Please Touch Museum

Over the holiday break, we visited the the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. My mother-in-law bought us a annual family pass as a Christmas present and we were excited to visit! I was busy corralling the little ones and enjoying the exhibits myself to take many photos but hope to get more on our next trip. 

 Colorful wall murals adorned the walls

 

This is the Wanamaker Monorail that carried children above the 8th floor of the toy department at the John Wanamker's department store from 1946 to 1984. The last time I saw this monorail I was a very tiny girl, catching a bird's eye view of my parents below. My Mom was holding back tears because I was riding in this red and silver beast across the ceiling alone. 

A story I have heard from my Mom for as long as I can remember. 

In the Flight Fantasy room, a solar system hung from the ceiling, we created spaceships from foam and sent them flying and even got to "walk on the moon"!

 

 The twins were excited waiting in line for the Merry-go-round. However, once upon their horses, they were not so "merry" anymore.

One of Philadelphia’s annual holiday traditions was the Enchanted Colonial Village displayed at the Lit Brothers’ department store from 1962 to 1975. The Please Touch Museum now owns nine of the moving, mechanical scenes. The other scenes can be found in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and at Philadelphia’s Atwater Kent Museum.

In the Wonderland area, we played croquet with the Queen of Hearts, went through a maze to meet the Mad Hatter for tea and "painted the roses red". Madelyn also got to meet the Dodo!

One of the girls favorite spots to play was in the "neighborhood". There was a bakery and supermarket where they could shop for food. There was also a full sized kitchen and table where they could then use their "purchases". 

At the end of the day, we visited the Playhouse Theater presenting "North Wind". At the end of the show, the children were asked to come to the front of the stage to catch the "snow" that was falling from the sky. My girls are in that crowd somewhere catching bits of glitter to bring back to us! 

It was a great adventurous day and we will be sure to use our family pass often! Thanks again to my mother-in-law, Coral for such a wonderful gift. A gift that will hold memories for a lifetime.