Franklin Institute

The Franklin Institute has been one of my favorite museums ever since I was a little kid when my parents used to drive all the way from NYC to go visit (it's one of my dad's favorite places, too).

Living on the West Coast now, it's not as easy to just hop in my car for a visit, but last fall I had the pleasure of once again exploring the Franklin while in Philly for the ASTC conference. While I was there, I fell in love with the Franklin all over again. My dad was thrilled when I told him that I'd ridden the old train in the basement.

In just a few weeks, I'll head back to Philly again, first for AAM and then a week or so later for the installation of Star Trek: The Exhibition, which will be hosted by the Franklin. The Franklin has a history of taking on cool, blockbuster exhibits; it has presented King Tut, Real Pirates (saw that there last fall and it was awesome!) and opening this week they have Galileo.

I'm a huge fan of astronomy--I've been gazing at and wondering about the stars and space again since I was a little kid--and I have to say, from the articles I've read and from Derrick Pitts appearance on the Colbert Report, I think it's going to be a fun show.