I have visited the Franklin Institute since childhood.
Though I can’t say for sure the first time I went.
School trip?
Family jaunt?
I don’t remember.
What I do know is that it’s always been there for me.
For my parents, as well.
Since it was founded in 1824.
Situated at Independence Hall.
Moved in 1954 to its present site.
At 20th and the Parkway.
Expanding ever since.
A place to take my children.
Theirs, on trips to Philadelphia.
Iconic science museum.
Named after Benjamin Franklin.
Experimenter, inventor, printer, statesman.
Born in Boston, claimed by Philadelphia.
Known far and wide, his likeness on a one-hundred-dollar bill.
Lover of experimentation and innovation.
Example for the museum named for him.
I’ve roamed exhibition halls countless times.
Yesterday, the first, with three grandchildren from LA.
One from Manhattan.
Watched them scamper through the heart.
Climb neural networks.
Turn gear boxes.
Bound onto a locomotive.
Fly on a plane.
Manipulate electricity.
I think my thanks to Franklin
and the founders of this place
are overdue, inadequate
for such a knowledge space.
Please accept my gratitude
for scientific inspiration.
Almost two centuries leading
generation after generation.
Lynn Benjamin
April 23, 2023
