US Airways - June 2012 - (Page 124)

A Shrine to Science Visiting the Franklin Institute is both heartening and electrifying. BY NANCY OAKLEY I 124 JUNE 2012 t stands to reason that the Franklin Institute is the most visited museum in Pennsylvania. After all, who can resist an attraction that takes inspiration from Philadelphia’s favorite son, inventor, author, printer, pundit, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin? Originally established in 1824 to honor the founding father and to promote the study of mechanical arts, the Franklin Institute ofﬁcially opened as a museum more than a century later. And, in the spirit of its namesake, the institute is a hands-on science museum — the ﬁrst of its kind in the United States. In the ensuing years, the institute’s exhibitions, whether time-honored or brand-new, have continually offered fresh and dynamic perspectives on nature, bioscience, and technology. The past, too, is revered, as the current traveling exhibition, Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times, suggests. On view through mid- October, the exhibition displays what is often considered the greatest archaeological ﬁnd of the 20th century: 2,000-year-old biblical texts discovered in a cave in Israel in 1947. Through other artifacts, such as limestone ossuaries and architectural capitals, as well as a lecture series, you’ll understand the historical and cultural context of these ancient writings. And what’s a museum honoring Ben Franklin without some snap, crackle, and pop? Take The Giant Heart exhibit (see page 121), which ﬁrst opened in 1954 as a temporary exhibit featuring an oversized papier-mâché replica of the human ticker that visitors could actually walk through. Today, sound and lighting effects enhance the walk-through experience, in addition to an electrocardiogram wave pulsing across the ﬂoor, a re-creation of a surgical theater, and a wellness section exploring the effects of diet and PHOTOS COURTESY OF FRANKLIN INSTITUTE usairwaysmag.com http://www.usairwaysmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - June 2012

US Airways - June 2012
Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots
Hub Crawl
Adventure: Zip-line junkie
Adventure: Virginia’s Skyline Drive
Wine & Dine
Great Escapes
Gear Up
Behind-the-Scenes Baja
International Itinerary
Charlotte in 2012
Discover Columbia
Welcome to Philadelphia
Must Read
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace™
Window or Aisle?

US Airways - June 2012