Thursday, February 4, 2010

16 - Franklin Gadgets

Today I got to be a chaperon for a field trip to The Franklin Institute. Named after Benjamin Franklin (like half the things in this city - Philly really loves old Benny), The Franklin Institute is one of the best hands-on science museums there is. Josh and I love to go to the special exhibits that come through (ranging from Star Wars, Star Trek, and Narnia to Real Pirates, Body Works, and Cleopatra), but we don't always go through the main part of the museum because:  a) it costs more, and  b) it's usually closed when we go, since we go to the special exhibits after 5pm for the discount. =)

That said, I really enjoyed getting a chance to follow a bunch of kids through the museum, watching them discover, explore, and get excited about science and technology. Here are a few shots from the "Machines" section, which just may have been my favorite. Oh, and by the way, the first contraption is a writing and drawing machine built in 1800... pretty sweet, huh?






4 comments:

Josh Chen said...

Those close up shots with the hands and the gears are great! =)

WJZ said...

That place looks soo coool!

Hannah said...

Oh, Wes, trust me, it is! If you ever come to Philly, we'll take you there!

And I'm glad you like the hands shots, Josh. I do too, and it works to my advantage in this case, as it's non-identifying to the students in the photos :)

Barb said...

The Franklin Institute may be interested in these for marketing purposes. You should investigate the possibility at least because these are great shots!