Benjamin Franklin House

Benjamin Franklin House is a museum in a terraced house in Craven Street, London, close to Trafalgar Square. It is the only surviving former home of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The house dates from circa 1730 and Franklin lived and worked there for sixteen years. It opened to the public on 17 January 2006.

Conservation

36 Craven Street retains a number of original features (include original floorboards, original ceilings, and original fireplaces) with relatively few later alterations. Current conservation policies emphasise the need for minimal modern interventions.

Modern facilities

The "Historical Experience" includes an actor portraying historical characters associated with the house along with dialog, sound, lighting and special effects. The character used in the "Historical Experience" is Polly Hewson, daughter of Franklin's landlady who became a "second daughter" to Franklin.

The "Student Science Centre" allows students to re-create experiments from Franklin's sojourn in London. It includes a Medical History Room (focussed on the medical research work of William Hewson), a Discovery Room (containing historical artefacts) and a Demonstration Room (in which students can replicate Franklin's experiments).

The "Scholarship Centre" on the top floor of the House is a centre for study of the many subjects Franklin pursued.

ee also

*Benjamin Franklin National Memorial — in Philadelphia in the United States

External links

* [http://www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org/site/sections/default.htm Official website]