Franklin Institute


The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Founded in 1824, the Franklin Institute is one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States. Its chief astronomer is Derrick Pitts.

History

19th century

On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. The opening was chronicled by The Literary Chronicle for the Year 1824:
Begun in 1825, the institute was an important force in the professionalization of American science and technology through the nineteenth century, beginning with early investigations into steam engines and water power. In addition to conducting scientific inquiry, it fostered research and education by running schools, publishing the influential Journal of The Franklin Institute, sponsoring exhibitions, and recognizing scientific advancement and invention with medals and awards.

20th century

In the late 20th century, the institute's research roles gave way to educating the general public through its museum. The Bartol Research Foundation of the Franklin Institute, founded in 1924 to conduct research in the physical sciences, now is part of the University of Delaware and named Bartol Research Institute. The Franklin Institute Laboratories for Research and Development operated from the Second World War into the 1980s.
Many scientists have demonstrated groundbreaking new technology at the Franklin Institute. From September 2 to October 11, 1884, it hosted the International Electrical Exhibition of 1884, the first great electrical exposition in the United States. The world's first public demonstration of an all-electronic television system was later given by Philo Taylor Farnsworth on August 25, 1934.
The first female member, Elizabeth Skinner, was elected to membership in 1833. The Franklin Institute was integrated in 1870, when Philadelphia teacher and activist Octavius Catto was admitted as a member.
The institute's original building at 15 South 7th Street, later the home of the Atwater Kent Museum, eventually proved too small for the institute's research, educational programs, and library. The Institute moved into its current home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, near the intersection with 20th Street, in 1934. The new facility was intended from the start to educate visitors through hands-on interactions with exhibits: "Visitors to this museum would be encouraged to touch, handle, and operate the exhibits in order to learn how things work." Funds to build the new Institute and Franklin Memorial came from the Poor Richard Club, the City Board of Trust, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Inc., and the Franklin Institute. John T. Windrim's original design was a completely square building surrounding the Benjamin Franklin Statue, which had yet to be built. Despite the effects of the Great Depression, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Inc. raised $5 million between December 1929 and June 1930. Only two of the four wings envisioned by Windrim were built; these face the Parkway and share design elements with other cultural and civic structures around Logan Circle.
On March 31, 1940, press agent William Castellini issued a press release stating that the world would end the next day. The story was picked up by KYW, which reported, "Your worst fears that the world will end are confirmed by astronomers of Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. Scientists predict that the world will end at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. This is no April Fool joke. Confirmation can be obtained from Wagner Schlesinger, director of the Fels Planetarium of this city." This caused a panic in the city which only subsided when the Franklin Institute assured people it had made no such prediction. Castellini was dismissed shortly thereafter.

21st century

On December 21, 2017, during a party hosted by the museum, a partygoer with his companions slipped into a closed-off exhibit of ten Terracotta Army warriors on loan from China. After his companions left, the partygoer broke off and stole a thumb from one of the warriors. Law enforcement agents later recovered the stolen thumb. The vandalized cavalryman is valued at US$4.5 million, and is considered a "priceless part of China's cultural heritage". The vandalism stoked outrage in Chinese media, such as Xinhua. The Franklin Institute blamed its external security contractor, and stated it had reviewed its security measures and procedures to prevent such situations from recurring. The defendant was charged both with theft, and with concealment of an item of cultural heritage.
The defense argued that the defendant was being "overcharged" under statutes applicable to professional art thieves. An April 2019 trial ended in a hung jury with seven of the 12 jurors in favor of acquittal. A February 2020 retrial was postponed due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the institute housed the work of Dyymond Whipper-Young as she broke the Guinness world record for the "world's largest drawing by an individual".

Succession of presidents

  • James Ronaldson
  • Samuel V. Merrick
  • John C. Cresson
  • William Sellers
  • John Vaughan Merrick
  • Coleman Sellers
  • Robert Empie Rogers
  • William Penn Tatham
  • Joseph Miller Wilson
  • Dr. Walton Clark
  • Dr. Nathan Hayward
  • Dr. W. Laurence LePage
  • Dr. Athelstan F. Spilhaus
  • Dr. Bowen C. Dees
  • Dr. Joel N. Bloom
  • Dr. James L. Powell
  • Dr. Dennis M. Wint
  • Larry Dubinski

    Chair of the Board of Trustees

  • Donald Morel

    Board of Trustees Emeriti Members

  • William J. Avery
  • Marsha R. Perelman
  • James A. Unruh

    Capital campaign

In 2006, the Franklin Institute began fundraising activities for the Inspire Science! capital campaign, a $64.7 million campaign intended to fund the construction of a building addition, new exhibits, and upgrades and renovations to the existing Institute building and exhibits.
In 2011, the Franklin Institute received a $10 million gift from Athena and Nicholas Karabots towards the Inspire Science! capital campaign. This gift is the largest gift in the institute's history, and put the Franklin Institute within $6 million of the $64.7 million capital campaign goal. The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion will house not only a $10 million multiroom exhibit on neuroscience, but also a conference center, classroom space, and additional room for traveling exhibitions.

The Science Center

The most recognizable part of the Franklin Institute's Science Center is the Franklin Institute Science Museum. In the spirit of inquiry and discovery embodied by Benjamin Franklin, the mission of the Franklin Institute Science Museum serves to inspire an understanding of and passion for science and technology learning. Among other exhibits, the Science Museum holds the largest collection of artifacts from the Wright brothers' workshop.

Permanent exhibits

  • Electricity, which replaced Franklin...He's Electric in 2010, showcases Franklin's discovery of electricity and its use in the modern world, including elements such as a sustainable dance floor, and an array of LEDs that turn on in the presence of cell phone signals and other low-power electrical signals.
  • Changing Earth, which opened to the public, along with Electricity, on March 27, 2010, focuses on the powerful forces of air, water, and land and their effect upon the earth, as well as how humans respond to and interact with these forces.
  • The Franklin Airshow features The Wright Brothers Aeronautical Engineering Collection, their newly restored Wright Model B airplane, and a United States Air Force 1948 T-33 Shooting Star jet trainer.
  • The Giant Heart has been a Philadelphia icon since its opening in 1954.
  • Joel N. Bloom Observatory, remodeled in 2006, features five telescopes, including a very large Zeiss Refractor and four Meade Reflectors.
  • SportsZone is an interactive exhibit that shows the science behind sports.
  • The Train Factory has a real, once movable train: The Baldwin 60000 steam locomotive, which was rolled into the museum while the building's walls were still being constructed. The 60000's track is itself the top level of a full-size exhibit on bridge engineering in the museum basement and long closed to the public. Along with 60000, the Institute has two other steam locomotives, both from the early 19th century. This exhibit is currently closed for an extensive renovation and is expected to reopen in the fall of 2024.
  • Sir Isaac's Loft allows visitors to blend art and science into their own masterpiece.
  • Space Command features real space suits and allows visitors to track their houses, in real time, via satellite.
  • The Franklin Institute installed Foxtrot Papa, a former British Airways Boeing 707 airliner, as a permanent exhibit in the mid-1970s. Standing above an outdoor Science Park and connected to the second-floor aviation hall by skybridges, this aircraft could easily be seen from the outside of the building and was a remarkable sight in the middle of a major city. In the 1980s, however, the aircraft was sold for scrap, much to the dismay of local aviation enthusiasts.
  • Amazing Machine allows visitors to experience a machine-like environment featuring little-seen pieces from the Franklin Institute's priceless collection, including Maillardet's automaton.
  • Your Brain explores the physiology and neurology of our most remarkable organ. The exhibit includes an 18-foot-tall Luckey Climber climbing structure that simulates neural pathways sending messages, and an area to discuss questions of neuroscience ethics, in addition to 70 interactive learning experiences.