PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After 150 years, the World’s Fair is gearing up for a return to Philadelphia, in a way.
The Please Touch Museum, the Philadelphia Zoo and the Mann Center for the Performing Arts are teaming up to bring a Children’s World Fair to Philadelphia in 2026.
“It’s really a nod to what happened in our city in 1876, when we had a global convening,” explained Please Touch Museum President and CEO Patricia Wellenbach. “10 million visitors came to the Centennial Exposition. And we turned the sock inside out a little and said, ‘Well, what could happen if we created a World’s Fair for children?’”
Wellenbach says the event is aimed at bringing to life an array of topics from around the world, including science, technology, the environment and cuisine.
“That would allow children — as the change makers, leaders and decision makers of tomorrow — to think big thoughts … about what could be possible, what could a new world look like once they get the reins to create that world,” she said.
The fair, which is slated to take place between May and July of 2026, will cost an estimated $7 million split between the three partners, according to Wellenbach. That timeframe would coincide with both the World Cup and U.S. semiquincentennial celebration events in Philadelphia.