The Franklin Institute 2011 ANNUAL REPORT leaders families the world students communities museum innovators science The World Connecting our Institute, our city, and our world The Franklin Institute to science Philadelphia Science TABLE OF CONTENTS 02 Executive Message 06 Inside the Walls 12 Science in the Community 20 Around the Country and the World 30 Financial Report 32 2011 Contributed Support 40 Board of Trustees DENNIS M. WINT President and CEO “In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” — Charles Darwin To our friends and supporters: Darwin is, of course, the authoritative figure in the science of To ensure that the Institute’s offerings are particularly engag- A 2010 report to President Obama from the White House Council evolution: how species adapt over time to increase their ing for our core audience, repeat visitors, and members, we of Advisors on Science and Technology advocated a two-pronged chances of survival. Darwin’s legendary concept, however, is have focused on bringing world-class traveling exhibitions to solution to this growing crisis: not only must students be better equally germane to science centers. As the needs and Philadelphia. In hosting these educational shows, we ensure prepared through improved STEM teaching and instruction, but expectations of the communities which science centers serve that each visit to the Institute is different than the last, while they also must be inspired to pursue STEM majors and careers change, so must we also adapt to remain engaging and generating critical economic activity and tourism in the region. through engaging and dynamic experiences. relevant. Our 2011 slate of traveling exhibitions, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop, Mummies of the World, CSI: The Experience, Through several pioneering educational programs, Since 1995, The Franklin Institute has been committed to such and Giant Mysterious Dinosaurs represented the most diverse robust organizational evolution. Through a rigorous and The Franklin Institute proved in 2011 that it is uniquely group of topics the Institute has presented in a single year, and ongoing strategic planning process, the Institute has devel- positioned to both prepare and inspire. Complementing attracted equally diverse audiences. oped, refined, and successfully executed several consecutive ongoing science immersion programs like Partnerships for strategic plans through which we have completely updated and As proud as we are to provide world-class experiences Achieving Careers in Technology and Science and our partner rebuilt our signature building, created new and dynamic magnet high school, the Science Leadership Academy, the exhibitions and attractions, and firmly established the Institute, within our museum walls, the primary lessons of Institute launched STEM Scholars. The goal is to identify at-risk and with it, Philadelphia, as a premier destination for interna- 2011 were that there is a critically urgent need for the 8th grade students with high science capacity and interest, and tional and significant traveling exhibitions. Institute to extend its mission beyond our walls, and to to provide them with intensive science enrichment and mentor- ing continuously throughout their high school careers so they Even after seventeen years of such marked progress, this spirit connect with the community – youth, families, adults, will ultimately matriculate into STEM fields in college. of advancement remains critical. Indeed, 2011 will be and organizations alike – in creative and innovative A new partnership between the Institute and the University of recorded as a year in which The Franklin Institute devel- ways where they live, work, and play. Pennsylvania intended to bolster neuroscience education was oped important new ways to connect our enduring Consider these alarming statistics: On statewide mandated awarded prestigious National Institutes of Health funding in mission of inspiring a passion for learning about testing in 2011, just 41 percent of Pennsylvania high school 2011. Neuroscience in Your World is a five-year initiative that will create museum-based experiences for grades 6-8 in our . 2011 was a year juniors – and just 16 percent in Philadelphia – were proficient in science and technology to those we serve forthcoming Your Brain exhibition, a high-school course in in which the Institute laid the groundwork for a bold expansion science. International comparisons of our students’ perfor- neuroethics, and robust online resources in these important of not only our impact, program, and facility, but also of the mance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) scientific frontiers. This is just the most recent among dozens very way in which we conceive of the Institute as a dynamic subjects frequently show the United States, once the interna- of groundbreaking science education initiatives conceived of and evolving organization. tional leader, ranked at or below the middle of the pack. Clearly, the science education of our young people is imperiled, and developed by the Institute in the last two decades, for and with it our ability as a nation to compete in an increasingly which highly competitive federal funding has been awarded. scientific and technological world. Many of these projects, which have been nationally recognized and replicated, continue to thrive today. THE YEAR IN REVIEW Executive Message our city Institute attendance remained the highest of any museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, welcoming nearly our world 850,000 visitors, of whom more than 168,000 were children visiting on school-related field trips. Each of these visitors – and especially each of these young people – was offered a science experience that exhibited the best of what The Franklin Institute has become so well-known for: hands-on, cutting- edge, entertaining, and inspiring lessons in science and our Institute technology. page 2 page 3 MARSHA R. PERELMAN Chair, Board of Trustees Most heartening is these programs are impacting and improv- This exponential power of collaboration was evident across This wonderful progress was buoyed by a historic gift ing how science is taught locally, regionally, and nationally. We Philadelphia – on the Parkway, at the ballpark, in hundreds of from Nicholas and Athena Karabots and the Karabots continue to train hundreds of local teachers in inquiry-based public schools, and in every neighborhood in the City – in April learning, which impacts tens of thousands of students; to during the inaugural Philadelphia Science Festival. The Foundation, who committed $10 million in October provide Traveling Science Shows seen by 200,000 students; Institute assembled a group of partners to create a two-week to fund the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion. to serve home-schooled students with access to science celebration of science in Philadelphia and of Philadelphia as an Their gift allows us to break ground on this important new content and workshops; to create science kits which are used internationally significant city of learning, discovery, and facility, which will house a state-of-the-art exhibition on in classrooms across the country; and, to welcome 13.3 million progress. The Festival, which was funded by the National neuroscience and the brain as well as provide additional space annual visitors to our content-rich website. Science Foundation and presented by The Dow Chemical for traveling exhibits and an education center. The Karabotses’ Company, was a resounding success in year one. gift was the largest individual gift in the history of The Franklin But changing and supplementing classroom education is only Institute and a bold vote of confidence in our mission and part of the answer. We spend less than 5 percent of our lives in Clearly, 2011 was a year in which The Franklin Institute evolved plans, for which we are deeply grateful. formal classrooms. Science understandings, attitudes, and in bold new directions, to connect to the needs of our commu- interests transcend the classroom and are equally formed in nity and the demands of changing times, and to convene In reflecting on why they chose to make this investment, the world of YouTube, Twitter, and the Discovery Channel. regional and national resources to address common challenges Nicholas Karabots simply stated, “I saw what they were Access to science content and experiences, once controlled by and achieve shared goals. the expert few who teach, is now immediate, unlimited, and doing for all these kids.” For all the exciting, new, and Such expansion of mission and program would not be possible meaningful connections the Institute was able to forge in 2011, unfiltered. The learner of the future expects to be were it not for the wonderful investment of time, energy, and the stories of which are contained in the pages that follow, engaged on-demand. resources by thousands of individuals and organizations, there are none more important than those which moved including Trustees, donors, staff, and volunteers. Mr. Karabots – none more special than the powerful connection In this perfect storm of increasing access and decreasing between a student and a new understanding, between a young comprehension, the role of The Franklin Institute becomes even Amid the Institute’s substantial expansion of program and mission come plans for the first facility expansion in nearly person and an idea, between a child and an inspiring learning more critical. We must find new ways to prepare and 25 years. The Inspire Science! campaign, which calls for a experience. The Franklin Institute endeavors to create millions inspire individuals whenever and wherever science 53,000-square-foot addition on the Institute’s south side, of these moments each year, and will, with your support, learning is at stake. To do so, the Institute has focused surged to $59.6 million in gifts and pledges in 2011. continue to do so in the promising years to come. on collaboration as a core strategy. As a recognized leader in informal education, the Institute has embraced its role as convener of like-minded organizations, whose collective impact is significantly greater than that which any individual Marsha R.