I recently visited Benjamin Franklin’s House in London.
Inside are the original floors and wood panelling to the rooms and throughout the day there are performances by an actresses who take you back to the days when Franklin lived there. The performance is supported by a superb audio-visual display by the end of it I almost expected Franklin to open a door and join us.
For me, and I suspect others with an interest in science, the highlight is entering the room at the back of the house, which he used as his laboratory. Like all the rooms it is without furniture and dark for the audio visual- display but present in one corner is a kite like the one he used in his experiments.
It was in this very room that he discussed electricity with the Joseph Priestly, another great man of science of the eighteenth century. I leaned against the wooden panelling that was also there at this meeting all those years ago and tried to imagine what it might have been like to listen to the conversation.
If you are in London I recommend a visit.
For more details go to:
www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org/
