Village View: Disney 100 exhibit comes to the Franklin Institute
The Disney 100 exhibit is open now at The Franklin Institute in Center City, and Larry Dubinski, the President and CEO of the famous museum, promises that you won’t have to contend with the 3,000 schoolchildren whom he hosted a few weeks ago.
They finished their tour of the museum, and were absolutely wowed by the Disney 100 displays. The kids, of course, also ran through the giant heart, admired the life-sized trains, and other science exhibits at the most popular museum in Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia was selected as the inaugural site for Disney to open their amazing exhibit of the history of Walt Disney and all of his creations.
And how often have you had the opportunity to see Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in town? But they were in attendance at the opening, along with Mayor Kenney and some other dignitaries as well.
This is a world-famous name with 250 treasures on display which kids, their parents, their grand-parents and even great-grandparents will be ecstatic about. The Little Mermaid is on display, as is Cinderella’s glass slipper.
The original Steamboat Willy, Disney’s first introduction of Mickey Mouse, is on display. If you have taken your kids to any Disney movie, or to any of the Disney World sites in Florida, California, Paris, Japan, or elsewhere around the world, you will enjoy watching your family members delight in their recollections of their experiences with any of the Disney characters or places.
Who can resist singing along with “It’s A Small World After All?” Or any of the dozens of memorable Disney songs.
If you get a chance to pop into Dubinski’s office, you will chuckle at seeing Minnie and Mickey Mouse on the table behind his desk. There is also Cinderella’s castle made out of Legos.
Composer Steve Mazzaro, whose work can be heard on the soundtracks of such Disney-produced films as The Lion King (2019), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), and The Lone Ranger (2013), composed an original soundtrack for the exhibit blending themes of such beloved classics as When You Wish Upon A Star from Pinocchio (1940) and Let It Go from Frozen (2013) with a new theme crafted exclusively for the exhibition.
Largest item: Peter Pan’s Flight attraction ride vehicle at more than seven feet long and seven feet tall. Smallest item: Han Solo’s dice from Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), used by Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher at ~1.5 cubic centimeters (chain excluded).
This world exhibition which begins in Philly boasts PECO, the Premier Corporate Partner of The Franklin Institute, as the Local Presenting Sponsor of the exhibition, and PNC Bank as the Associate Sponsor.
Tickets are timed and dated, and advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended. For information on purchasing tickets, visit www.fi.edu.
The Disney 100 Exhibition runs through August 27, so you still have plenty of time to buy tickets. The Exhibition is created and curated by the Walt Disney Archives and Semmel Exhibitions. The Franklin Institute is proud to present and play host to the world premiere of Disney100: The Exhibition through August 27, 2023, in the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion and the Mandell Center.
Semmel also created the fantastic King Tut exhibit which also premiered at The Franklin Institute.
And if you love the television show Abbott Elementary, as much as I do, you will recall the closing episode this year when Quinta Brunson, the creator and star of the fabulous show, took her students on a field trip to The Franklin Institute. For real.
Dubinski told me he heard from educators across the country, telling him what a fabulous show the field trip one was, and how much field trips contributed to their own students’ education.
The stars of Abbott Elementary showed up for the taping of the episode, and Dubinski and his staff got to spend time with them. All of the visitors to the museum that day also got to watch the show being taped.
Bonnie Squires is a communications consultant who writes weekly for Main Line Media News and can be reached at www.bonniesquires.com. She hosts the “Bonnie’s Beat” TV show at MLTV- MAIN LINE NETWORK
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