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DESTINATIONJoseph Priestly’s Orrery,1795 (Cat.#3020)THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTEA WONDERLAND OF SCIENCE11Mystery Clock, ca. 1855.(Cat.#4436) The hour hand ofthis clock appears to float likemagic within the crystal face,unconnected to any visiblependulum, gears, or othermechanism.The Franklin Institute first opened its museumbuilding in 1934, calling it a “Wonderland ofScience.” To celebrate the Karabots Pavilion and80 years on the Parkway, at the public openingof the new building, guests were treated toa display of 80 rarely seen historical artifactsfrom the Institute’s curatorial collections, whichare comprised of more than 3,000 objectsand 40,000 documents. Staff and volunteersselected objects from the collections thatinterested them and learned about their historyso they could share it with visitors. Instead ofbeing behind glass, the objects were on tableswhere they could be closely examined—verycarefully, of course.Objects in the Wonderland of Science exhibitincluded local artifacts, such as a cross-sectionof a water main made of a cored tree trunkunearthed from beneath Chestnut Street,and a wide range of other fascinating artifactsand inventions including patent model for achromatic printing press, a vacuum tube froman early television, telescopes, clocks, andmuch more. The Institute has been awarded aplanning grant from the National Endowmentfor the Humanities to explore how to organizeits collections in different ways with the goal ofdisplaying far more of the treasures in the vaults,and giving the public better access to theseincredible artifacts of scientific creation.Joseph Priestly’s Orrery, 1795 (Cat.#3020)depicted above left. Throughout the 18th and19th centuries, itinerant lecturers, collegeprofessors, and even the dissenting clergyman/natural philosopher/chemist Joseph Priestly(1733–1894), celebrated Nicholas Copernicus’(1473–1543) theoretical heliocentric cosmologyof the universe by using large-scale orreries.From the 18th century to the present, orrerieshave played a fundamental role in entertaining,as well as educating, the general public about thephysical motion of the sun, moon, and planets.Benjamin Franklin’s Holograph Last Willand Testament of 1757 (Cat.#49-15), depictedabove, executed entirely in Franklin’s hand,as attested by him in his own memorandum,in New York on April 28, 1757. Officialpresentation of the will took place on April20, 1949 at the celebration of the 125thAnniversary of the founding of The FranklinInstitute.Lamp, Limelight, ca.1825 (Cat.#63-26)depicted below. A small ingot of quicklime(calcium oxide) is heated by an oxygen/hydrogen flame to above 4,000 degreesFahrenheit, at which temperature it producesan intense white illumination. The gases arecombined at a nozzle aimed at the quicklime,whose position can be adjusted remotely. Suchlights were commonly used in theaters andoutdoors in the mid-19th century and later andgave rise to the expression “in the limelight” todescribe someone in the public eye.Lamp, Limelight, ca.1825(Cat.#63-26) The Limelight Lampis one of more than 3,000 objectsand 40,000 documents in theInstitute’s curatorial collections.ANNUAL REPORT 2014“I love working at an institution with such arich history. It makes me so proud getting toshare with others the artifacts we’re luckyenough to house.” -Institute staff member12

ONE DAY IN POMPEIIEXHIBITIONS2014 began with the final months of OneDay in Pompeii, transporting visitors backto ancient times and the eruption of MountVesuvius that destroyed the city but leftremarkable artifacts behind. One Day inPompeii was sponsored by the Institute’sProud Corporate Partner, PECO.101 INVENTIONSCIRCUS!THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTEIn addition to Your Brain, two other exhibitsentertained audiences throughout the summer,free with general admission. Circus! ScienceUnder the Big Top filled the new climatecontrolled special exhibit gallery in the Nicholasand Athena Karabots Pavilion with color and fun.Visitors could walk a tightrope and try out theiracrobatic skills, and learn about the physics oflaunching a cannonball, the history of the circus,and much more. Circus! was sponsored by theInstitute’s Proud Corporate Partner, PECO.13THE BODYIn October, two exhibits about the body opened:Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out and SesameStreet Presents: The Body. Body Worldsdemonstrated through incredible preservedspecimens how intricate the blood vessels ofanimals are, what the muscular system, bodyparts, and various organs of different animalslook like, and how they compare to otheranimals as well as to human bodies. SesameStreet created a fun environment for youngerchildren to learn about healthy eating, exercise,and how their bodies work.A human cannonballtravels between 60 and70 miles per hour.OUR GALLERIESDEAD SEA SCROLLSInstitute-produced exhibit Dead Sea Scrolls:Life and Faith in Ancient Times traveled tothe Museum of Science in Boston and tothe Leonardo in Salt Lake City.Two photography exhibits brought beautyand contemplation to the Pendulum Gallerylast year. 50 Greatest Photographs andOcean Soul, both produced by NationalGeographic, gave visitors a view of amazingand sometimes troubling moments on landand underwater around the globe.Koalas and primates(including humans) arethe only species withunique fingerprints.YOUR BRAINTurn the page to see details on our excitingnew Your Brain exhibit!ANNUAL REPORT 201430 of the inventions featured in101 Inventions101 Inventions That Changed the World tookover the Mandell Center with enormous screensthat displayed a complex choreography ofgraphics. From contained fire to the computerand the atomic bomb, the exhibit explored theworld’s most remarkable inventions in a dynamicvideo show. 101 Inventions was sponsored byTE Connectivity.14

DESTINATION“IT’S AWESOME THAT YOU CAN PRETENDTO CLIMB THROUGH THE BRAIN AND SEEHOW IT SENDS MESSAGES TO OTHERPARTS OF THE BODY.” -Jack, age 8THE NEURAL CLIMBis more than just fun—it’s a representation of how our brainscommunicate. Challenged with representing this essential organ,exhibit designers thought about how they could best help visitorsunderstand what it might look like as a neuron—a tiny cell in thebrain—that sends electrical and chemical signals. Since Your Brainopened in June, the Neural Climb has been full of visitors of all ages,the exhibit. The largest neuroscience-focused exhibit in the country,Your Brain explores how our brains continue to change every day,and throughout our lifetimes. From the physiology of the brain, tohow we make sense of the world around us, to ethical questionsabout neuroscience research, visitors learn about how amazingtheir own brains really are. Your Brain appears in the Frank Baldino,Jr. Gallery of the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion and isANNUAL REPORT 2014THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTEwho also can explore more than 70 other interactive experiences insponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals.1516

HOW DID WE GET INSIDE YOUR BRAIN?17THE EXHIBIT DREW ON ARTIFACTS, SCIENTIFIC DATA,PHYSICAL MODELS, AND DIGITAL TOOLS TO CREATE ACOLLECTION OF MULTISENSORY EXPERIENCES.The Your Brain Exhibit Design Team“The exhibition is created as a series of sixsmaller galleries where the design dramaticallychanges as the narrative unfolds, allowing thedesign to play a major role in communicatingthe content,” explains Director of Exhibits andDesign Jeanne Maier. In Your Brain, each galleryphysically immerses visitors in learning aboutthe brain through dramatic environments createdwith lighting, sound, color, and graphics. Forexample, lighting in some galleries is darkenedto evoke the feeling of being inside the brain,while others are brightly lit like the world aroundyou. Graphic design was inspired by scientificvisualizations of the brain, using bright pops of colorto draw attention to key information. The finalexhibit was then fabricated to withstand millionsof eager visitors over its lifespan.The many ways Your Brain engages visitorsall contribute to its central story—your brain isalways changing, even right here, right now,in this exhibit. As visitors examine any singlespecimen or experience, this bold premiseinvites them to also examine themselves.ANNUAL REPORT 2014THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTEYour brain creates the entire world around you, yet the mechanisms bywhich it works are invisible to the human eye. So how did the Institute’sexhibit design team create an 8,500-square-foot exhibition about brain sciencewith 70 hands-on interactive experiences?Charged with the task of creating a cohesive storyline about a continuouslyexpanding yet largely unsolved field of science, Chief Bioscientist JayatriDas looked to points of intersection between popular science and primaryresearch. “We decided to follow the story of your brain because we couldtackle a broad range of topics while making it relevant to you at every step,”says Das. “What is the brain? How does it help us process the world?Where will—or should—brain research take us in the future?”Collaborating with a scientific advisory board, the in-house team begandeveloping interactive experiences to communicate core science content.Recognizing the rapidly changing nature of the science, many deviceswere built to demonstrate timeless phenomena whose explanationscan be updated as science progresses. The exhibit drew on specimens,scientific data, physical models, and digital tools to create a collectionof multisensory experiences. Each device was evaluated with visitors,testing whether it was intuitive to use, conveyed the correct content, anddelivered a fun interaction.18

DESTINATIONStand andJumpRun and JumpAll prototypes start with a sketchand a storyboard before theprototypers build the actual sampleinteractive.A REIMAGINED SPORTS CHALLENGE19Test your speed against yourfriends and professionalathletes in the Athletes inAction interactive.of a professional athlete racing down the lengthof the track, and a new pitching cage thatdemonstrates the mechanics of throwing a greatpitch. Designing a great exhibit from conceptto reality is a complex process that not manymuseums are able to do in-house. Next time youvisit the Institute, you might be asked to test outa new device under development—and becomepart of science education in the making!DESIGNING A GREAT EXHIBIT FROMCONCEPT TO REALITY IS A COMPLEXPROCESS THAT NOT MANY MUSEUMSARE ABLE TO DO IN-HOUSE.The new SportsZone exhibit is madepossible by the generous support of JamesMaguire, Jr., the Maguire Family Foundation,and Philadelphia Insurance Companies, and byWilliam and Laura Buck, Ernest and RobertaScheller, and the Dow Chemical Company.ANNUAL REPORT 2014THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTEOne of the most popular exhibits at the Institute,Sports Challenge has welcomed millions ofvisitors—and even more hands and feet kicking,throwing, and jumping—over the last 15 years.Its beloved interactive experiences were duefor an update, and a completely new exhibitrenamed SportsZone will open in October 2015.In reimagining how to engage audiences in anew way, the Institute’s Exhibit Design Teamtested a number of ideas as prototypes beforechoosing a final set of experiences that willeducate, entertain, and stand up to the crowds!One winner was the Jump Momentum, whichinvestigates the question: why can you jumphigher when you get a running start? The exhibitdesigners built a model of the Jump Momentuminteractive out of lights, switches, plywood, andbasketballs and asked museum visitors to testit. The final design guides visitors to learn howthe extra momentum from a running start helpsyou jump a few inches higher. Other interactivesin the new exhibit include a 40-foot run wherevisitors can test their speed against the projection20

SCIENCE ANDTECHNOLOGYRESEARCHACTIONTHE FRANKLIN INSTITUTEANNUAL REPORT 2014E D U C AT I O N2122

RESEARCHFrom left: MattHamilton, DorranceHamilton Benson,Anne Hamilton,Daniel M. BensonHOW DOES IT WORK?:PARTNERSHIP ADVANCES COMMUNICATIONABOUT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHDr. Jayatri Das, help the researchers to explainthese concepts in ways that are meaningful to thepublic. The team then distributes activity kits thatpackage these explanations to 16 other museumsaround the country.The Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry,Physics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology atPenn State, Dr. TomMallouk, reports: “Ourongoing collaborationand partnershipwith The FranklinInstitute has beenboth a pleasure andan inspiration forboth myself and fornumerous students, postdocs and other facultyin the Center including how to distribute theproducts of our collaborative efforts to a broaderaudience (including a network of other museums).As noted by a visiting NSF Advisory Committeemember, ‘The work with The Franklin Instituterepresents impressive national visibility.’”THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTETHE PARTNERSHIP’S LATEST THEMEILLUMINATES THE SCIENCE OF MOBILECOMMUNICATIONS. VISITORS GET TOSEE ANTENNAS, TRANSMITTERS, ANDRECEIVERS AT WORK.23An activity about touchscreens illustrates how thecoordinates of your input aremapped onto an invisible grid.S. MATTHEWS V. HAMILTON, JR.AND THE HAMILTON FAMILY FOUNDATIONMatt Hamilton’s and his family’s legacy ofgiving and service to The Franklin Institutedates back to 1933, when Mr. Hamilton’s greatgrandfather Samuel M. Vauclain donated theBaldwin 60000 locomotive. Vauclain was thePresident and later Chairman of the Board ofBaldwin Locomotive Works. He was awarded theJohn Scott Award for his invention of wroughtiron wheel centers, and the Elliott Cresson Medalfor his invention of the compound locomotiveby The Franklin Institute in 1891. When theBaldwin 60000 was delivered, tracks were builtleading into the Institute’s new building, and thendismantled outside. A wall sealed the locomotivein, and it has rested there ever since—thecenterpiece of The Train Factory exhibit.When Matt Hamilton was a child, he visitedthe Institute with his parents, and enjoyed spendingtime with his great-grandfather’s train. Later, hejoined the Board of Trustees, where he servedfrom 1993–2014. Mr. Hamilton explains, “Ialways loved science and nature, so it was aneasy draw to get me involved. My wife Anne andI were just starting our family, and I know thatthe Institute is a great educational resource inthe area to get young minds exposed to science,from flight, to electricity, to the heart, and nowthe brain.” They brought their own children tothe Institute, and they continue to visit today.“On the Board, I fully supported the decision inthe ‘90s to renovate all the exhibits,” Mr. Hamiltonremembers. “They were old and tired and neededto be updated, and some new ones added—thatwas a great thing to see and be part of.”The Hamilton Family and the Foundation havesupported many projects at the Institute over theyears, including generous gifts from Mr. Hamilton’sparents, Samuel M.V. and Dorrance Hamilton,for the Benefactor Society and for each of theInstitute’s major campaigns, including fundingthe Changing Earth exhibit. Most recently theFoundation made a three-year commitmentin support of youth education programs at theInstitute. Mr. Hamilton explains, “The missionof the Hamilton Family Foundation is to givedisadvantaged youth exposure to experiencesthat they wouldn’t see otherwise, with hopethat this will spark something in their mindsand inspire them in ways that will help themhave bright futures.” As PACTS and STEMScholars students graduate from high school andcontinue to college, this inspiration has clearlycontributed to their success.As philanthropic leaders in the region, Matt andAnne Hamilton, who are both very involved on anumber of nonprofit boards, have set a standardfor philanthropic activity and giving in the greaterPhiladelphia region. Mr. Hamilton explains, “Wewere taught that when you have, you give back,and we’ve tried to instill that in our children. Theyare beginning to become involved and know thattheir turn will come to step up. This is what thenext generation needs to do.” Last winter, Mr. andMrs. Hamilton co-hosted an Institute event in PalmBeach, along with Marsha and Jeffrey Perelman andToni and Bob Garrison. Mr. Hamilton remembers,“Derrick Pitts came to help us look at the stars,and one of my favorite constellations has alwaysbeen Orion. With Derrick’s help, I was able to seethat of the three stars hanging below Orion’s Belt,the middle one is an enormous gas cloud wherenew stars are being born. That was fascinating.Derrick is a brilliant guy who talks on a layperson’slevel and makes things easy to understand. TheInstitute is an anchor on the Parkway, but it’s alsoa great cultural institution. It teaches everybodyabout how things work in our world.”ANNUAL REPORT 2014Not long ago, being able to call anyone in thecountry (or even the world) from the sideline ofa sporting event was inconceivable, but nowwe accept that these little boxes can and willconnect us quickly and reliably no matter wherewe are. How does your smartphone work? Apartnership between The Franklin Institute andthe Penn State Centerfor Nanoscale Scienceaims to answer thisand other questions.Since 2000, thispartnership has beenproducing activity kits tohelp people understandmaterials science—thefundamental workings of our everyday toolsthat most of us take for granted. Through thisNational Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project,scientists at Penn State research nanoscalematerials, including their use in alternative energy,nanotechnology, and other topics. Institutepresenters and scientists, led by Chief BioscientistThe Baldwin 60000approaching theInstitute.24

CONVENING CLIMATE CHANGEPARTNERSTHE FRANKLIN INSTITUTEAT THE PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY OFPRACTICE KICKOFF MEETING, ORGANIZATIONSCONVENED TO DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGEEDUCATION IN URBAN AREAS.25The Climate and Urban Systems Partnership(CUSP) is a major grant awarded in 2012 to TheFranklin Institute as lead facilitator and to fiveother organizations by the National ScienceFoundation to conduct a five-year educationresearch and development project on creatingan effective model for learning about climatechange impacts and solutions in cities. In thepast two years, the Institute has convenedpartners from Philadelphia, New York,Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. to createprojects that will help people prepare to live inhotter, wetter urb

THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE 9 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 10 DESTINATION When Nicholas and Athena Karabots made a 10 million gift to the Inspire Science campaign, they catapulted the Institute's ambitions into reality by making possible the groundbreaking of the new building that bears their name. A student from the Institute's STEM Scholars program .