the franklin annual report 222 NORTH 20TH STREET PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103 215.448.1200 institute www.fi.edu 2013 Building Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion 6 Programming New Strategic Plan Shapes Programming 8 Prestigious Publications 12 research Profiled as a “Magnetic Museum” 14 action Federal Grants for Innovative Projects 16 Youth Programs Thrive 18 education PACTS Celebrates 20th Anniversary 19 Exhibitions 24 exhiBitions Exhibit Development 26 FESTIVAL Philadelphia Science Festival 28 Astronomy Programs Reach Wide Audience 30 Barbara Brodsky Access Initiative 31 EXPANDING REACH Traveling Science Shows Go Far 32 International Leader in STEM Education 33 2013 Franklin Institute Awards 38 First Admission Ticket Donated 40 legacy Institute Staff Win Emmy Awards 41 Derrick Pitts Recognized 43 Two Dedicated Volunteers 42 Jane Grinspan Remembered 44 proFILES Mary Anne Lowery Leaves a Legacy 45 A Generous Gift for Sports Challenge Leads the Way 46 Dennis M. Wint: A Legacy of Leadership 48 support Chair Emerita Marsha Perelman 54 Contributed Support 55 Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to help The Franklin Institute reach more Executive people than ever before. dear Friends, The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion opened to the public on June 14, 2014 with a wonderful celebration. This project, more than eight years in the making, would not have been possible without your commitment to message the future of science and technology learning. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to help The Franklin Institute reach more people than ever before. As we step into our new roles at the Institute, we do so with deep gratitude and respect for the accomplishments of our predecessors. Dennis Wint led The Franklin Institute for nearly 20 years, and worked tirelessly with former Chair of the Board of Trustees Marsha Perelman to build the organization into one of the premier science centers in the world. Our task now is to build on their legacy, and to find new ways to deliver on the Institute’s mission to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology among young and old alike. To accomplish these goals we will rely on your help, and we invite your ideas, experience, and support. To plan effectively for the future, we must build on lessons from the past. This annual report tells the stories of just some of the Institute’s many innovative projects that took place in 2013. During the last twelve months our programs CONTENTS continued to highlight the Institute’s strengths while simultaneously exploring exciting new directions as we work to reach more people in neighborhoods throughout the city, online, and at our historic building on the Parkway. In this year’s report you will read about ways the Institute is expanding its reach and transforming STEM learning across the city and around the world. At the end of 2013 we were able to walk through the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion and imagine what it would become. Now we are thrilled to share the new exhibit Your Brain with visitors, and to let you use what you learn there, and in the other spaces in the new Karabots Pavilion, to imagine the future. In the years ahead we look forward to continuing The Franklin Institute’s 190-year tradition of excellence as an integral part of Philadelphia’s rich cultural heritage and as a world-wide resource that sparks the curiosity of discovery and provides the tools for students, teachers, families, and adults to achieve their educational goals. Thank you for your support of The Franklin Institute. We look forward to continuing the journey with you by our side. Warmest regards, Donald E. Morel, Ph.D. Larry Dubinski Chair, Board of Trustees President and CEO TABLE OF OF TABLE 02 TRANSFO RMATIONS Building programming 04 Building The building seemed to take on a life of its own, waiting for the many visitors of all ages who will make new discoveries inside it. the nicholas and athena KaraBots paVilion Passersby looked on with interest as the Institute’s new wing, the Outside, the outlines of the rain garden that will frame Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion, rose on Race Street in 2013. the entrance to the new building were also visible The building is fascinating in all aspects, from the façade—hewn from a by the end of the year. This environmental space, quarry in the same region of Indiana as the original 1933 limestone—to which along with many other “green” aspects will parts visitors could not see. The next construction milestone came in help the Institute pursue a Silver LEED rating for the September when the addition was fully connected to the existing building. building, absorbs storm water, and provides a beautiful In one long-awaited moment, lead donors Nicholas and Athena Karabots and peaceful space for relaxation. On the day in and Inspire Science Co-Chair Don Callaghan broke down a wall in the September when Nicholas and Athena Karabotses’ Sir Isaac’s Loft exhibit to connect the existing building with the new one. names were etched into the limestone above the doors of the Karabots Pavilion, the building seemed to take The eye-catching Shimmer Wall, a permanent work of art designed by on a life of its own, waiting for the many visitors of all nationally-known sculptor Ned Kahn, was hung piece by piece last fall. ages who will make new discoveries inside it. Its 10,824 aluminum tiles move in concert with the weather, allowing viewers to “see” the wind as it sweeps across the building, reflecting the movement of clouds and light. When longtime Chair of the Board of Trustees Marsha Perelman stepped down in December 2013, the Institute dedicated the Shimmer Wall to her, in recognition of her outstanding service. Inside the new wing, the core exhibit Your Brain took shape throughout the year, from the supports for the Neural Climb, which are welded to the structural steel beams of the building, to the machinery for the tumbling room, which helps visitors to realize how much our senses depend on our surroundings. Teva Pharmaceuticals is the lead underwriter of the Your Brain exhibit. On the first floor, the STEM classrooms and the Laureates Conference Center became realities. With laboratory space for students and video conference capabilities for meetings, these additions will make even more learning and connection possible. On the third floor in the traveling exhibit gallery, high ceilings, special lighting, and temperature and humidity controls make it possible to display complex exhibitions and sensitive artifacts. 06 transf ormations transfor mations new strategic plan shapes programming At the Institute, a new program targeted to adults, Science After Hours, was a smash hit on its first outing In 2013, The Franklin Institute directly reached 1.2 million people across the region through programming within in December. Nearly 300 people attended and took and beyond the building’s walls. This is an impressive number, but the need for engaging, transformative science part in food science-themed activities that investigated and technology education is far greater. In March, the Board of Trustees approved a new strategic plan that topics like how sensitive your taste buds are to honey is guiding the Institute for the next five years on three experiential paths: the community, the digital, and the pollinated by bees from different areas, and how your science museum as destination. By integrating programming across these three paths, and by continuing to brain can trick your tongue based on the appearance organize the collective strengths of multiple partner organizations, the Institute will expand the impact of the of food and drink. In a survey of attendees, 44 percent investments in science and technology by stakeholders across the region. reported that they had never visited the Institute before the event. This series has continued monthly The Strategic Plan 2013–2018 shaped programming across the Institute last year by connecting the Institute’s in 2014, exploring themes including invention, forensics, highly successful efforts with new opportunities and organizations. monsters, and guilty pleasures. In the community, the Institute continued to take In digital initiatives news, the Institute continued programming science events into neighborhoods across the city, development of a multimedia application that will reaching people where they live, work, and play. For complement the Your Brain exhibit. Soon to be available example, a star party at Esperanza Inc. in Philadelphia on personal digital devices, this innovative resource brought 150 people together with Institute staff, multiple will allow people to continue learning about the brain at partner organizations, and amateur astronomers to gaze their own pace, and anywhere they choose. The Institute’s After the event, two young girls told a staff member participation in social media also saw dramatic growth through telescopes, each showing a different view of they had such a good time that they want to be the night sky. Many people in attendance had never in 2013. Video shorts on current science happening in scientists who look at the stars when they grow up. looked through a telescope and were amazed by their the world around us along with programming updates first stargazing experience. After the event, two young and vignettes featuring content from traveling exhi- girls told a staff member they had such a good time that bitions made their way across the Institute’s social In addition to the new initiatives described above, the they want to be scientists who look at the stars when media pages before being shared throughout the Institute continues to make resources from existing they grow up. Work with Community Science Networks, community and the world.