The Franklin Institute...a "not so far away" treasure.

Every once in a while, my family & I get the "itch" to leave the Lehigh Valley.  Crazy, right?  Why leave the Lehigh Valley?  We've got everything right here!

Yeah, well a few weeks back we headed down to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.  My husband & I had visited many years ago, pre-kids.  But the recent television advertisements about the Titanic Exhibit had wet our appetites enough to make the trip.

So we packed the kids up, jumped on I-476 and we were at Pat's Steaks in 1-1/2 hours.  Pat's Steaks?  That's right, Pat's Steaks.  Since we were making the trip, we decided it warranted a trip to Pat's.  

Ah Pat's Steaks...The Cheese Steak Sandwich that can't be duplicated ANYWHERE!  All that glorious cheese mixed with that heavenly steak on a warm roll... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

OK, where was I?  Right, the Franklin Institute.  

The day of our visit was a particularly busy one and the on-site parking garage was full.  Five blocks later we dumped the car and we headed to the museum.  We enjoyed our stroll, checking out the nearby shops and eateries.

Upon our entry we saw Ben Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States.  A man of many trades.  It totally makes sense why he sits at the front door.  A man responsible for many of the major steps in history:  the lightning rod, bifocals, and the theory of electricity.

After winding through the halls, we found ourselves in front of Maillardet's Automaton.  WOW!  What an incredible piece of machinery!  I saw a TV show about the Automaton, so I knew about it before seeing it at the museum.  I highly recommend checking it out on the the museum's website.  The Automaton imitates life by mechanical means.

Next we browsed the section with all of the pulleys & gears.  My girls just LOVED touching all of the displays.  And that is what is really cool about the Franklin Institute...most exhibits are totally touchable!

We wandered from floor to floor and ended up in a huge room dedicated to Electricity.  The kids LOVED being able to see how electricity worked, especially when I became the conductor for a static charge and jumped from the shock.  :)


We hit the Train Factory next, which was my 6 year old's favorite part of the museum.  There was a display which allowed you to see how coal turns into energy and both my girls really enjoyed this.  We also liked touring the locomotive and touching all of the levers and turning the knobs inside.

But my absolute FAVORITE part of the museum was Fel's Planetarium!  Space junk, planets, constellations are some of the titles they show, and I LOVE IT!  I could have sat in there for hours staring at the state-of-the-art aluminum dome.

Well, I have to say, the Franklin Institute was totally worth the trip.  But I won't lie, it is definitely a whole day event if not more.  If you have the option of staying over at a hotel, I would highly recommend in doing so. There is a TON of things to see and do and this blog only scratched the surface.

Be sure to plan your visit by checking out their website first.  This will allow you to prioritize what you want to see, whether an exhibit or show in the planetarium or IMAX Theater.

Many thanks to the Franklin Institute for this opportunity!  In the spirit of full disclosure, I received tickets in exchange for a review of the museum.  However, all opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.