PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The giant walkthrough heart has been a draw for millions to the Franklin Institute since its initial installation 70 years ago. But it’s been long overdue a revamp.
As part of the museum’s celebration of 200 years, the heart has been cleaned, re-painted and enhanced with new sensory technology. Dr. Jayatri Das said it’s also part of the new $8.5 million Body Odyssey Exhibition that focuses on the body’s biological systems, the latest innovation and technology in the field, and overall connections to personal health.
The three-gallery exhibit also has its fair share of interactive experiences.
"We got little kiosks where you can measure your heart rate actually not too different from how you might measure it on a piece of exercise equipment, but we have three different stations so you can do this with your friends and family and what the technology will do is average between three of you and send that information to the giant AV system around the giant heart so you can watch that change," Das said of the interactive elements of the new heart exhibit.
The second new exhibit part of an overall $20 million investment is the $12 million Hamilton Collections Gallery.
It features hundreds of artifacts the museum has collected over the last 200 years. Some highlights include a piece of the Hindenburg and Benjamin Franklin’s glass armonica.
The crown jewel of the collection is a 350-ton Baldwin Locomotive that’s been at the museum since the early 1930s.
The next big exhibit set to open at the Franklin Institute will be in 2026 with a focus on Earth systems.