The Franklin Institute

"The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia is highlighted as a great educational and interactive destination for children."

"The Franklin Institute is like a giant science lab, albeit one with a walk-through model of the heart (claustrophobes, beware). The layout is highly interactive, whether you're stepping on a scale to learn how many pints of blood you have or climbing a webbed trail of nets that mimic the brain's pathways. The museum is almost always packed with excited kids, harried parents, and field trips. It's the domain of elementary and middle school students during the week and families on weekends." - Nancy DePalma

"Every kid in Philadelphia has been to the Franklin Institute. The museum aims to teach science through fun, interactive exhibits, like a giant walk-through heart and create-your-own Mars rovers. But the Franklin Institute isn’t just for kids; once a month, sometimes more, it hosts Science After Dark for people 21 and over. Science After Hours has music, demonstrations, interactive features, and a bar. Each event has its own theme, like Winter is Coming (the science behind Game of Thrones and Vikings), Clue, and Love and Lust (the science of attraction). Tickets cost $25, and you’ll need to buy them quickly because they sell out fast.When: Once a month" - MATADOR_NETWORK

"There’s a good reason why every kid in Philadelphia’s been to the Franklin Institute. This museum, built with money donated by Benjamin Franklin himself, promotes the founding farther’s passion for science through hands-on exhibits. There’s a giant walk-through heart, build-your-own Mars rovers, and flight simulators, to name a few. The monthly Science After Hours events are perfect for adults with childlike curiosity." - MATADOR_NETWORK

"In 1851, French physicist Léon Foucault elegantly proved the rotation of the Earth around its axis with a startlingly simple experiment. Foucault was no slouch. He famously discovered eddy currents and was one of the first people to attempt measurement of the speed of light. For this experiment, he took on the role of carpenter in addition to calculator.  Foucault constructed a 67-foot pendulum, which he suspended from the ceiling of the Paris Observatory over a circular protractor. Over the course of the day the swinging weight appeared to move in a circle. But the weight had not actually changed direction—it just seemed like it had. What had rotated was the Earth below it.  Foucault pendulums quickly became something of the rage in science museums around the world. (An exact replica of Foucault’s original experiment hangs in the Paris Panthéon.) The pendulums are attractive, relatively inexpensive, and logically illustrate a measurable phenomenon. It seems obvious that one would be installed at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia’s proud science education center. The four-story Foucault pendulum at the Franklin Institute has now been swinging for more than 80 years. It was installed by 11 people, who worked vigilantly to keep the 85-foot wire from irreparably tangling during setup. Every morning at 9:30 a.m., the museum pulls back the 180-pound bob and sets it swinging from North to South. It takes the orb about 10 seconds to swing back and forth and every 20 minutes or so, it knocks over a new metal peg. By days’ end, the surrounding pegs are half-gone, and the world keeps turning." - ATLAS_OBSCURA