Welcome to the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of IFMA

Please Touch Museum Tour

By Bonnie Paul
Special to IFMAPhilly online

On Oct. 21, an unusually balmy evening, IFMA members and guests had a rare opportunity to visit behind the scenes of the Please Touch Museum.  This child-centered museum is one of Philadelphia’s newest jewels and a delight for all ages.

John McDevitt, the museum’s Vice President of Operations, first gave us a history of the trials and tribulations in trying to relocate the original Please Touch Museum from the Franklin Institute area to a better facility.   There were years of delays with the initially planned site on the Delaware River, but then fate smiled kindly on the museum when Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park became available.  The Hall had been built for the Centennial Exposition in 1876  and has had numerous uses over the years but, unfortunately, had been very poorly maintained.  Basically, Memorial Hall was crumbling.  Through the enormous and dedicated efforts of the Museum staff and supporters of our city, the building was brought back to its original splendor with the interior carefully redesigned for use as a children’s museum.

After providing us with background information, John took us on a tour of the building.  The carefully-created exhibits are incredibly detailed, well-maintained, varied in scope and obviously meet the museum’s goal of creating an environment of learning opportunities through play.

The crown jewel is an antique carousel originally built for the now closed Woodside Park which had been located within a half mile of Memorial Hall.  After being in storage in New England for over 40 years, it has been painstakingly restored and reborn in all its glory.

One of the highlights for attendees was the enormous model of the original Centennial Exposition site complete with buildings built to scale detailing every aspect of that exhibition that attracted a worldwide audience.  John’s thorough explanation of the function of each of the structures peppered throughout with often humorous anecdotal information made for a marvelously rich experience.

Although we would have gladly stayed to see more, we were urged to move on to our networking event a couple of blocks away at the Centennial Café housed in what was the “Ohio House” during the Exposition.  Taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, we gathered under a tent behind the house to mingle and enjoy a sumptuous buffet.

Please be certain to make plans to visit our Please Touch Museum.  Be assured that it is a marvelous experience with or without children in tow.  It is located at 4231 Republic Road, Philadelphia.