Sponsored post – The Franklin Institute hosted us. All opinions are my own.
The Franklin Institute is located within the heart of the city in Philadelphia beside Logan Square and along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The museum has a parking garage attached, making the entrance easy to access via elevator after parking. Tickets may be purchased online, which is a great way to avoid the lines upon entering.
I recommend starting your visit with the most popular exhibits, which is the heart and the brain. We headed to the heart first, where you can walk through the different chambers of the heart. We happened to be in this exhibit at a good time, as they were also doing sonograms to show kids what the inside of their arm looks like. We also enjoyed some of the other hands-on activities, such as determining how much blood was in our bodies.
Next, we headed to the brain exhibit. As soon as the kids saw the brain climbing structure, they 
headed toward that and played in there for almost a half hour. The structure symbolizes the neural network of the brain, and it can be dark with random flashing lights and sounds. I thought this might scare my two-year-old, but she went through the entire two-story structure with no issues. She didn’t want to leave when we told her it was time to move on. The other activities in the brain area were very interesting and showed the ways which the brain works. Some activities we were able to make very simple for our two-year-old, while at the same time we could make them a bit more complex for our six-year-old.
Plan on taking an entire day to explore the museum, as there is a lot to see and learn. Our other favorite exhibits included the SportsZone, Sir Isaac’s Loft, and 3D Printing the Future. The SportsZone is perfect for a child who is an athlete. There’s simulated surfing, jumping practice, skiing and biking activities, as well as a Football race to the end zone. For the 3D printing exhibit, we visited as they started printing an object, and then went back a few hours later to see how it progressed.
When we needed a break, we enjoyed Franklin Foodworks, which had plenty of kid-friendly menu choices, as well as wraps, burgers, and soup. We also stopped into the gift shop, where they had some unique shirts and cool kids toys. Unfortunately the IMAX theatre was closed when we visited, but we did get to see many people ride the SkyBike. My daughter wanted to do it, but there is a height requirement which at 48″ inches, she is no where near the 56″ she needed to be to ride it.
Before leaving, be sure to pay for parking at the elevators in the museum. We also enjoyed visiting the gift shop before leaving. They had some unique shirts and toys, as well as science museum classics such as astronaut ice cream.
Things to Remember:
- Visit the most popular exhibits early, before they get busy. This includes the Brain and the Sports exhibit.
- SkyBike has a height requirement. It may be best to discuss this with your child, before they see it and get excited to ride it.
- Plan an entire day to visit. We spent the day and didn’t get to see everything. There’s so much to do and see!
Sponsored post – The Franklin Institute hosted us. All opinions are my own.
