Category: Franklin Institute

My obsession with the Franklin Institute started with several class trips in grade school. I LOVED everything I saw there, as the mechanical and electrical exhibits all appealed to my nerdy self. Later in the early 1990s, Franklin Institute’s “Futures Center” took it to a new level, showing off the latest in computers, automation, and other modern technologies. I really wish they kept a smaller version of it as I absolutely LOVED the Futures Center, and often wax nostalgic about it. While I still love the FI and maintain a membership there, I often wish some of the older/other exhibits I remember were still on display, and that the office space in the upper floors was open as exhibit area as I remember it.

I started to hunt down pictures and memorabilia of the Futures Center, and found that while there is very little to be found (from the FC), I did find a lot of other memorabilia from times past, and learned the Institute has a storied history dating back to the mid 1800s! Since I found this stuff fascinating, I started collecting various “interesting” ephemera from all periods of the FI’s history, yet, still have found very little from the actual Futures Center.

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Taking your ham license test at the Franklin Institute

(Note that this is a historical article; there are no more VE sessions/ham tests at the Franklin Institute. If you’re in the Philadelphia area, please see this page for more information on VE testing: https://www.phil-mont.org/exams/)

Yesterday was “old timers” night at the Philmont Mobile Radio club meeting. Hams who have been licensed 25+ years were asked to talk about their experiences with the hobby from when they got started to present.

One thing that I always noticed is that partly due to the Philmont tie-in of the Franklin Institute Amateur Radio station to Philmont, took their test AT the Franklin Institute. Of those many if not most attributed the station display to be the motivating factor in getting their license.

I asked what the experience was like, and got the following answer:

You took the test in the cafeteria. They had 30-50 people all taking their test. The CW (morse code) portion was played out over a speaker, then if you passed that, you moved on to the written exam, which was much like the General test you take today. — Steve K3FZT

If you took your test, or were motivated to get licensed due to the Franklin Institute station, please comment below!

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Franklin Institute Science After Hours “Flannel and Frost”

The last time I attended a Franklin Institute “Science After Hours” event was 2020; with a 1920s theme. From science facts about alcohol to a jazz band parading down the marble staircase with 100+ people in tow, it was certainly awesome. Little did we know that only a couple weeks after that event, things would get very different. Fast forward to last week, I finally got back for another science after hours: Flannel and Frost!

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Franklin Institute 1874 Exhibition Stereograph – I got one!

I previously talked about the 1874 Franklin Institute Exhibition in a couple of past posts like this one, which had some links to various stereographs; a primitive way to present 3d-like images, similar to the VR goggles we use today with cell phones. (Makes me wonder if there’s an app to view these old pics). Anyway, I’m pleased to share one I actually found myself!

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Franklin Institute W3TKQ Station – 1990s to 2002

As I mentioned in a previous post, a lot of my Franklin Institute… obsession?…is related to what used to be called the “Futures Center”; a massive addition to the Franklin Institute in the early 1990s that not only added on a large portion of the building, but filled it with all things modern, like computers, virtual reality, automation, space, and so on.

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Franklin Institute W3TKQ Amateur Radio Station Updated in 1962 (With Sound!!)

You may recall a previous post HERE where I show an original QST card from the original W3TKQ ham radio station, located in the Franklin Institute in 1958.

Well as all things go with technology, the station needed an update after a few years, and in May 1962, Dr. Wynn Laurence LePage, W3QCV, then president of the Franklin Institute, introduced a new, updated W3TKQ station…

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Franklin Institute – Flyer from 1930s?

Here’s another piece of Franklin Institute ephemera, likely from the late 1930s. One interesting aspect of this, is that its printed on waxed paper (like a magazine), which surprises me considering the age. A lot of this stuff likely got printed in FI’s own functional print shop, which I believe used to be housed behind glass walls (for public display) in the basement level (now office space). It was only natural for them to have a print shop, as Ben Franklin himself worked in a print shop for quite a while in his lifetime.

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Franklin Institute – Fire Island Lighthouse Light Postcard (1936)

After reviewing my FI stuff on here, not only did I find I goofed a bit on the tags and categories, but I found I didn’t even scan/post all of my FI stuff yet! That said, with my new-found time, let’s get to correcting that!

Show below is a postcard, postmarked in 1936 (when the current Franklin Institute building opened), showing a lighthouse light (originally from Fire Island Lighthouse in NY), that was taken out of service in 1933, and placed on display in the Franklin Institute likely from when the building opened, to around 2000, when the actual light was taken down and placed in storage.

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Early Franklin Institute Memorabilia – Taylor and Smith 1874

Being a serial/multiple hobbyist means I often have to weigh how much I want to invest into a particular hobby, and for my “collection” hobbies, this can come with a cost of “missed opportunity” per se. Although I would have REALLY liked to have it, I decided not to bid, and missed out on an extremely early piece of Franklin Institute memorabilia last weekend.

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