Liberty Bell

www.ushistory.org/libertybell
The Liberty Bell may be famous now, but people used to hate it. Why? It sounded awful. It sounded so bad that in 1772 a petition was sent to the Assembly from local residents who were "incommoded and distressed" by its constant ringing. They even tried to replace the thing with a new bell from England, but it sounded no better, and they just kept using the old bell. In 1776, however, the Liberty Bell's popularity changed drastically when it was used to call Philadelphia residents to Independence Hall for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Today it's one of the most popular tourist attractions in Philadelphia...and thankfully for our ears, it's also quiet.

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Mütter Museum

http://www.collphyphil.org/site/mutter_museum.html
The Mütter Museum is not for those with weak stomachs. Housed at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the Mütter is dedicated to educating people about human anatomy and physical anomalies. What sort of anomalies? Well, how about the tallest human skeleton on display in North America, a plaster cast of conjoined twins Cheng and Eng, or a tumor removed from Grover Cleveland? And that's just the beginning of the collection of remains and oddities at a museum that boasts a collection of over "2,000 objects extracted from people's throats."

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Rosenbach Museum and Library

www.rosenbach.org
The Rosenbach Museum and Library is one of the most original museums around. Literally. The museum's focus is on original manuscripts and first editions, and, boy, does it have some good ones. Compiled by collectors and brothers Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach and Philip A. Rosenbach, the museum holds original drawings by Daumier, Fragonard, and Blake, as well as first editions of Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack, James Joyce's Ulysses, and original drawings from Maurice Sendak's beloved Where the Wild Things Are.

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National Constitution Center

www.constitutioncenter.org
Opened in 2003, the National Constitution Center is the nation's first and only museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution. Drawing more than one million visitors a year to its exhibition halls, the 160,000-square-foot center offers visitors a stunning video plus live actors presentation and more than 100 interactive and multimedia exhibits. The Pei Cobb Freed & Partners-designed building is also a striking architectural addition to Philadelphia's historic district.

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The Franklin Institute

www.fi.edu
Let's face it: if historians discovered that Benjamin Franklin never slept, it wouldn't be surprising. The guy was a statesman, politician, inventor, Revolutionary War patriot, abolitionist, printer, philosopher, writer, economist, and Philadelphian...just to name a few. It only makes sense, then, that the museum built in his name features everything from a walk-in model of a human heart to an IMAX theatre to traveling exhibits including the treasures of King Tut...and that's just on the first floor. This place is as fun for adults as it is for kids, especially when they host ridiculous events like a live show from Tim and Eric, the Philadelphians who went on to create Tom Goes to the Mayor and the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! for Adult Swim. Ben Franklin would be proud.

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Academy of Natural Sciences Museum

www.acnatsci.org
Sometimes we all need to take a break from our busy days. We need to stretch and reconnect with nature and history, with the greater world. These are times when we need to look at dinosaur bones. Thank goodness for the Academy of Natural Sciences Museum, there to fill all of our dinosaur bone needs...not to mention any need we might have to look at the 17 million other specimens maintained by the Academy. The Drexel-affiliated museum also features thousands of dioramas detailing environments from the equator to Antarctica, and one of the most extensive collections in the nation of artifacts from the Lewis and Clark expedition. Trust us — it's fun!

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History