Franklin’s Young Scientists: Forces
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.
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 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 4-7 pupils and anyone else with a keen interest in Science and History!
Please note: Parents are welcome to attend, however there is a cap of one adult per child during busier sessions.
Springtime Open House
Join us for a FREE day of family fun — enjoy a self-guided tour by downloading the Bloomberg Connects app, test your observation skills with a scavenger hunt, try your hand at arts and crafts, and enjoy hot chocolate and practice proper etiquette with Mrs. Polly Hewson, the lady of the House!
Pre-booking is not required. Just drop in, and stay as long as you’d like! Last entry will be from 3:30pm.
Children’s Spring Craft Fair at Fulham Palace
Join a fun-filled spring craft fair, featuring a number of west London museums.
Hosted by Fulham Palace, Benjamin Franklin House will be taking part in a brand-new Spring Fair that offers families a chance to take part in some exciting arts and crafts during the Easter Holidays.
JOIN US ON WEDNESDAY 9TH APRIL 2025 FROM 11AM-3PM
We will be joined by a number of other heritage sites with each one bringing a unique craft relating to their own histories.
Museums and historic houses taking part are;
- Battle of Britain WW2 Bunker
- Benjamin Franklin House
- Boston Manor House
- Chiswick House
- Fulham Palace (hosts)
- Kingston Museum
- Leighton House
- William Morris Society
With hands-on craft activities from each historic site, this event offers a variety of creative fun for all ages. Visitors will also have the chance to dress up in historic outfits from Fulham Palace’s costume collection with their families for a fun and immersive experience.
Tickets are FREE but must be reserved in advance to ensure entry to the Palace. Each site will have stalls located in and around the Palace from 11am until 3pm.
To reserve your spaces, please click HERE to be redirected to the Fulham Palace event page.
2024 US Election Debate with Justin Webb
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.
BOOK TICKETS
Family Event: Halloween!
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.
Summer Family Events @ Benjamin Franklin House
Join us throughout August for an exciting line-up of fun-filled family events at Benjamin Franklin House!
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!
Our Summer Family Events will be;
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!
Summer Family Events: Untold Stories – Visualising History
Learn about 36 Craven Street’s lesser-known 18th Century young resident and help us tell their story.
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
Children’s Summer Fair
Get ready for a day of creativity and fun with activities for the whole family!
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.
Event details:
- This is a free event in partnership with Benjamin Franklin House, Leighton House and The William Morris Society.
- This event is a drop-in event taking place throughout the Palace’s historic rooms.
- This event is suitable for ages 3+.
- Children must be accompanied at all times.
Summer Walking Tours
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.
