There is only so much we understand. There is only so much we make sense of in advance. Are we spending too much time trying to be right, and too little time simply maximising our chances of getting lucky?
Join Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK and Board Member of Benjamin Franklin House, for this fascinating talk.
Watch the full talk and Q&A below:
Join our series of weekly virtual classes to learn how Ben Franklin’s inventions and scientific discoveries illuminate the national curriculum! You can recreate all the featured science demonstrations at home using household materials.
Have you heard of Ben Franklin’s long arm? He used this invention to reach books on high shelves. Learn how Ben drew on his knowledge of forces to invent this handy device and create your own to use at home!
Activity Materials: cardboard, 4 split pins, 1 rubber band, string, scissors, tape, ruler, pencil
Links to the Science Curriculum:
KS2: Forces (Y3, Y5)
KS3: Forces
Most Suitable for KS2 and KS3 (Grades 2-8) but all ages welcome!
If you have any questions, please contact education@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Watch the full class and demonstration:
How to make a long arm:
Join our series of weekly virtual classes to learn how Ben Franklin’s inventions and scientific discoveries illuminate the national curriculum! You can recreate all the featured science demonstrations at home using household materials.
One evening in 1743, storm clouds blocked Ben Franklin’s view of a lunar eclipse. This led him to find out more about how they move across the sky. Learn how storms work and the role they play in the water cycle before making your own rainstorm in a jar!
Activity Materials: 1 glass jar (e.g. empty jam jar), 1 jug of water, shaving foam, blue food colouring, pipette (optional)
Links to the Science Curriculum:
KS2: States of Matter (Y4, Y5)
KS3: Matter – Physical Changes
Most Suitable for KS2 and KS3 (US Grades 2-8) but all ages welcome!
If you have any questions, please contact education@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Watch the full class and demonstration:
Join our series of weekly virtual classes to learn how Ben Franklin’s inventions and scientific discoveries illuminate the national curriculum! You can recreate all the featured science demonstrations at home using household materials.
Did you know that Ben Franklin observed and wrote about the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis? Uncover the science behind these magnificent colours in the sky and create a simple telescope to carry out sky gazing of your own!
Activity Materials: 2 cardboard tubes (e.g. from kitchen roll), 1 split pin, tape, scissors, ruler, pencil
Links to the Science Curriculum:
KS2: Earth and Space (Y5)
KS3: Space Physics
Most Suitable for KS2 and KS3 (US Grades 2-8) but all ages welcome!
If you have any questions, please contact education@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Watch the full class and demonstration:
This talk will explore the early development of a distinctly American form of lodging, the motel. A child of the automobile age, the ‘motor hotel’ first flourished during the Depression and experienced its heyday after World War Two. Dr Cara Rodway, Deputy Head of the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British Library, and Chair of the British Association for American Studies, will share her passion for these ordinary yet surprising and evocative places and discuss what they have come to represent in contemporary American culture.
Watch the full talk and Q&A below:
“The acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching” -Thomas Jefferson, 1812
Mallory Horrill, PhD student at University College London, Institute of the Americas, House Manager and Curator of the Emery Walker Trust, and former Operations Manager of Benjamin Franklin House, will be speaking on the Battle of Queenston Heights, a seminal battle in the War of 1812. This talk will explore why the United States entered into war with Great Britain (referred to by some as the ‘Second War of Independence’) and discuss in detail the Battle of Queenston Heights, the first major battle in the war. Mallory is especially interested in identity and will explore how this battle and the larger British victory of the War of 1812 impacted and shaped the formation of the Canadian identity.
Watch the full talk and Q&A here:
In this talk, Paul Myles will look at the life and times of Thomas Paine and his role in the American Revolution, focusing on his time in the town of Lewes and the Case of the Excise Officers.
Paul Myles was an engineer who managed large construction projects for 25 years. In 2009 he moved into history when he oversaw a major festival in Lewes to mark the 200th anniversary of Paine’s death, which led to the publication of two books: Thomas Paine in Lewes, 1768-1774: A Prelude to American Independence, released in 2009 with a new edition hot off the presses this year, and The Rise of Thomas Paine and the Case of the Excise Officers published in 2018. He is also a board member and officer of the Thomas Paine Society UK.
Watch the full talk and Q&A below:
In collaboration with Newington Green Meeting House and The Museum of Methodism & John Wesley’s House, we have created digital resources for Ks2-3 (Us Grades 4-8) to inspire their writing. All of our unique historical sites are about making the world a better place and celebrating people that championed these changes.
The webinar below was recorded on 20 May 2020 to introduce teachers and home educators to the resources created by each site and how to use them with students.
You can download the Benjamin Franklin House resources here
You can download the Newington Green Meeting House resources here
You can download The Museum of Methodism and John Wesley’s House resources here
Please don’t hesitate to contact our Education Manager if you have any questions about the webinar or resources.
In this lecture, Dr. George Boudreau explores Dr. Franklin’s last years, a sometimes overlooked, but essential part of the great man’s life. Starting with his final visit to England on the way home from ambassadorial service in Paris, the illustrated lecture explores his reputation in the Empire after America secured her independence, and then the changes he encountered in the newly United States when he returned to Philadelphia. Franklin’s family dynamic, developing ideas about abolition and slavery, encounters with a new American economy, and continuing fascination with the scientific realm all vied for time in his busy mind as he helped write the Constitution of the United States and new Pennsylvania government. This sage did not go gently into that good night.
Watch the full talk and Q&A here:
All past virtual talks are available on our YouTube channel here. Find playlists of themed talks below:
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Ben’s Book Club: ‘Incomparable World’ by S I Martin
Tuesday 26 October 2021, 5pm UK/12pm ET. Register to watch the livestream here
This month S I Martin will do a reading and discuss his book Incomparable World which reimagines 1780s London, showcasing the untold stories of African-American soldiers grappling with their post-war freedom. Bursting with energy and vivid detail, Incomparable World boldly uncovers a long-buried narrative of black Britain.
Limited tickets will be available to attend in person at Benjamin Franklin House. Buy tickets to attend here. Drink Included!
Ben’s Book Club: ‘The Cabinet’ by Dr Lindsay M. Chervinsky
Wednesday 3 November, 12pm ET/5pm GMT. Register here
Dr Chervinsky, Senior Fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, and Professorial Lecturer at the School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University, will discuss her book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, which reveals how George Washington created one of the most powerful bodies in the federal government.
Robert H Smith Lecture in American Democracy: Justin Webb
Monday 8 November 2020, 5pm GMT/12pm ET
Our annual Robert H Smith Lecture in American Democracy will once again be held in partnership with the LSE Department of Government. This year, the lecture will be on the theme of “Is American Democracy Under Threat?” with journalist Justin Webb.
Book Launch: ‘Washington at the Plow’ by Bruce A. Ragsdale
Tuesday 23 November, 1pm ET/6pm GMT
Tom McCall Photography
Bruce A. Ragsdale will discuss his book, Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery which depicts the “first farmer of America” as a leading practitioner of the New Husbandry, a transatlantic movement that spearheaded advancements in crop rotation.
Register here to attend virtually or here to attend in person. Drink included!
Ben’s Book Club: ‘Running from Bondage’ by Karen Cook-Bell
Wednesday 15 December, 12pm ET/5pm GMT. Register here
Karen Cook-Bell, Associate Professor of History at Bowie State University, will discuss her book, Running from Bondage, recounting the important stories of enslaved women, who comprised one-third of all runaways, and the ways in which they fled, or attempted to flee, bondage during and after the Revolutionary War.
