Franklin Science Museum

About

The Franklin Institute was founded on February 5, 1824, by Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating and named for Benjamin Franklin — one of the oldest science education institutions in the United States. The Institute moved to its current building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1934, designed from the outset around hands-on, experiential exhibits. The same building housed the Fels Planetarium, funded by Samuel S. Fels, which opened in 1933 as the second planetarium in the United States. In 1938, the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial opened within the building, home to a 21-foot marble statue of Franklin — a space honoring the man for whom the Institute is named.