EUROPE - BRITAIN - LONDON : Benjamin Franklin House: Historical Experience
by Ursula & Eldrid Retief







In paying homage to one of America’s great historical figures, the creators of Benjamin Franklin House: Historical Experience has provided London with an unique attraction.

Located just steps from Trafalgar Square and from Charing Cross, Benjamin Franklin’s home-from-home for 16 years, 36 Craven Street, is now a museum which brings to life, in his own words, the dramatic story of his time there.

The museum is more than a collection of artefacts. To give visitors a sense of what life was like in London over 200 years ago, the actor-interactive show uses the 18th century home to blend live performance, cutting edge lighting, modern audio and visual techniques like projecting images into space in a fascinating production.

Your 'guide' for a visit to the house is Polly Hewson, daughter of Franklin's landlady. Polly's husband William ran a school of anatomy in the basement of the house.

The 1730s building served as the first de facto American Embassy in London at a time when Franklin played a starring role in efforts to keep Britain and America together. Of course, his influence and investigations extended beyond diplomacy to science, invention, philosophy, music, and more.

Now it is both a museum and an educational facility. The Benjamin Franklin House Student Science Centre inspires children through hands-on experimentation with Franklin's boundless spirit of enquiry from electricity and lightning rods to the Franklin armonica for which Mozart and Beethoven composed.

The top floor Robert H. Smith Scholarship Centre is a focal point in Europe for Franklin and Franklin-related study, featuring a full set of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin, as catalogued by Yale University, an active symposia and events program, and an annual Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize for professional and young writers.

Photo courtesy Benjamin Franklin House





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For more information on Benjamin Franklin House go to www.BenjaminFranklinHouse.org



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