300th Ben Franklin anniversary celebration under wayBy DAN ROBRISH, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERPHILADELPHIA (AP) - The celebration of the 300th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth is underway, launched by the re-enactment of his arrival in Philadelphia and the December kickoff of a traveling museum exhibit and other events.
"Philly's Got Benergy!" is the tagline for promoting the celebration, which officially started Oct. 9 at an event portraying Franklin's arrival in Philadelphia as a 17-year-old runaway.
The centerpiece of the plans to celebrate the Jan. 17 anniversary is an exhibit running from Dec. 15 to April 30 at the National Constitution Center called "Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World."
"He's a founder who still winks at us. He's the most modern and contemporary of all the founders," said Richard Stengel, the Constitution Center's president and chief executive.
Stengel said the exhibit includes a variety of opportunities to learn by doing, including a 25-foot sailboat that visitors can climb aboard to learn how Franklin charted the gulf stream. Besides such hands-on displays, it has more than 250 original Franklin artifacts and more than 40 video animations.
The exhibit will head to museums in St. Louis, Houston, Denver, Atlanta and Paris after appearing in Philadelphia. Notable in its absence is Boston, where Franklin was born and raised; Boston's Museum of Science said it could not host the exhibit because it is opening a large "Star Wars" exhibit instead.
Other events featured as part of the yearlong celebration will include an exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a specially commissioned piece by the Philadelphia Orchestra and a special performance by the Philadelphia Ballet.
Franklin was born on Jan. 6, 1706. But in 1752, when the old Julian calendar was replaced with the Gregorian calendar by Britain and its colonies, time skipped ahead 11 days - making the old Jan. 6 the new Jan. 17.
The celebration is being led by the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, a consortium including the American Philosophical Society, The Franklin Institute, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the University of Pennsylvania.
More info
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TERCENTENARY: Go to www.benfranklin300.org and click on "Calendar" for a month-by-month listing of events, or call (215) 557-0733. Most events take place in 2006 but some concerts, lectures and exhibits are scheduled for November and December. At www.ushistory.org/franklin, click on "Quick biography" for an overview of Franklin's life and achievements.
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