Special Events
“Space Weather: Brought to You by the Sun”
Thursday, May 8th, 7-9PM
Download a guide compiled by The Franklin Chief Astronomer Derrick H. Pitts for viewing the Total Lunar Eclipse here. For additional information click here to learn more about Lunar Eclipses.
National Astronomy Day - May 10th!
Museum Wide, 11am-4pm
Come celebrate National Astronomy Day at The Franklin with out-of-this world programming!
Meet Marsha Ivins, a NASA Astronaut and hear her description of life in space! Take a tour of our Lunar Lander and visit the Joel N. Bloom Observatory to get a closer look at the sky. See a live show about "The World's Cheapest Spacesuit" and visit the Star Cart. Also, see the performers of the Cirque du Soliel and enter for a chance to win tickets to their show! While you're here be sure to catch a show in the Fels Planetarium or our new 3D Theater and look around our Space Command exhibit. With all these space-themed activities, it's sure to be an out-of-this-world experience!
National Astronomy Day is sure to be a fun-filled day for everyone, don’t miss out!
Mother and Child Heart Health Day
Sunday, May 11th.
Mom's are free plus special discounts in the sci-store!
The Franklin celebrates Mother's Day with events highlighting health and
good living for both mom and child. Health awareness lies at the heart
of this exciting event. Visitors can add to their heart healthy
experience by walking through The Giant Heart exhibit and obtaining
information from the American Heart Association. Children can
participate in stethoscope make & takes and even watch live heart
dissections! Cake and refreshments served and balloon sculptors will
entertain!
12pm - 2pm - Make and take stethoscopes & balloon
sculptors
12:45pm & 2:15pm - Heart Dissection demonstrations
2pm - Special lecture and book signing by Ethlie
Ann Vare, author of
"Mothers of Invention"
Mothers of Invention
 Sunday, May 11 (Mother’s Day) @ 2 PM
 Free to public; Registration is required – 214.448.1254
Join us on Mother’s Day for a light-hearted and fascinating lecture entitled “Mothers of Invention: From the Bra to the Bomb, Forgotten Women and their Unforgettable Ideas.” Author Ethlie Ann Vare presents an entertaining and eye-opening account of the "hidden" women behind familiar products, discoveries and innovations. Do you know that many of our most useful and enjoyable products were invented by women? We have women to thank for Liquid Paper and Scotchgard, disposable diapers and dishwashers, chocolate chip cookies and TV dinners, the Barbie Doll, the hang glider, and the atomic bomb! Bring your mom or your daughter for a celebration of the cleverness of women – and we’ll have cake, too!
Ms. Vare co-authored the award-winning book of the same name, as well as Patently Female: From AZT to TV Dinners, Stories of Women Inventors and their Breakthrough Ideas. She has written the young people's biography Adventurous Spirit: A Story About Ellen Swallow Richards. She is also familiar as a broadcast journalist from her years on the E! Channel, and has written and produced such popular television shows as Silk Stalkings, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda and the hit CBS series CSI.
Big Machine Amazing Weekend
May 16-18, Outside Front Steps (Free to Public)
*General admission required for entry to exhibit.
Cranes! Fire trucks! Bulldozers! Monster Trucks and more! Celebrate the opening of Amazing Machine! The Franklin’s newest ongoing exhibit, with “Big Machine Amazing Weekend” at The Franklin. See real-life giant amazing machines outside, then visit the exhibit for more!
Amazing Machine! The newest addition to The Franklin’s ongoing exhibits opens May 16th. Everyday machines will be displayed in “exploded” views with their parts, separated and visible! Also featured will be over two dozen awe-inspiring and rarely-displayed machines from The Franklin’s priceless collection. To further immerse visitors, the exhibit will also feature multi-media commentary on the beauty of machines in motion and the various relationships between man and machine. Interactivity will be a central element of Amazing Machine! with visitors invited to experience the universal machine elements in a captivating series of stations designed to bring out the heavy equipment operator in all of us!
Camp/Rec Group Leader Night Out
June 4, 2008
Calling all Camp and Rec Group Leaders!
Kick off the summer right with a special night at The Franklin. Join us on June 4th for an exclusive Camp/Rec Group Leader Night Out! Come check out our exhibits, IMAX films, Planetarium and 3-D Theater Shows! You will have a chance to meet Museum staff and learn about upcoming exhibits. Enjoy a light dinner and limited free parking in our garage, available on a first come, first served basis. For more details or to sign up for this event, please send your email address to groupsales@fi.edu.
Calling All Astronomers! Rittenhouse Astronomical Society Monthly Meetings! Bring all of your out-of this-world questions!
Join The Rittenhouse Astronomical Society the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Fels Planetarium. The society offers all persons an opportunity to participate in the activities of an astronomical group at the laymen's level. They aim to spread knowledge, awareness and enjoyment of astronomy and astronomical issues. It is a popular science club that keeps its members up-to-date on the latest developments. No experience is necessary to attend the FREE meetings. Come with your astronomy questions! www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org/