PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s Please Touch Museum has officially kicked off the birthday festivities for its 50th anniversary this weekend, celebrating five decades of inspiring curiosity.
The children’s museum was founded in 1976 by Montessori school teacher Portia Sperr, who set out to recreate real-world environments where kids could play, explore, and learn through touch: fake food bought with fake money at fake grocery stores by real children who will one day have to navigate those places by themselves.
Parents like Anastasia Blake, who grew up going there, say the Please Touch Museum’s mission is as important as ever.
“It does so much for their overall development, their motor skills,” Blake said. “It really is a one-stop shop.”
Georgia Schuster, another parent, says her kids can’t get enough of the museum.
“Well, my son, we had to pry him from the upstairs transportation room,” she said. “And then Whitney is a big fan of designing cupcakes and baking, so she went and made me a nice meal in the kitchen area.”
But with smartphones, video games and artificial intelligence, the world has changed a lot since 1976.
Kristina Haye, senior manager of museum events at Please Touch, says the museum’s goal for the future is to find balance.
“We’re connecting with a new generation, but also maintaining our mission,” Haye said. “When we get older, we have to learn how to maneuver through the world just by exploring and going out and not having that TV or technology guide us through.”
50th anniversary celebrations take place Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are sold out, but the museum says they are taking walk-ins as they are able.
The museum has been inspiring real-world curiosity in children since 1976
The museum has been inspiring real-world curiosity in children since 1976
