The Franklin Institute of Science
I have wanted to visit this museum ever since I found out they had the kind of automatens that inspired The Amazing Adventures of Hugo Cabret. When I heard they were having an exhibition on Galileo, that sealed it. The museum is in Philadelphia, about a 3 hour drive south. 
Although we were going specifically for the Galileo exhibit we explored many of the permanent exhibits and were very impressed. Infact, whilst the Galileo exhibit was comprehensive and had many cool observation and measurement devices such as astrolabes, astrology wheels, telescopes and compasses, it was not child friendly at all. Chuckles really needed to have everything explained. That said the other exhibits were exceptionally child friendly and we had a hard time dragging the kids away from the museum.
These are the exhibits we visited:
Galileo: This exhibit was interesting, full of old books and illustrations, many examples of the devices illustrated in his Galileo’s writings. There were many telescopes to look through if you were tall enough, some hands on opportunties with different lenses. There was interesting material about the Medici family and how the family supported Galileo’s work. I wish I had had more time to study it but looking after Speed was a challenge in this exhibit as everything was designed for taller people and I constantly had to hold him up so he could see the displays which became frustrating, for both of us.
Star Trek: Can you believe that I have never watched an episode of Star Trek?! This was a fun change of pace after Galileo, full of costumes and parts of sets, wonderful creatures and fascinating paraphenalia. A must see for die hard Trekkies….but fun for anyone.
Amazing Machines: We didn’t spend enough time at this one but it was filled with all kinds of machines displayed so you could see the insides of the mechanisms and hands on interactive exhibits explaining the mechanisms. Needless to say my favorite part was seeing the automaten!
Sir Isaac’s Loft & Workshop: Filled to the brim with fascinating hands on activities exploring physics, motion and optical illusions, this exhibit kept the children busy and I fascinated. These were all little activities demonstrating principles in physics and it was fun. Speed loved this suspended metal funnel that you fill with sand and then release it and it made beautiful sand patterns. It was mesmorizing.
Sports Challenge: This was Speed’s favorite. When I saw it I thought immediately that it was designed perfectly for him. Short, energy-intensive, interactive activites, that had him running from one to another to test his skills, from soccer ball kicking, wheelchair races, surfing, rock wall…you name it.
The Big Heart: This was my favorite. There were so many cool hands on activities that the children were captivated by ….almost every display. The centerpiece is a giant heart and lung, labelled, that the children climb through. Speed went through 15 times, Chuckles 11. There was a open heart surgery set up, with all the implements used in OHS and a faux patient with a video screen on his front showing a heart bi pass operation in all its gory. They had heart replicas of 20 different animals from a chipmunks to a whale. There was an old lady in the corner in a booth with jars of real hearts ready to share her knowledge. There were play-inside arteries, some blocked, and just so much more. There was a cool contraption that weighed you and then a faucet of “blood” gushed into this clear pipe to show you how much blood you have in your body. I loved this exhibit.
Unfortunately we ran out of time before we could see it all. By the way, we thought the lunch in the cafe at the museum was quite good with some healthy options, so next time I am not going to bother packing lunch. We are definitely going back.
