Call Number:

17

Repository:

The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute

Extent:

15.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

late 19th century-early 20th century

Creator:

Franklin Institute (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Abstract:

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most important science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute subject lantern slides collection, late 19th century-early 20th century, consists of over nine hundred lantern slides depicting various subjects. The lantern slides are a mix of published and original slides.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most important science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology.

On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. The original purpose was to honor Benjamin Franklin and advance the usefulness of his inventions. In addition to conducting scientific inquiry, the Institute fostered research and education by running schools, publishing the influential Journal of The Franklin Institute, sponsoring exhibitions, and recognizing scientific advancement and invention with medals and awards. The Franklin Institute Awards program, begun in 1824, is America's oldest and most prestigious recognition of achievement in science and technology.

From 1826 to 1933, The Franklin Institute was housed in a Greek Revival building on South Seventh Street in Old City Philadelphia that was built for the Institute by noted architect John Haviland. (The building is now home to the Philadelphia History Museum.) On January 1, 1934 the new Franklin Institute science museum on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway opened to the public, one of the first museums in the nation to offer a hands-on approach to learning about the physical world. Capital campaigns in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century enabled major physical and programmatic expansion to the facility, which contains over 400,000 square feet of exhibit space, two auditoriums, the Tuttleman IMAX Theater, the Fels Planetarium, and the Karabots Pavilion. The museum is also home to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, one of only a handful of national memorials owned by a private institution.

As of 2016, The Franklin Institute offers twelve world-class permanent exhibits that provide hands-on learning experiences that introduce and reinforce key science concepts in creative and engaging ways. The Institute also hosts major traveling exhibits that draw local, national, and international visitors to the museum. As an American Association of Museums-accredited organization, the Institute holds curatorial collections that are considered national treasures.

The Institute's programmatic offerings serve a range of audiences, with a focus on underserved youth in Philadelphia and beyond. It also presents public lectures, academic symposia, and opportunities for discussion of current science events. The Institute is a founding organizer of the Philadelphia Science Festival, which was established in 2011, and has been a lead or partner in more than a dozen federal grant-funded programs through agencies including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and NASA.

Bibliography:

The Franklin Institute. "Mission & History." 2016. Accessed August 22, 2016. https://www.fi.edu/about-us/mission-history.

This collection consists of over nine hundred lantern slides depicting various subjects. The lantern slides are a mix of published and original slides. Some slides depict documents. The collection is organized by topic and arranged into fifteen boxes. Following is a box listing for the collection:

Box 1: Transportation Box 2: Transportation Box 3: Nature and Natural Disasters Box 4: Electricity and Technology Box 5: Printing, light, and lamps Box 6: Lamps, light, electricity, railroad Box 7: Railroad, investment, revenue Box 8: State debts, stocks, bonds Box 9: Aqueducts, docks, canals, waterways, and harbors Box 10: Boats and scenes, views of Philadelphia Box 11: Various scenes and locations, lightning, fossils, other miscellaneous Box 12: Tornadoes, floods, nature scenes Box 13: Miscellaneous, some printing slides, some electricity, machinery Box 14: Diagrams, machines, miscellaneous nature scenes, people Box 15: Sports, architecture, Philadelphia houses, nature