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Philadelphia Celebrates Ben Franklin's 300th

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 2, 2006
Ben Franklin was in search of a better world when he tied a key to the end of his kite string and launched the craft into a thunderstorm.

That's the theme of Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, a four-month Philadelphia exhibit that honors the author-statesman-scientist during his 300th birthday year.

The show, which runs at the National Constitution Center through April, features 250 artifacts, many owned by Franklin's family and never exhibited previously; original copies of five Franklin-signed documents from the Revolutionary War era; and 49 interactive devices, including recreations of Franklin experiments with up-to-date special effects.

The only American Founding Father to sign the Albany Plan, Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Amity, Paris Peace Treaty, and the U.S. Constitution, Franklin was also a newspaper editor, diplomat, and civic leader during his 84-year lifespan.

His inventions ranged from the lightning rod to bifocal glasses, swim fins, and a chair equipped with a foot-pedaled fan that cooled the user. He also founded the nation's first hospital, first mutual insurance company, and first lending library while revolutionizing the post office.

The six-part, 8,000-square foot exhibition at the Constitution Center features young Franklin in Boston; life as a printer; founding civic, educational, and philanthropic institutions in Philadelphia; experiments, inventions, and practical applications; achievements in politics and diplomacy; and Franklin's place in history – from his own assessment to the current pop culture image. Tickets for admission cost $14.

While others may be suffering post-holiday blues, Philadelphia will be celebrating Franklin's birthday all year.

On Jan. 17 – the actual date – 300 candles will be lit on a cake at the National Constitution Center, visitors to the Please Touch Museum will write with quills and wear powder wigs, and the University of Pennsylvania will host "7-Up on Ben," a series of seven-minute talks, dances, or songs that reflect Franklin's legacy.

The Franklin Institute, a science musuem that marks its founder's birthday every year, plans a special six-hour party Jan. 14 that includes experiment reenactments, the signing of an oversized card, appearances by a Franklin impersonator, and the debut of a high-voltage electricity show called "Sparks!"

The weekend preceding the Tuesday birthday will also include music and food known to Franklin, displays of art and objects made during his lifetime,a self-guided Mercer Museum discovery tour featuring his scientific, technological, and social innovations, and performances of a fact-based comedy called Ben Franklin Unplugged.

Among the many year-long Franklin shows planned for 2006 is "Independence National Historical Park Through Ben Franklin's Eyes," a quick introduction to Franklin and the places he knew in the park.

For further information, contact Ben Franklin 300 Philadelphia, c/o Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., Suite 1710, 30 S. 17th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103

(Tel. 215-599-0776, www.benfranklin300.org.

Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is president of the North American Travel Journalists Association, and a frequent contributor to AAA Traveler and USAirways Magazine.

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