Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, PA

I was taking a walk down memory lane and stumbled upon some photos from our visit to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. Philly is near and dear to my husband and my heart since we were married there. My husband went to medical school there and I commuted back and forth to my job in NYC for a short time before finally becoming a Philly resident. I dragged my heels a little, but I found Philadelphia such a charming city and I miss our quaint Philly home, neighbors, Rittenhouse Square, the museums, Boathouse Row, Kelly Drive, and the Wissahickon--I have the fondest of memories. It is great that we can hop in the car and be back in just a few hours. It wasn't until I had moved that I finally got myself to the Please Touch Museum. It had just reopened in Fairmount Park and it is spectacular. I drove back with my mom and my son to meet up with one of my old neighbors and her kiddos. It was the museum experience of all museum experiences and one of the first I had with my son.

There are six interactive areas in the museum--City Capers, Flight Fantasy, Roadside Attractions, River Adventures, Wonderland, Centennial Exploration--plus two other fun sites--the Liberty Arm and Torch and Woodside Park with the Dentzel Carousel.

City Capers creates a mini-Philadelphia that is exactly for the toddler's taking and creates a Philly neighborhood within the museum.
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/exhibits/city_capers/

Flight Fantasy is a physical science wonderland where anything goes and nothing is beyond the imagination. Our favorite--the hamster wheel, even I wanted to get on it!
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/exhibits/flight_fantasy/

Roadside Attractions takes the transportation theme to new heights with experiences with engineering, designing, role playing and more.
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/exhibits/roadside_attractions/

River Adventures was my son's favorite and was perfect for his 24 month status! There you will find the biggest water exploration exhibit I've ever seen and there is also the Rainforest's Rhythm area that allows children to discover nature-inspired instruments and experiment with sound.
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/exhibits/river_adventures/

Wonderland let's you enter the world of fairy tales and also has a fantastic area for wee-little ones in Fairytale Garden. My friend's daughter loved playing dress up and having tea with the mad-hatter. My son loved the maze and it wasn't so complicated to freak out the first time mother in me at that time.
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/exhibits/wonderland/

I somehow missed this, or Liam wasn't the right age for it, but Centennial Exploration is one of the last remaining pieces of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and displays some inventions revealed at the fair back then.
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/exhibits/centennial_exploration/

The Hamilton Hall's architecture in itself is jaw-dropping and there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty's arm and torch made out of found art. It's importance here is that this is where the arm and torch were displayed originally at the 1876 Centennial Exhibit as a fund-raiser to help with funding to obtain the pedestal that the statue sets on now.

And finally, take a ride on a 100-year-old Dentzle Carousel--another one of my son's favorites.

My description doesn't even do the museum justice, and reminiscing about it just now just required me to stop typing and actually call my friend to set up our next visit to the Please Touch Museum. I miss it so much, we are going in two weeks and I can't wait to see what new adventures my son finds and new experiences my one-year-old daughter will have--new post on that soon!

Hours of Operation
General Hours:
Monday thru Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Admission
Members: Free
Under the age of one: Free
Children and Adults: $15
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/