There are tons of fun things to do right here in South Central PA, but what’s even better is just how much more is close enough for a day trip, too. Since living here, we’ve already taken several trips to New York City, as well as a trip to Fort McHenry, in Maryland. But one of our favorite day trips to take is practically in our backyard… and of course, that’s Philadelphia!
This time, my son and I went to the Franklin Institute for his fifth grade field trip. He asked if I would go with him, and of course, I couldn’t turn that down! And even though this trip was just the two of us, the entire time I knew it would be a great place to bring the rest of my littles.
READ: South Central PA Guide to Zoos and Museums
First off, the Franklin Institute is a fantastic day trip for summer fun with kids. This museum is made for kids, and it’s all in air-conditioned comfort, making it a perfect place to go when you need to get the kids out of the house and do something a bit different. I wouldn’t necessarily go to the Franklin Institute without my kids — it seems highly geared for younger crowds — but it was fun nevertheless.
There are tons of really fun exhibits in there, but the first thing we encountered is the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. It’s an incredible 20-foot-tall marble statue of Benjamin Franklin — who else? — set inside a gorgeous rotunda with a domed ceiling. This part of the museum is free, separate from the admission to see the museum itself, so if you’re out and about in Philly, feel free to stop in just to see the memorial!
After that quite-impressive entrance, it was time to start scoping out the exhibits. Our first stop was the “Your Brain” exhibit, and — I could be wrong! — but I’m pretty sure this was the biggest, most extensive area in the museum. My son loved it — there were tons of really fun, educational areas that delved into many, many different areas of the brain, and how it works. There was also a very cool climbing area, called The Neural Network, a model city street filled with optical illusions, and just… way, way more hands-on stuff.
We headed on to the “Giant Heart” exhibit, which we didn’t really get to explore much because it was so crowded. If you visit the Franklin Institute, you’ll quickly see why: the exhibit is dominated by a two story-tall… well, giant heart that kids could climb through and slide out of. We checked out the “Electricity” area next, and got to see a Tesla Coil go off — clearly a big highlight for everyone there!
Next, we saw the “Amazing Machine,” an exhibit dedicated to machinery and inventions. Rather sadly, I couldn’t help but notice that they had an original iPod on display, and felt quite old.
We made sure to catch a couple of science shows while we were there. The first, “Combustion,” involved lots of [controlled] fire and explosions, both large and small; the second, “10 in 10,” had the hosts conduct 10 science experiments in 10 minutes. The hosts were really fun and personable, and even as an adult, I found the shows entertaining. They also stuck around afterwards to answer questions, was nice.
“Sir Isaac’s Loft” had some fun exhibits, but the most popular was a stationary chair, which included a challenge: pulling yourself up into the air while remaining seated in the chair. The “Space” exhibit was pretty popular, too; there were several games you could play involving building a rover and seeing how well they navigated over rocky terrain. One was literally hands-on — you built the rover out of Lego-type materials — while the other one was a computer simulation, and you raced it across the Martian surface. The “Franklin Air Show” exhibit was also a big hit with my son; you could build and launch paper airplanes and whirligigs, climb inside the 1911 Wright Model B Flyer, build a computer-simulated jet and see how well it flew, and much more.
But far and away, my son’s favorite exhibit was the “SportsZone.” Honestly, he probably would have been happy there all day. There were tons of sports-related experiments, from hand bike races to a surfboard simulator. There were a few that he especially liked, though. There was the race track, where you try to outrun someone (during our visit, it was the Phillie Phanatic) on a two-lane track. There was a basketball zone, where you measured your jump: first, you jumped while standing still to see how high you could get, and second, you ran and jumped. Finally, there was a baseball pitching cage, where your pitch was analyzed and measured with video imagery. We wandered around the museum a lot, but he just kept wanting to go back to the “SportsZone” over and over again.
All in all, the Franklin Institute was a great choice for a day trip, and I could definitely see the rest of my kids having a blast there. So if you’re looking for something fun to do with your kiddos this summer, try taking a trip to Philadelphia and stopping by! There’s no shortage of kid-friendly fun there.
What is your favorite stop for a day trip near South Central PA?
