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Franklin Institute

 
US History Encyclopedia: Franklin Institute
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Franklin Institute, the most prominent of American mechanics institutes, was established in Philadelphia in 1824 primarily through the efforts of Samuel Merrick, who later served as first president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and William H. Keating, professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the University of Pennsylvania. In common with the Lyceum Movement and with other voluntary associations of the same era, the organization reflected a widespread interest in educational reform as a means of actualizing America's self-image as the chosen heir of classical democracy. It further expressed the Enlightenment conviction (a philosophical eighteenth-century movement that rejected traditional social, religious, and political ideas, and emphasized rationalism) that America's future depended on technology's promise of limitless prosperity and mastery over nature.

The institute began a series of evening lectures in March 1824 on the principles and applications of science and, in the same year, established a school of mechanical and architectural drawing, which was conducted annually until 1923. In later efforts to broaden its educational program, the institute experimented with several different kinds of schools, notably a high school for boys and an industrial design school for women. Although its educational activities carried out its initial aims, the institute was better known for its exhibitions of American industry, its Journal of the Franklin Institute, and its experimental research.

Exhibitions were begun in October 1824 to stimulate interest in industrial development. Continued at varying intervals throughout the century, these industrial fairs were highly popular and widely imitated. At an abstract level, they became a symbol of economic independence from Europe. More immediately, they functioned as a guide to consumers, and some, such as the Electrical Exhibition of 1884, served as the basis for the organization of new technologies. The Journal of the Franklin Institute, most long-lived of America's technical periodicals, began publication in 1826 as the Franklin Journal and American Mechanics' Magazine. It soon became an important medium for the emerging professional interests of American scientists and engineers and a vehicle for transmitting knowledge of significant advances in European technology.

The institute's experimental investigations and dramatic discoveries gave it wide reputation. The first such investigation was a set of experiments in 1830 to determine the most efficient industrial use of water power. In 1831, the institute commenced an even more sophisticated inquiry to discover the causes of steamboat boiler explosions, a problem of national consequence. Other investigations included an inquiry into the causes of the 1844 U.S.S. Princeton disaster, a search for a standard for American screw threads, and an 1877 series of dynamo tests.

The prominence of the institute in the nineteenth century rested mainly on its ability to identify critical problems in emerging technologies. Ironically, research demonstrated that technical advances depended less on evening lectures for working men than on specialized and rigorous engineering training. As universities and trade schools had largely taken over the institute's original function as the disseminator of useful technical knowledge, in 1932 it redirected its educational program by opening a museum of technology. Experimental investigations did not figure prominently again in its efforts until World War II, when defense research led to the establishment of a peacetime Industrial Research laboratory. In addition to the museum, the institute administers grants to promising researchers and continues to publish scientific papers.

Bibliography

Rorabaugh, W. J. The Craft Apprentice: From Franklin to the Machine Age in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.

Sinclair, Bruce. Philadelphia's Philosopher Mechanics: A History of the Franklin Institute, 1824–1865. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1974.

—Bruce Sinclair/A. R.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Franklin Institute
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Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia; chartered and opened 1824 "for the promotion of the mechanic arts," the first of its kind in the country. It was named for Benjamin Franklin. Since the 19th cent. it has been noted for its lecture series, trade exhibitions, investigations of new inventions, and work on governmental, industrial and scientific problems. Its Science Center develops, maintains, and presents programs and exhibits, many of them interactive. It also supports technological and science education, hosts the Franklin Awards for science and technology, and oversees the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. The Journal of the Franklin Institute (published continuously since 1826) enjoys wide recognition, and its library is one of the outstanding technical collections in the country. In addition, the Institute maintains two film theaters and the Fels Planetarium (est. 1933, renovated 2002).

Wikipedia: Franklin Institute
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This article is about the science museum in Philadelphia. For the Boston school, see Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.
The Franklin Institute
Established 1825
Location Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Type Science museum
Director Dennis M. Wint, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Website The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute
Front steps as seen from the adjacent Moore College

The Franklin Institute (named after the noted American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin) is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest and premier centers of science education and development in the United States. The Institute itself comprises three centers — The Science Center, The Franklin Center, and The Center for Innovation in Science Learning. It also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.

Contents

History

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 This section contains close paraphrasing of one or more non-free copyrighted sources. Ideas in this article should be expressed in an original manner. See the talk page for details. (July 2009)

On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and William H. Keating founded The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. The museum began in 1825 in its original building at 15 South 7th Street (now the site of the Atwater Kent Museum) and moved into its current home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, near that parkway's intersection with 20th Street, over 100 years later, in 1934. Funds to build the new Institute and Memorial on the Parkway came from the Poor Richard Club, the City Board of Trust, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Inc., and The Franklin Institute. John T. Windrim's original design was a completely square building surrounding the Benjamin Franklin Statue, which had yet to be built. Despite the effects of the Great Depression, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Inc. raised $5 million between December 1929 and June 1930. Only two of the four wings envisioned by Windrim were built.

Over the years of its existence, many famous scientists have demonstrated groundbreaking new technology at the Franklin Institute. Nikola Tesla demonstrated the principle of wireless telegraphy at the institute in 1893. Later, on August 25, 1934, Philo Taylor Farnsworth gave the world's first public demonstration of an all-electronic television system. The Franklin Institute was integrated in 1870, when Philadelphia teacher and activist Octavius Catto was admitted as a member.

On March 31, 1940, press agent William Castellini issued a press release stating that the world would end the next day. The story was picked up by KYW, which reported, "Your worst fears that the world will end are confirmed by astronomers of Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. Scientists predict that the world will end at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. This is no April Fool joke. Confirmation can be obtained from Wagner Schlesinger, director of the Fels Planetarium of this city." This caused a panic in the city which only subsided when the Franklin Institute assured people it had made no such prediction. Castellini was dismissed shortly thereafter.[1]

Succession of presidents

  • James Ronaldson (1824 - 1852)
  • Samuel V. Merrick (1852 - 1854)
  • John C. Cresson (1855 - 1863)
  • William Sellers (1864 - 1867)
  • John Vaughan Merrick (1868 - 1869)
  • Coleman Sellers (1870 - 1875)
  • Robert Empie Rogers (1875 - 1879)
  • William Penn Tatham (1880 - 1886)
  • Joseph Miller Wilson (1887 - 1893)
  • Dr. Walton Clark (1907 - 1924)
  • Dr. W. Laurence LePage
  • Dr. Bowen C. Dees
  • Dr. Athelstan F. Spilhaus (1966 - 1969)
  • Dr. Joel N. Bloom (1969 - 1990)
  • Dr. Dennis M. Wint (1995 - present)

The Science Center

The most recognizable part of The Franklin Institute's Science Center is The Franklin Institute Science Museum. In the spirit of inquiry and discovery embodied by Benjamin Franklin, the mission of The Franklin Institute Science Museum serves to inspire an understanding of and passion for science and technology learning. Among other exhibits, The Science Museum holds the largest collection of artifacts from the Wright brothers' workshop.

Permanent exhibits

The newly refurbished Giant Heart
  • Franklin...He's Electric is a hands-on exhibit that showcases Franklin's scientific genius as well as object of historical significance, like Franklin's lightning rod. (Electricity and Technology); however, as of 2009 it is under renovation.
  • The Franklin Airshow features The Wright Brothers Aeronautical Engineering Collection, their newly restored Model B Flyer, and a U.S. Air Force 1948 T-33 Shooting Star Jet Trainer. (Aviation and Technology)
  • The Giant Heart has been a Philadelphia icon since its opening in 1954. (Biology, Chemistry and Anatomy)
  • The Joel N. Bloom Observatory, remodeled in 2006, features five telescopes, including a giant 10" Zeiss Refractor and four 8" Meade Reflectors.
  • The Sports Challenge is an interactive exhibit that shows the science behind sports. (Physics and Technology)
  • The Train Factory has a real, moving train: The Baldwin 60000 steam locomotive. (History, Engineering and Technology)
  • Sir Isaac's Loft, allows visitors to blend art and science into their own masterpiece. (Physics and Art)
  • Space Command features real space suits and allows visitors to track their houses, in real time, via satellite. (Astronomy, Technology and Mathematics)
  • The Franklin Institute once featured the Foxtrot Papa Boeing 707 as a permanent exhibit. This partial fuselage could easily be seen from the outside of the building and was a remarkable sight in the middle of a major city. But in the 1980s, the aircraft was sold for scrap, much to the dismay of aviation enthusiasts.[2]
  • Amazing Machine, the Museum's newest permanent exhibit, allows visitors to experience a machine-like environment featuring little-seen pieces from The Franklin Institute's priceless collection, including Maillardet's Automaton, believed to have the largest cam-based memory of any automaton of the era.

Other attractions

Budd BB-1 Pioneer in front of museum

The Science Center includes many pertinent attractions that are not museum exhibits. The Budd BB-1 Pioneer, in front of the museum, was the first stainless steel airplane built by the Edward F. Budd Manufacturing Corporation and has been on display since 1935. [1]

Science Park is a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) park, located in the backyard of The Franklin Institute which is generally open May through September. It is a permanent outdoor exhibit where children can learn about science by playing miniature golf, swinging on a swing set, and testing out many more devices designed to get kids excited about learning. The park also contains sundials, sand pendulums, hide-and-seek tunnels, and mini-periscopes. A model which would eventually become the Lunar Module in the Apollo space program, first shown on display in the 1966–67 World's Fair, held in the New York Hall of Science, is also in Science Park.

Theaters

In 1933, Samuel S. Fels contributed funds to build The Fels Planetarium, only the second in the United States after Chicago's Adler Planetarium. The Planetarium's new design 2002 renovations include replacement of the original 40,000-pound stainless steel dome, originally built in 1933. The new premium dome is lighter and is 60 feet (18 m) in diameter. It is the first of its kind in the United States. The planetarium is also outfitted for visitors who are hearing impaired.

The Tuttleman IMAX Theater is an IMAX dome theater that is 180° encompassing and tilted at 30 degrees. The seating places the audience up in the dome which is over 70 feet (21 m) across and 4.5 stories tall. In addition, the theater has 20,000 watts of amplifier power and over 50 speakers.

Early in 2008, extensive renovation of the museum's auditorium was completed. Previously a lecture hall, the space was re-named Franklin Theater, and features 3-D and hi-def Blu-Ray digital projection capabilities. The Franklin Theater’s core mission is to showcase educational films during daytime hours while also including mass release feature length films.

Traveling exhibits

During the King Tut Exhibit, the front steps are decorated with an image of King Tut's face.

In the past, the Science Center has hosted many traveling exhibits including Storms, The Titanic, Grossology, Body Worlds, Darwin, and Robots. In the summer of 2007, The Franklin Institute hosted Tutankhamun And The Golden Age of The Pharaohs, in the Mandell Center of The Franklin Institute Science Museum. The exhibit began its United States Tour in Los Angeles, CA, and went to Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Chicago, IL, before coming to Philadelphia for its final American appearance. When the exhibit left Philadelphia on September 30, 2007, it traveled to London, England. This exhibit was nearly twice the size of the original Tutankhamun exhibit of the 1970s, and contained 50 objects directly from Tut's tomb, as well as nearly 70 object from the tombs of his ancestors in The Valley of the Kings. The show also featured a CAT Scan that revealed what the Boy King may have looked like.[3]

The Franklin Institute recently had three traveling exhibits open to the public:Galileo: The Medici & The Age of Astronomy[4], Star Trek: The Exhibition[5], and RACE: Are We So Different?[6] The Galileo Exhibit was especially noteworthy as The Franklin Institute earned the title as the only museum outside of Italy to ever exhibit Galileo's telescope.

Currently, The Franklin Institute is exhibiting Dr. Gunther von Hagens: BODY WORLDS 2 & the Brain[7]. The exhibit features human specimens preserved through Dr. Gunther von Hagens' process of plastination with a special emphasis on the brain.

The Franklin Institute is a member of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative with the following partners: the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History; the Museum of Science, Boston; COSI Columbus, formerly known as the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio; OMSI in Portland, Oregon; the Science Museum of Minnesota in Saint Paul, Minnesota; and the California Science Center, formerly the California Museum of Science & Industry, in Los Angeles, California.

School programs/workshops

Throughout the school year, the Museum Programs Department at the Franklin Institute provides educational experiences for school groups that visit the museum. These educational experiences include an exclusive workshop on various topics, typically relating to the current traveling exhibitions. These workshops help to enhance each student's experience while at the museum.

Homeschooling

The Museum Programs Department also helps to enhance the educational opportunities of home-schooled students by welcoming them to the museum to take part in various activities and experiments.

Camp-In

Camp-In is a sleep-over program that has been in operation for many years. Taking place from October through May, it gives families, scout groups, youth groups, and school groups an opportunity to see the museum at night. Along with sleeping over, campers see an IMAX show, planetarium show, a science demonstration, and take part in several workshop activities. Also, campers have the chance to explore the museum during the evening hours when it is closed to the public.

Discovery Camp

Discovery Camp is a summer-camp program that takes place inside the museum. The camp begins in the middle of June and continues to the end of August divided into 6 themed sessions. This program gives children aged 6–13 the opportunity to visit the museum all week long and receive many exclusive benefits, such as private demonstrations and activities, an IMAX, a planetarium show, field trips, and special 'behind the scenes' access.

Museum floor programs

Various floor programs contribute to a typical visitor's experience at the museum. Throughout the day there are countless public shows, such as the Liquid Air Show or the Space Bootcamp Show, along with many interactive carts, such as Papermaking and Puzzles/Brainteasers. These activities are intended to bring a personal side to the science that the museum tries to convey.

The Franklin Center

The Franklin Center inspires and celebrates the pursuit of excellence in science and technology through the recognition of outstanding achievement. The Institute's rich historical collections and extensive library, as well as its sponsorship of an internationally recognized awards program, allow it to stand out among American Museums. The Franklin Center is responsible for The Journal of The Franklin Institute, The Benjamin Franklin Awards, and The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.

The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial

Fraser's Franklin Statue
Main article: Benjamin Franklin National Memorial

The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial features a 20-foot (6.1 m) high marble statue, sculpted by James Earle Fraser. Originally opened in 1938, the Memorial was designed by architect John T. Windrim and modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. The Hall is 82 feet (25 m) in length, width, and height. The domed ceiling is self-supporting and weighs 1600 tons. The floors, walls, columns, pilasters, and cornices are made of marbles imported from Portugal, Italy, and France. Congress designated the Hall and statue as the official Benjamin Franklin National Memorial on October 25, 1972. Vice President of the United States Nelson Rockefeller dedicated the memorial in 1976.

The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial is the only privately owned National Memorial in the country, and it is maintained by the museum.

On December 30, 2005, Congress authorized the Institute to receive up to $10,000,000 in matching grants for the rehabilitation of the memorial and for the development of related exhibits. [8]
In the fall of 2008, The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial was re-opened after a summer-long restoration that included multi-media enhancements. Philadelphia's most famous citizen is now featured in Benjamin Franklin Forever - an hourly 3 1/2-minute multimedia presentation utilizing the entire rotenda space.

The Journal of The Franklin Institute

In 1826, The Journal of The Franklin Institute was established to publish U.S. Patent information and to document scientific and technological achievements throughout the nation. It is the second oldest continuously published scientific journal in the country, and is now primarily devoted to applied mathematics.

The Benjamin Franklin Awards

Benjamin Franklin Medal

Since 1833 the Franklin Institute has maintained the longest continuously awarded science and technology awards program in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. The Benjamin Franklin Medal is given to scientists in multiple fields, including Chemistry, Computer and Cognitive Science, Earth Science, Engineering, Life Science, and Physics. The Committee on Science and the Arts determines the winners of the awards. The Benjamin Franklin Medals were instituted in 1998 as a combination of historic endowed awards such as the Elliott Cresson Medal, the Howard N. Potts Medal and the Franklin Medal.[9] Past winners include Henry Ford, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marie Curie, and Thomas Edison.

Additionally, the Bower Award for Business Leadership and the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science have been awarded since 1990. They were made possible by a $7.5 million bequest in 1988 from Henry Bower, a Philadelphia chemical manufacturer. The Bower Science Award carries a cash prize of $250,000, one of the richest science prizes in America.

Awards for 2010:

Awards for 2009:

  • T. Boone Pickens, Bower Award for Business Leadership
  • Sandra M. Faber, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science (The Cosmos)
  • George M. Whitesides, Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry
  • J. Frederick Grassle, Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Envirnomental Science
  • Lotfi A. Zadeh, Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering
  • Stephen J. Benkovic, Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science
  • Richard J. Robbins, Benjamin Franklin Medal in Engineering
  • Ruzena Bajcsy, Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science

Franklin Awards Week 2009 took place April 20-April 24, with various special events and conferences planned.[10]

The Center for Innovation in Science Learning

The Center for Innovation in Science Learning has earned the Institute a national reputation for program development in K-12 education and grant-funded research. Areas of special strength are educational technology, school partnerships, and youth leadership. in addition, the Center has built a substantial portfolio of unique online resources of the history of science, including online exhibits on Ben Franklin and the Heart, as well as resources on the Wright Aeronautical Engineering Collection.

The Foucault pendulum staircase is the centerpiece of the museum.

Programs

The Science Leadership Academy

Opening its doors in September 2006, The Science Leadership Academy is a partnership between The Franklin Institute and The School District of Philadelphia to create a learning environment based on The Institute's philosophy that inquiry is the basis of learning. The Science Leadership Academy provides a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship. Students at the SLA learn in a project-based environment where the core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection are emphasized in all classes.

SLA was named an Apple Distinguished School in 2009 for its innovative 1:1 laptop program; a title which is reserved for schools that have implemented a 21st-century vision of education using Apple technology. The Distinguished School program was begun in 2008, and the Science Leadership Academy is only one of 33 schools in the nation, and the second in Pennsylvania, to receive the award.

Teacher professional development

The Center for Innovation is proud to offer summer institutes and school year mini-courses for K-8 teachers, in collaboration with the School District of Philadelphia and Curriculum & Instruction Office. These programs embody the Center for Innovation's commitment to inquiry science by modeling effective science teaching and learning strategies. Participants raise questions, investigate phenomena, interpret findings, consider real world connections, and reflect on the process.

Partnerships for Achieving Careers in Technology and Science

Partnerships for Achieving Careers in Technology and Science, or PACTS, is a year-round program of science enrichment, career development, and leadership opportunities for diverse middle- and high-school students in the Philadelphia Region. PACTS students use hands-on science workshops, field based research, field trips, and laboratory experiments to learn how science affects their everyday lives. PACTS is a youth leadership experience designed to involve students as an active part of the daily life of The Franklin Institute. Students who continue the program through high-school emerge with the skills and confidence to be successful college students and productive adults.

Girls at the Center

Girls at the Center is a partnership between The Franklin Institute and the Girl Scouts of the USA provided girls and their families a chance to learn about science together. Over 100 sites participated in the program, with over seventy of the sites still active today. Girls at the Center provided activities for the girls to do with their families at home, as well as projects to be completed on site, all culminating in a year-end party.

See also

Philadelphia portal

References

  1. ^ Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes Of All Time
  2. ^ Mauger, Edward Arthur: Philadelphia Then and Now, page 89. Thunder Bay Press, 2002. ISBN 1-571-45880-8.
  3. ^ Tutankhamun
  4. ^ "Galileo, the Medici and the age of Astronomy"
  5. ^ "STAR TREK: The Exhibition"
  6. ^ "RACE: Are We So Different?"
  7. ^ "BODY WORLDS 2 & the Brain"
  8. ^ The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
  9. ^ The Franklin Institute. Awards. About the Awards: History and Facts, Retrieved on July 13, 2009.
  10. ^ Franklin Institute awards page

External links

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Coordinates: 39°57′29″N 75°10′21″W / 39.958°N 75.172367°W / 39.958; -75.172367

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