franklin museum

[pianistimo]

if you've never been to philadelphia and want to see the sites sometime - make sure you visit the franklin institute for natural science (hands on museum) and bring your kids or not.  i don't know how franklin had so many good ideas.  he is most well known for his experiments with electricity  - but he also brainstormed a lot of other stuff, too.  right now, they also have an exhibit (which is rather controversial) of the 'human body' where actual bodies are 'pared down' and muscles, veins, brains - everything is exposed.  i didn't want to see that myself (especially with a four year old) but suppose it would be somewhat like da vinci using real cadavers to study for realistic drawings of the human body.

we did see the omnimax theater presentation on lions.  it was truly a great experience and lions in their natural setting are fairly docile looking when not hunting or fighting.  they have a much harder existence as the weather heats up.  in various places of the plain of ***whatever the name was - the weather gets to 130 degrees farenheit.  when the heat finally gives way to fierce winds, it actually helps their hunting success.  the lions can take more cover.

franklin is known for discovering that the ocean has currents and which direction they flow, for astronomical discoveries, experiments with magnetism, of course electricity, steam engines, trains.  and, there is a space section where they give explainations to kids of where space discovery is right now - and make it fun for children to learn.  my four year old liked the huge 'tinker-toy' room the most.