The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

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Franklin Institute

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You could easily spend the better part of the day touring this world-class science museum. As well as being the venue for temporary blockbuster science exhibitions, there's a planetarium, IMAX cinema and great permanent features such as a giant two-story replica of a beating heart where kids can crawl through the arteries.

The institute was founded in 1824 by Benjamin Franklin; a memorial to him in the lobby includes a stunning 20ft-high marble statue in a rotunda modeled after the Pantheon in Rome.

The museum hosts much of the Philadelphia Science Festival each April.

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