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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO EDUCATION, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS:
The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion Transforms The Franklin
Institute
PHILADELPHIA, March 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Nicholas
and Athena Karabots Pavilion, the largest and most significant
expansion in The Franklin Institute's history will open to the public
in grand-scale fashion on Saturday, June 14, 2014. The 53,000
square-foot, $41 million dollar pavilion, named in honor of the lead
donors whose commitment to science and technology education brought
the project to fruition, will transform The Franklin Institute in a
myriad of ways adding to the appeal of Philadelphia's cultural mecca,
the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The three-story expansion will become
home to the museum's largest permanent exhibition, Your Brain, a
climate-controlled traveling exhibition gallery, a state-of -the-art
conference center, and an expansive new education center.
"We are extremely grateful to Nicholas and Athena Karabots for their
extraordinary generosity, which has allowed us to move The Franklin
Institute forward," said Dennis M. Wint, President and CEO, The
Franklin Institute."The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion will
significantly transform the Institute and catapult it into a
magnificent new chapter, allowing for exponential growth and
opportunity on a multitude of levels."
Signature Your Brain Exhibition The centerpiece of The Nicholas and
Athena Karabots Pavilion is the signature Your Brain exhibition,
sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals. With over 70 interactive
experiences, the 8,500 square foot Your Brain exhibition will be the
largest permanent exhibit at The Franklin Institute, and in the
country, dedicated to the most complex and misunderstood vital organ
in our bodies. The exploration-driven exhibition will help visitors
understand that the brain and the nervous system underlie all human
behavior, appreciate that the brain is always changing, and
contemplate the potential of our evolving knowledge of the brain to
transform ourselves and society. Stunning interactive technology will
make visitors an integral part of the exhibit experience as they
travel through a two-story climbing structure, simulating a neural
network with dynamic lighting and sound effects that are triggered by
their footsteps. They will use their brains to explore their world by
traveling through a street scene filled with multi-sensory information
and scenarios from everyday life. Real specimens and
visualizations contributed by scientists all over the country, along
with interactive experiences inspired by cutting-edge research, will
illustrate the fascinating and rapidly advancing world of
neuroscience. Your Brain will be housed in the Frank Baldino, Jr.
Gallery of the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion.
Traveling Exhibit Gallery The third floor of the Nicholas and Athena
Karabots Pavilion will add 8,000 square feet of climate-controlled
gallery space, which will give the Institute a total of 18,000 square
feet of traveling exhibit space when combined with existing space in
the Mandell Center. The space will allow the Institute to attract
larger, more complex world-class traveling exhibits, including those
that require precise climate control capabilities to preserve
priceless artifacts. This summer, three traveling exhibits will debut
at The Franklin Institute, coinciding with the opening of Your Brain
and the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion, all included with
general museum admission.
The inaugural exhibit in the new gallery, Circus! Science under the
Big Top opens to the public on June 14 and explores the scientific
secrets behind many popular circus acts. Test the laws of physics by
launching cannon balls, walking tightropes, and flipping like trapeze
artists. (June 14-September 1)
From the creation of the incandescent light bulbs to penicillin and
the World Wide Web, take a closer look at the inventions that helped
steer human history in 101 Inventions That Changed the World. The
exhibition that centers around an immersive 5,000 square foot
multi-screen media environment will be making its debut in the Mandell
Center on opening day. (June 14 - October 26)
Embark on an unprecedented journey into the depths of the ocean with
renowned photographer Brian Skerry and be whisked away to a
breathtaking underwater oasis in a new photographic exhibit by
National Geographic, Ocean Soul. Fifty stunning photographs showcase
the ocean as a place of both beauty and mystery, and a place in
trouble. These poetic images shed light on overlooked sea creatures,
in turn creating an appreciation for them and an awareness of the need
for conservation. National Geographic'sOcean Soul will be on view in
the Pendulum Gallery at The Franklin Institute (May 16-December 6)
Education Center and Conference Center The highly-advanced Education
Center will broaden The Franklin Institute's educational landscape
regionally, nationally, and internationally. The enhanced space will
be fully wireless and equipped with videoconferencing technology, to
allow the Institute to develop and grow its distance learning
capabilities, providing virtual, engaging, and highly interactive STEM
learning experiences to students and teachers around the globe. It
will also allow the Institute to expand upon its existing cluster of
educational youth programs which are aimed at providing access to
underprivileged students, critical to the mission of The Franklin
Institute and the vision of Nicholas and Athena Karabots.
Complete with a private street-level entrance, and framed by a
beautiful terrace and tranquil rain garden, the 3,000 square-foot
Conference Center will feature advanced audio visual and lighting
components, ergonomic chairs, hard surface tables, and private
break-out rooms. Added convenience features include a full-service
business center, concierge service, and dedicated conference planners.
The state-of-the-art Conference Center will put The Franklin Institute
on the map among the International Association of Conference Centers
(IACC).
Art plus Science Shimmer Wall, Sunlit-filled Atrium, Rain Garden
The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion will highlight the close
connections between science and art by incorporating a number of
spectacular architectural and aesthetic elements. The open layout of
the three-story addition will allow for improved visitor flow and
circulation throughout The Franklin Institute, and continues the
vision of the nation's oldest science museum, which was halted during
the Great Depression. It will receive LEED certification at the
Silver Level. The exterior of the new pavilion is comprised of the
same Indiana limestone as the original building, and incorporates
noticeably modern features, such as a sustainable rain garden to
mitigate storm-water drainage, an elegant sunlight-filled atrium
connecting the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial to the new
pavilion, and a dramatic kinetic Shimmer Wall by world-renowned
environmental artist Ned Kahn which drapes the façade of the
pavilion. The first of its kind in Philadelphia, the 3,000 square
foot kinetic Shimmer Wall is designed to mirror the sky and make wind
and other natural weather elements visible. Kahn's Shimmer Wallis a
network of 10,824 five-inch-square clear-anodized aluminum panels
hinged at one side only and able to freely move in the wind. During
the day, the ever-changing wind pressure profile on the building
appears as undulating waves. At night, this movement is converted into
a very subtle light. The Shimmer Wall will be named in honor of
Marsha Perelman, who,throughout her eight-year tenure as board chair,
provided ambitious leadership to The Franklin Institute and the
Inspire Science campaign, which raised $65.2 million for projects
including the construction of the Nicholas and Athena Karabots
Pavilion
SAVE THE DATE: Members of the media are invited to an exclusive
preview of the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion on Tuesday, June
10, 2014 at 11:00am.
Invitation to follow
NOTE TO EDITORS: A high resolution rendering of the
Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion is available for download at the
below site:
http://www2.fi.edu/press/images-and-media/continuingexhibits/gallery\_full/karabots1.jpg
User: press; Password: images
About The Franklin Institute Located in the heart of Philadelphia, The
Franklin Institute is a renowned and innovative leader in the field of
science and technology learning, as well as a dynamic center of
activity. Pennsylvania's most visited museum, it is dedicated to
creating a passion for learning about science and technology by
offering access to hands-on science education. In June 2014, The
Franklin Institute will open the Nicholas and Athena Karabots
Pavilion, a brand-new 53,000 square foot addition which will feature a
permanent signature exhibition called Your Brain. For more
information, visit www.fi.edu.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140327/DC92291
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100924/TFILOGO
SOURCE The Franklin Institute
-0- 03/27/2014
/CONTACT: Stefanie Santo, ssanto@fi.edu, 215.448.1152
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100924/TFILOGO
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140327/DC92291
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
/Web Site: http://www.fi.edu
CO: The Franklin Institute
ST: Pennsylvania
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PRN
-- DC92291 --
0000 03/27/2014 14:29:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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