Create lasting memories with your family this holiday season at The Franklin Institute!
The special programs listed below are FREE with General Museum Admission. Check the program sheet when you arrive for locations. CREATION STATION | ACTIVITIES | DEMONSTRATIONS | SHOWS
CREATION STATION
December 26-30: 10:00AM-6:00PM
December 31: 10:00AM-4:30PM
Let your imagination and creativity run wild! Children and adults alike will have fun designing and building with Giant Tinker Toys®, huge Imagination Playground Blocks®, and Keva Planks® in Creation Station.
Giant Tinker Toys®
The annual holiday tradition returns! Oversized Tinker Toys are available for children of all ages to test their creative side and construct bridges, buildings, vehicles and more!
Imagination Playground Blocks®
Create the playground of your dreams with Imagination Playground Blocks! These interchangeable blocks, including cubes, bricks, cogs, curves, and cylinders can be used to build animals, rockets, robots, houses and more! Let your imagination and creativity guide you.
Keva Planks®
Keva Planks are small, smooth, precision-cut, uniform size building blocks made of natural hardwood. Adults and children alike will enjoy designing and creating creatures, towers, castles, landscapes, or whatever else comes to their imagination!
DEMONSTRATIONS
Automaton Demonstration
December 28-30: 11:00AM, 3:00PM
Watch our amazing 1810 Maillardet automaton write poetry and draw a series of illustrations in this special presentation.
Eye Dissection
December 26-30: 11:00AM, 4:30PM
Learn how your own eyes work as you watch the dissection of a real cow's eye.
Heart Dissection
December 26-30: 1:30PM
Learn how your own heart works as you watch the dissection of a real sheep's heart.
INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES
Papermaking
December 26-31: 10:00AM-4:45PM
Try your hand at making a piece of paper to take home, using pulp made from recycled office paper.
Science of Ships
December 26-30: 1:30PM-5:00PM
December 31: 1:30PM-4:00PM
SOS—it's the Science of Ships at The Franklin Institute! Try your hand at Morse Code, explore why huge ships can float, and get an up-close view of Titanic-era artifacts from our collection.
Solar Observing
December 26-31: 10:30AM-3:00PM
Take a look at the sun* through our historic Zeiss refracting telescope and learn more about telescopes and astronomy. *Weather permitting.
LIVE SCIENCE SHOWS
CBS3 Weather Show
December 26-30: 12:30PM
Experience the science of weather—to the extreme! Learn about where our weather comes from and what makes it sunny or blustery. A great show for all ages!
Liquid Air Show
December 26-30: 10:30AM, 5:00PM, 6:00PM
December 31: 12:30PM, 4:00PM
Take part in some chilling science with liquid nitrogen to see how ultra-cold temperatures change the ways that familiar materials behave. A great show for all ages!
Science of Fireworks Show
December 26-30: 2:00PM, 3:30PM
December 31: 2:00PM
Discover the science behind what gives fireworks their color and what makes them sparkle and whistle in this interactive, live science show.
HOLIDAY HOURS
The Franklin Institute
December 26-30 - 9:30AM-7:00PM
December 31 - 9:30AM-5:00PM
January 1 - CLOSED
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
December 26-30 - 9:30AM-9:00PM Last admission is 7:30PM
December 31 - 9:30AM-5:00PM Last admission is 3:30PM
January 1 - CLOSED
PURCHASE TICKETS
Online:CLICK HERE Purchase tickets online and print at home to save time at the box office.
By Phone: 215.448.1200
(9:00AM-5:00PM, daily) Purchase tickets by phone and go to "will call" to save time at the box office.
Tickets can also be purchased on-site at the box office.
IN THE THEATERS
While you're here, enjoy a motion picture in one of our theaters.
Giant Tinker Toys®
Automaton Demonstration
Papermaking
Liquid Air Show
