Please Touch Museum facts for kids
Memorial Hall in 2010
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 2 October 1976 |
|---|---|
| Location | Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park 4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Type | Children's museum |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
| Visitors | 566,000 (2011) |
| Founder | Portia Sperr |
| Public transit access |   SEPTA bus: 38, 40 Philly PHLASH |
The Please Touch Museum is a special place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed just for kids! It's a children's museum where you learn by touching and playing. Most of the fun activities and exhibits are for children aged seven and younger.
Contents
History of the Museum
The Please Touch Museum first opened its doors on October 2, 1976. It started in a small space at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Two years later, it moved to a new spot on Cherry Street.
In 1983, the museum moved again to 21st Street, close to the Franklin Institute. Then, in 2005, the museum got an 80-year lease for Memorial Hall. This historic building is in Fairmount Park and was built for the 1876 Centennial Exposition.
Renovations at Memorial Hall began in December 2005. The museum closed its 21st Street location in September 2008. Finally, on October 18, 2008, the museum opened in its much larger, current home at Memorial Hall.
After the move, the museum faced some financial challenges. However, it worked through these difficulties and, with the help of generous donations, became debt-free in 2016.
In September 2018, the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team introduced their new mascot, Gritty, at the Please Touch Museum. Soon after, the museum introduced its own furry purple monster mascot named Squiggles in October 2018.
Fun Exhibits to Explore
The museum has many exciting areas where you can learn and play:
- Adventure Camp
- Centennial Innovations
- Cents and Sensibility
- Food & Family
- Happy Camper
- Imagination Playground
- Please Touch Garden
- River Adventures
- Roadside Attractions
- Rocket Room
- Storytime Cabin
- Wonderland
- Scale Model of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition
Other Attractions
- Woodside Park Dentzel Carousel
Creative Programs for Kids
The Please Touch Museum offers cool programs that help kids learn and be creative:
- Playhouse Theater: Here, performers put on shows that are part of the museum experience. Kids can join in the fun, using their imagination with music, movement, and puppets. It's a great way to see live performances!
- Creative Arts Studio: Every month, this studio has new art activities. You can try studio art, sensory art, and manipulative art. It's a perfect place for kids and parents to create together.
- Albert M. Greenfield Makerspace: This space is all about how kids create, not just what they make. It helps children think of themselves as "inventors." Through guided and self-directed activities, kids discover that learning happens during the process of making things.
Great Friend to Kids Awards
The Please Touch Museum gives out its own "Great Friend to Kids" (GFTK) award. This award celebrates people and groups who have done amazing things to make children's lives better.
The national Great Friend to Kids Award was started in 1991 by the Association of Children's Museums. Famous winners include Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers) and Marian Wright Edelman, who founded the Children's Defense Fund.
The Please Touch Museum started its own GFTK award in 1996, celebrating its 20th birthday. The awards given in 2009 were designed by Philadelphia artist Leo Sewell. He is known for making art from recycled toys, like the museum's "Artie the Elephant."
See also
- List of children's museums in the United States (alphabetical)
- Category:Children's museums in the United States (by state)
