The Please Touch Museum is a Philadelphia must-do for visitors with younger children. Let the kids take the lead around its two floors of interactive exhibit zones. Every display in the museum invites interaction—expect a lot of excitement and noise. Older kids can enjoy the exhibits too, making a great family morning or afternoon out.
Please Touch is housed in Memorial Hall, one of the only remaining buildings from the 1876 World's Fair. Visit Centennial Exploration, which whisks you back to that time, and discover the new inventions that were being displayed for the first time more than a century ago, including the telephone, typewriter and root beer.
The City Capers exhibit invites budding architects, medical professionals and construction workers to try their hand at these professions inside a miniature neighbourhood. Families can create their own rockets and try on space helmets at the Flight Fantasy exhibit. Wonderland is a surreal zone, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s story of Alice—follow your child down the circular maze, to join the Mad Hatter's tea party. Other kids will revel in the River Adventures experience, in which miniature sail boats can be raced. At Roadside Attractions, kids can get behind the wheel of heavy machinery (safely, of course), fill up cars at the petrol station and journey into the future on the Monorail Rocket Express.
Various theatre productions, story time sessions and sing-a-longs take place—check the schedules to see what's on during your visit. The highlight of Please Touch's historical exhibits is a functioning carousel, dating from 1908. Separate tickets must be bought for this.
The Please Touch Museum is in Fairmount Park on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It's easy to get here by car or public transport from the centre of Philadelphia. Please Touch is open daily, and becomes especially busy at weekends and school holidays. Parents must stay with their kids at all times.
