VISIT

Learn about our solar system and the properties of flight through an exhibit that puts you in mission command. Practice STEAM literacy, fine motor skills and sequencing.

• Launch a rocket and see how much force is needed to send it sailing through the spinning rings.
• Take charge at the Mission Control console.
• Glance up at our planetary neighbors hanging from the ceiling.

Step into our Philadelphia neighborhood and get creative while learning about many of the things we encounter every day. Practice gross and fine motor skills, STEAM literacy, collaboration, decision-making and communication.

• Navigate your way through the city in the driver’s seat of the SEPTA bus.
• Assemble your own cars at the Please Touch Garage.
• Invent your own unique flavors at the Bassetts Ice Cream Stand.
• Search through the gallery by controlling the Helicopter Camera high above the city.
• Concoct a tasty creation at the City Park food stand.

Take a spin on our glimmering carousel built over 100 years ago and make new friends with the horses, cats, rabbits, pigs and goats that call this piece of history home.

When the weather is warm, step outside the Café and into the Please Touch Museum’s urban garden. Have a seat on the patio in this urban oasis or take a stroll through the cornstalks, pepper plants and tomatoes that will soon make their way into the kitchen upstairs. Practice environmental science, health and wellness knowledge, classification and fine motor skills.

• Smell the herbs and try to guess which is which.
• Observe how much the tomato plants have grown since your last visit.
• Run through the Canopy where the colored ceiling casts interesting patterns on the ground.
• Outsmart your friend in a good-natured game of tic-tac-toe.

Stop in for a bite and choose from a variety of healthy menu items and everyday favorites for every hungry belly, including snacks for special food allergies and dietary restrictions.

Discover the properties of water as you play in our pint-sized Schuylkill River. Practice STEAM literacy, environmental science, fine motor skills and creative thinking.

• Float a boat down the river and learn about buoyancy.
• Pump water through pipes, tubes and passageways and see the effects it has.
• Switch the locks and dams to adjust flow.
• Explore the sights and sounds of the marsh in Nature’s Pond Toddler Area.

Get away from the city and get in touch with nature on a camping adventure. Practice communication, collaboration and environmental sciences.

• Roast a marshmallow around the campfire as you take turns telling stories.
• Find out who is awake in the forest at night.
• Gaze up at the twinkling stars in the night sky.

Get in touch with science in our indoor tree house. Practice STEAM literacy and fine motor skills.

• Move the magnetic gears around the Gear Wall to ring the bell and turn on the light.
• Analyze insect specimens.
• Tap out a message in Morse code.
• Peer through the periscope.

Step into the world of giant blue foam blocks where the possibilities for play are endless. Practice STEAM literacy, collaboration, fine and gross motor skills, creativity and problem solving.

• Construct something new and unique every time you visit.
• Build a structure with Magnatiles on the light table that glows as it grows.

This calm space is great for relaxing and taking a moment to ease up on the activity while still learning. Practice communication, literacy and collaboration.

• Read a book while sitting beside the fireplace.
• Host a tea party around the rustic kitchen table.

What can you find under the magnificent glass dome at the center of Memorial Hall? It’s the Statue of Liberty’s torch! Of course, unlike the real torch, which was displayed nearby during the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, this torch was made completely out of toys by “junk sculptor” Leo Sewell.