Several weeks ago my wife and I joined her sister, brother-in-law and our nice at the Franklin Institute Science Museum It had been quite some time since I last went there and I was looking forward to going back. I had been going, since I was about four, with my family. I always remembered it being such a great time. I always loved going into the planetarium, the walk through human heart, the train and the Aviation exhibit, and the many others that were there over years. This time we were going for then new temporary exhibit: Grossology as well as some of the other exhibits.

We started off in the Grossology exhibit. This temporary exhibit is all about the many functions of the human body. I’m not talking about functions such as nerve impulses, blood flow, or why we feel thing; Its about why we pass gas, burp, have running noses, what happens to food as it passes through the body, and any other gross body function you probably can think of. Since I don’t want to give the whole exhibit away I will explain two of the displays. One of the largest ones was a giant, animatronic, talking faucet that explained why we sneeze, why we have runny noses, have hair in our noses, and several other nose related facts. One of the other displays was a video monitor display. What you do is walk up to it, rest your head on a ledge (one for children and one for adults), and see a mirror showing a monitory of your midsection. The monitor really shows a presentation of what happens to food, in our bodies, from the entrance point to the exit (if you get the drift).

From Grossology we headed to the Walk through Human Heart. The heart is a two-story replica of the human heart and the path that the blood follows through it. Your journey through it will take you through two chambers, into the lungs where the blood becomes oxynigated with fresh oxygen while the old oxygen is removed, and back into the other two chambers of the heart. Besides just being a replica of a heart (complete with vanes and a correct coloring tones on it) it also beats. Don’t worry it won’t contract and expand while you are in it to make the beating sounds. It has speakers to play the sounds of the beating, which by the way scares small children and some adults.

After going through the hear countless number of times (thanks to my niece) we headed to the Sports Challenge. This exhibit is all about the sciences of sports. All of the displays here are interactive. Some of the displays are wheel chair racing, simulated drag racing, the physics of twirling on ice-skates, and the sports injury x-ray machine are amongst the many displays in this room.

After the Sports challenge it was time to leave. What we did was only the tip of the iceberg. The museum is full of many different displays and exhibits which I didn’t even get to visit that day. I do recommend going if you are in Philadelphia.

Since I didn’t see everything that day I took the liberty of summarizing all the exhibits as I remember them. I did look up the current shows at the Fel’s Planetarium and displays to see if any have changed from what I remember (none did but the shows are new).





Exhibits: all are interactive

Fel’s Planetarium: A state of the art digital projector that unlike older style projectors (that
Only shows the stars) can do much more. A must see if you go. Current shows are:
Wonders of the universe: shots form the Hubble Telescope
The Sky Tonight: About the season’s constellations, and the phases of the moon and planes.

Grossology: (April 11. 2003 through September 3. 2003): Learn about body functions in fun filled displays and hands on exhibits.

The Train Factory: See a real and board a 350-ton train that actually moves. There are also other real life trains to be examined and boarded and many hands on exhibits such as investigating a train accident.

The Sports Challenge: Race wheelchairs as well as simulated dragsters. Partake in other interactive displays, which include skiing, surfing, soccer, baseball, basketball, football, and many other sports.

The Weather Center: Learn why tornados form, what causes hail, snow, and may other weather related occurrences.

Aviation: Grand re-opening October 18, 2003

Bio Science/The Heart: Displays include displays of actual human lungs and explanations of how they work. Interactive displays on DNA and Brain activity. Oh, Can’t forget the walk through human heart.

Electronics and Electricity: Learn about how electricity makes things work. See the hair raising electricity show staring electricity itself (and the person showing the demonstration).

Patterns and Mechanics: Interactive, hands on, display of perpetual motion machines, weights and balances, scraping saws against metal tables, covered with sand, so see vibrating patterns. In other words this exhibit hall is all about physics.

Science Park: An outdoor oasis with many activities related to being outdoors such as the human sundial, the speaking tube, swings which go higher than standard swings, and much more.

The Imax Theater: Current shows are: Pulse a Stomp Odyssey (featuring the performances of Stomp)
Coral Reef Adventure
The Human Body


Other exhibits include the Giant pendulum, Extreme Science Show, Space command, and
The Imax Theater.




Admission Cost:
Adults: $12.75 With Imax $16.75. Imax only: $8.00
Children: $10.00 With Imax $14.00. Imax only: $8.00
Seniors: $10.00 With Imax $14.00. Imax only: $8.00

Membership cost range form $25.00 to $135.00

Location: 222 North 20th. Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19103
215-448-1200

Sunday through Saturday 9:30 am till 5:00 pm.
For more information check out www.franklininstitute.org




Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime