Exhibits Overview
Please Touch Museum is home to unique exhibits designed to encourage learning through play. The museum’s exhibits have more than tripled in size at Memorial Hall, growing to 38,000 square feet from the 11,000 square feet in the museum’s longtime home at 210 N. 21st Street.
Exhibits at Please Touch Museum begin with what children know, using everyday objects and surroundings to create environments that encourage imagination, discovery and learning through play. The galleries are designed to appeal to the natural wonder and curiosity of children, who are encouraged to create their own experiences throughout the museum. The open-endedness of the exhibits allows families to personalize each visit, for there is no wrong way to play!
Visitors begin their journey in the Great Hall, a stunning space crowned by a soaring dome. Here, visitors encounter a 40-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty’s Arm and Torch. In true Please Touch Museum fashion this sculpture is created out of toys, games and other found objects gathered and assembled by Philadelphia artist Leo Sewell.
Exhibits inside Memorial Hall are grouped into six zones, with individual ‘sub-zones’ that are designed to appeal to different age groups - including three areas for children ages 3 and under. Longtime favorites from 21st Street, like the SEPTA Bus and the Supermarket, are incorporated alongside new attractions inside this grand architectural space.