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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: EXHIBIT EXPERIENCE

"Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World" opens Nov. 27, 2009, the day after Thanksgiving at the Minnesota History Center. This 5,000 square foot exhibit features dozens of interactives and rare artifacts related to the famed inventor and Founding Father. More than $6 million in the making, the original exhibit was seen by 750,000 people on 2 continents, and drew visitors of all ages and backgrounds with its broad subject matter and lively presentation.

Exhibit Highlights:

• More than 40 hands-on experiences, including games, experiments, demonstrations, animations, maps and other interactives.
• A print shop setting featuring 18th-century equipment and an opportunity to learn how to set type.
• Original scientific instruments dating from the time of Franklin, correspondence from Franklin about his electrical experiments and some of Franklin's favorite brainteasers.
• "Electricity Party" area, presented by The Bakken Museum, with hands-on scientific demonstrations including creating static electricity to make your hair stand up, confetti dance and sparks fly.
• An original of the 1776 "Pennsylvania Constitution," a model for the U.S. Constitution, with notations in Franklin's own hand. Franklin is the only American to sign all of the founding documents for the United States, including the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution, and the Constitution. Facsimiles of these documents are included in the exhibit.
• Artifacts related to Franklin’s inventions – including bifocals, the Franklin stove, the armonica (glass harmonica), microscope – and his activities in publishing, firefighting, postal service, libraries and education, abolition of slavery, and diplomacy and government.
• Personal objects such as books (those he wrote and printed as well as read), a chess set, china, furniture, coins and other possessions, many of which have been in the hands of Franklin's descendants and are rarely displayed to the public.

Exhibit Description by Section
The central theme of the exhibit is to show how Franklin’s astonishing achievements stemmed from his life-long desire to understand and improve the world around him. The exhibit is divided into six sections:

• Character Matters, 1706–1723 explores Franklin's upbringing in early 18th-century Boston, where he was steeped in Puritan teachings and received his training as a printer.
• B. Franklin Printer, 1723–1748 covers the years when Franklin made his fortune as Philadelphia's premiere printer, and juxtaposes period printing equipment with hands-on activities and multi-media experiences.
• Civic Visions, 1731–1751 tells the story of Franklin's involvement with the founding of several key philanthropic, educational and civic institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital as well as the nation’s first volunteer fire department, lending library and postal system.
• Useful Knowledge, 1747–1785 shows scientific instruments of Franklin's time, including a hands-on "Electricity Party" area, developed by the Bakken Museum in Minneapolis.
• World Stage, 1744–1787 spans Franklin's political career, beginning in colonial Pennsylvania, proceeding to his years in England and France, and concluding with his triumphant return in 1785 to serve in the Constitutional Convention.
• Seeing Franklin, 1787–Today considers Franklin's legacy, with original versions of several early translations of his "Autobiography," portraits and images of Franklin and quotations from those influenced by him.

Exhibit Background and Development
"Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World" was originally organized and presented by the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary to mark the 300-year anniversary of Franklin's birth (1706-2006). Supported by a lead grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary was founded by a consortium of Philadelphia cultural institutions: the American Philosophical Society, The Franklin Institute, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the University of Pennsylvania. Learn more at www.benfranklin300.org.

Originating Exhibit Team (Philadelphia):

• Chief Curator: Page Talbott. Ph.D.
• Executive Director, Tercentenary Commission: Rosalind Remer, Ph.D.

Minnesota Historical Society Exhibit Team (St. Paul):

• Director, History Center Museum: Dan Spock
• Senior Exhibit Developer: Kate Roberts

Further assistance provided by David Rhees, Executive Director, and Juliet Burba, Curator, both of The Bakken Museum in Minneapolis.

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