Join moderator Justin Webb, the BBC’s first North America Editor, Host of the Today Programme, and BFH’s Journalist in Residence, for a debate between Kristin Wolfe of Democrats Abroad UK and Greg Swenson of Republican Overseas!
Attend in person or online on Thursday, 24 October, with a chance to ask your own questions on who is best placed to lead the United States over the next four years: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.
Trick or treat! Join us at Benjamin Franklin House for a FREE fun-filled day as we explore the history of America’s spookiest holiday and craft some terrifyingly good decorations to take home!
Discover where Halloween comes from and why we celebrate it! Ever wonder why we carve pumpkins, dress up in scary costumes, and eat lots of candy? You’ll learn the answers to these questions and more as we uncover the mysteries behind this frightfully fun festival!
Create your very own Halloween-themed decorations to take home and decoration your coffins with. Glue sticks at the ready! There will be lots of arts and crafts happening throughout the session. Make your very own Halloween card, a garland of ghosts to hang from your rafters, and a wickedly wonderful witch ornament for your window.
Our Halloween event will be running twice on 29th October so BOOK NOW to secure your free ticket.
BOOK TICKETS
Tuesday 29th October – 11:00am-12:30pm
Tuesday 29th October – 1:30pm-3:00pm
This event is most suitable for families with kids ages 5-12. However, everyone is welcome dead or alive! This a FREE event, but donations are most welcome.
Every Wednesday in August we will be running a series of FREE historical skills workshops at the House. We will be holding two sessions per workshop with limited tickets available in the morning and afternoon. All family events are most suitable for families with children aged 5-12, but all are welcome!
Wednesday 14th August – Portrait Workshop
Portrait Workshop
Examine the fascinating details and hidden meanings buried within some of the most famous paintings in the world as well as those featuring Benjamin Franklin himself!
Create a fantastic self-portrait of yourself and fill it with your very own hidden meanings and messages!
Wednesday 21st August – Archaeology Workshop
Archaeology Workshop
Unearth the secrets of 36 Craven Street. Why are there human bones in the basement? How did they get there? Who were they? We will explore the history of the undercover secret school that operated in the house whilst Franklin was in residence!
Examine real artefacts from the past to work out what they are and how old they might be!
Create your very own model of a human skeleton as we learn all about the anatomy and explore medicine in the 18th century.
Wednesday 28th August – Calligraphy Workshop
Calligraphy Workshop
Learn all about Benjamin Franklin’s life as a successful printer, author and the first US Postmaster General! You will even get a chance to see one of Benjamin Franklin’s hand-written letters up close!
Create your very own letter from the 18th century as we roll up our sleeves for some good old fashioned dip pen writing! Write a letter using parchment paper and our collection of brightly coloured quill pens! Use Georgian handwriting guides to help create some beautiful writing!
FREE August Events in the heart of London at Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street. BOOK TICKETS BELOW;
Thursday 8 August 2024 at 1-3pm
Friday 9 August 2024 at 10am-12pm
Friday 23 August 2024 at 10am-12pm
Friday 30 August 2024 at 10am-12pm
Saturday 31 August 2024 at 10am-12pm
These creative and collective storytelling workshops are designed primarily for ages 10-16. However, all are welcome to take part.
Group size: Up to 15 participants per workshop
Themes: Transatlantic slave trade, migration, freedom, child narratives
Meet our illustrator in residence, Kremena Dimitrova, and learn about her research related to the museum. Kremena is a London based illustrator-as-historian who specialises in public history through visual storytelling – children’s illustration, comics, murals, public art installations, maps/trails. Co-creating with children and young people, Kremena interweaves text and images, creative writing, characters, and humour to bring hidden and forgotten archives/narratives to life. www.kremenadimitrova.com
Explore how illustration can be used to visualise history by practicing your existing creative skills and by learning new artistic techniques.
Help us co-create a research comic and co-curate an exhibition at Benjamin Franklin House on 2-18 December 2024.
“Creative and collaborative work helps to uncover and communicate marginalised and diverse stories. But, it is essential to acknowledge how much we do not – and will never – know about children’s lives in the past. This offers valuable scope to engage visitors in the practice and ethics of research and story-telling.” (Lamb & Pooley, 2023, p. 2). Traversing histories and geographies across time and space, these workshops draw on R.G. Collingwood’s (1946/1994, p. 245) theory and approach to re-constructing knowledge about the past that relies on the historical imagination, or in Collingwood’s own words “… the historian’s picture of the past is… in every detail an imaginary picture…”.
We look forward to meeting you!
FREE August Events in the heart of London at Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street. BOOK TICKETS BELOW;
Thursday 8 August 2024 at 1-3pm
Friday 9 August 2024 at 10am-12pm
Friday 23 August 2024 at 10am-12pm
Join a fun-filled summer craft fair at Fulham Palace, featuring Benjamin Franklin House, the William Morris Society and Leighton House!
With hands-on craft activities from each historic site, offering a variety of creative fun for all ages. Recreate the iconic Strawberry Thief bird with the William Morris society, make peg dolls and Victorian thaumatropes with Fulham Palace, design your very own Georgian home with Benjamin Franklin House and more! There’s something for everyone, designed to delight children and their families.
We’re pleased to announce the return of our Summer Walking Tours on July 25th and August 22nd!
Join tour guide extraordinaire Brian to explore the sights, sounds, and smells of Benjamin Franklin’s 18th-century London! From famous thoroughfares to hidden streets, you’ll uncover a layer of London history and learn about its transformation over the last 200 years.
Starting at our doorstep, our expert guide will lead you around our local area to follow the steps Franklin would have taken whilst living and working here just prior to the American Revolution. As a witness to George III’s coronation on September 22, 1761, we will also be retracing the steps that Ben might have taken on that historic day!
Thursday, July 25th at 3pm
Thursday, August 22nd at 3pm
If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to contact Front of House Manager Megan at supervisor@benjaminfranklinhouse.org.
In this session, we will learn all about Benjamin Franklin’s fascination with the stars. As a member of the famed Lunar Society he travelled to Birmingham every full moon to meet with some of the most influential figures from the 18th century including Erasmus Darwin, Joseph Priestley and James Watt.
The Young Scientists will explore our Solar System; what it is and how it works. We will also design and craft our very own diorama of the Solar System to take home!
Due to our limited resources – there are a select number of tickets available for this event.
Please only reserve a ticket for the children attending.
Due to absences in previous sessions – you will be asked to confirm attendance ahead of the event to ensure all tickets are accounted for.
This is a FREE after-school workshop most suitable for KS2 pupils and anyone else with a keen interest in Science and History!
Please note: Parents are welcome to attend.
Meet our illustrator in residence, Kremena Dimitrova, and hear about her research related to the museum.
Learn about one of 36 Craven Street’s lesser-known 18th Century residents.
Discover how illustration can be used to visualise history by practicing your existing creative skills and by learning new artistic techniques.
Participate in the co-creation of a research comic to be exhibited at Benjamin Franklin House on 2-18 December 2024.
Make your very own visual creations to take with you home.
We are running two FREE workshops on the day, designed primarily for KS3 and KS4 children. Our first session will be for KS3 (aged 11-14) and our second session will be for KS4 (14-16). However, all are welcome to take part.
To take part in the KS3 session (10:00-11:15) please BOOK HERE.
To take part in the KS4 session (11:15-12:30) please BOOK HERE.
Number of participants per session: Maximum 15.
Activities: Storytelling, observational drawing, tracing, mapping.
National Curriculum Links: History/geography/art.
Franklin’s Young Scientists is our FREE science club for aspiring scientists in Key Stage 2/3 (ages 10-14). Participants learn all about the experiments carried out by Benjamin Franklin and his British friends as well as trying their hand at practical investigations. A range of core topics from the science curriculum are covered including electricity, forces, sound and the human body.
Our Forces workshop will be taking place on Tuesday 30th April 2024 – 5pm-6:30pm
In this session, we will carry out some exciting experiments involving air and water resistance. We will learn all about Franklin’s travels to the Lake District and the Netherlands and recreate some of his research into hydrodynamics.
The Young Scientists will test his famous oil on water experiment, which he carried out in the Lake District in 1772. They will explore the various forces involved in water and air resistance to support their learning in KS2/3 and apply these to a fun experiment at the end of the session. Each Scientist will be tasked with creating their very own parachute to experiment with air resistance and aerodynamics.
This is a FREE after-school workshop most suitable for Year 6-9 pupils and anyone else with a keen interest in Science and History! These workshops will run monthly with the next session occurring on 9th March.
Please note: Parents are welcome to attend, however there is a cap of one adult per child during busier sessions.
Join us after-school on Wednesday 13th December at 4:30pm as we celebrate Christmas at Benjamin Franklin’s wonderful Grade I-Listed Georgian town house in the heart of London. You and your family will learn all about the rich history of Christmas in the 18th century and discover which Georgian traditions have survived to this day!
Learn about the history of Christmas in London, from the 18th century to the present day.
Discover the Georgian traditions that Benjamin Franklin experienced over 250 years ago!
Create your very own Christmas decorations to take home. From a toilet roll Santa to top your tree to sparkly icicles to hang from your mantlepiece!
Make a special Christmas card for a loved one using one of our Georgian or Victorian designs and write your message using one of our quill pens!
This FREE event is designed primarily for families with children aged 4-10. However, all are welcome to take part in the festivities!
