 years ago and it was excellent. The kids are really excited about going this time. We took them to the Franklin Institute last year and saw the dinosaur exhibit - great place!
ReplyDelete-Shelley
Thanks for sharing this, Barbara. I would love to visit this museum, especially to see the Titanic exhibit. I missed it when it was in NYC. xo
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed taking a virtual tour with you. Nice photos! Lots of good info.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, what an exciting experience for the kids and the adults too. I tried to do the reading color test, well, let's just say I'm sure I didn't do as well as Gracie did! That was hard. Thanks for the great lessons..Happy Weekend..Judy
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to spend the day. I love that you were able to do that- I bet the kids had a lot of fun! I would love to see it in person-xo Diana
ReplyDeleteBarbara, believe it or not my family and I have had a great time at the Franklin Museum. Personally, I highly recommend it anytime I can. Well, it's a 12 hour drive or a flight away for us. Our son, his wife and 2 children live up in the area! When they talked about going, I had no idea how much fun it would be for everyone in the family. I'd go again in a heartbeat. Your photos are wonderful. Hope other families will see these and take that trip to Philly. Thanks for the memories again! Helen
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