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Why Bother Going To The Franklin Institute When You Could Put Their Latest Like-Duh Exhibit In Your Backyard For $100K?

On the list of Things To Complain About, the priority is admittedly low, but something that continues to stick in our collective craw here at Philebs is the corny parade of off-the-rack “exhibits” at the Franklin Institute. Why? Because for a science museum with a very real background in science (eternal props to Derrick Pitts, yo, and to the red-tailed hawks, too!), the Institute continues to host traveling shows that are, increasingly, total crap that has little to no educational value.

After hosting exhibits on Cleopatra and CSI (really, guys?) in the last year alone, the FI will open something called “Design Zone” later this month, which asks the question, “What does it take to create a videogame, line up rhythms like the best DJs, or design a roller coaster that produces the biggest thrills?” Whatever. It’s bullshit. Take your kids to the Academy of Natural Sciences or the PMA or the Please Touch Museum instead. Just for the hell of it, we googled “Design Zone,” only to find that getting this thing is about prestigious and easy as renting a moon bounce for your block party. Among the bullet points:

- Rental fee is $100,000 for a 3 month booking; double bookings are available at a discount
- Deposit required upon booking

If nothing else, it finally dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on something we’ve long suspected: These exhibits at the Franklin Institute aren’t really exhibits so much as they are the world’s most expensive kids’ birthday party rentals.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 10:27 am.

  • Tvox

    The science museum where one learns about science is pretty much a thing of the past. Almost all of them are entertainment Gee Whiz-o-plexes.

  • schmapty

    Same can be said of the cable networks. TLC, History, Bravo, PBS, etc have gone from greal educational programing to shows about interior designers and hill-billy employment.

  • Kat Stein

    We at The Franklin Institute were extremely sorry to hear that Philebrity was unable, through its exhaustive research, to find educational value in our recent exhibitions on forensic science (CSI) or underwater archeology (Cleopatra), among others.

    You mentioned The Franklin’s newest exhibition, Design Zone, which is opening here January 28. Design Zone explores algebra based on the latest mathematics learning theory. Yup, that’s right – algebra. You might have also noticed in your “Googling” that the exhibition has been funded by the National Science Foundation. Unfortunately for you, it was not entitled the “Algebra Exhibition”, which might possibly clarify its educational value for you. Design Zone explores algebra and its connections to real-world activities through interactive experiences designed to develop mathematic thinking skills.

    Philadelphia’s The Franklin Institute has earned an international reputation in recent years as a top venue for hosting special traveling exhibitions. From 2008’s “Galileo”, where we beat out a myriad of countries, including China, as well as science venues in New York and Washington D.C., to host it exclusively and then 2010’s “Cleopatra,” where Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute was chosen as the premiere location to launch this exploration of underwater archeology and Egyptology.

    However, let me let you in on a little secret – all the special exhibitions are just the cherry on the top of our sundae – we’ve re-done or renovated every exhibition in the building in the last 10 years, and are about to begin building an addition that will house a cutting-edge neuroscience exhibition, among many other things. We’re also the most-visited museum in Pennsylvania. When visitors arrive, they’re treated to live science shows, explosions, and interactive…well, I don’t want to ruin it. You really must come.

    Suffice it to say that we’re far from off-the-rack in our approach – instead, we look for a myriad of ways to excite and intrigue the public about science learning. Some may look at a science museum as, most appropriately, the place to “get your vegetables” and connections to cultural events or historical touchstones aren’t the way to do it.

    However, if it’s a traveling science exhibition, or our own travels up and down the Eastern seaboard with our own “Traveling Science Show,” we truly enjoy the sheer variety and “bringing science to the people” however we can.

    Maybe it’s because we have the biggest heart in Philadelphia, but I wanted to invite you to come by for a real tour of Design Zone. We’ll promise to make it fun!

  • science_lover

    I have two things to say:

    Thing number one. The purpose of creating a traveling exhibit is so that other museums can rent it. Thus- hope I’m not making too much of a leap here- it can be… rented. For money. Sort of a moot point because…

    Thing number two. I have seen the Design Zone in person, which is something you have apparently not done. It was one of the most inspiring traveling exhibits I’ve ever been through. It frames algebra in terms of music and art, allowing kids and adults to explore the relationship between numbers in a tangible way that is relevant to the real world (and is also a lot of fun). Practicality and relevance is something math education in the United States is sorely lacking, which, judging by the quality of the “research” in this “article”, you probably didn’t know. The exhibit is in fact so concise in its message that I would encourage math teachers to take their students to see it- I bet they will be more excited about math than they’ve ever been.

    But you know, it’s really cool to hate stuff. So I’ll give you points for that.