[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 177 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING PHILADELPHIA'S PLEASE TOUCH MUSEUM

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                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 19, 2008

  Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, an extraordinary win-win development has 
recently expanded and enriched the cultural scene in the City of 
Philadelphia. And it is thrilling for countless youngsters across our 
region.
  Philadelphia has always been remarkable for its museum experiences, 
from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute, the 
Academy of Natural Sciences, to museums that interpret the history and 
origins of our nation and liberty, museums that extol the experiences 
of African Americans, Jewish Americans, Polish Americans and many, many 
more.
  But there is nothing quite like the Please Touch Museum for hands-on, 
visceral (and subtly educational) appeal to our youngest and most 
curious citizens. Please Touch has been the must-stop for youngsters 
and young-at-heart adults since it opened in 1976 not far from 
Philadelphia's museum-chocked Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Its name was 
Rule One. Everything was up-close and available. No longer did parents 
have to tell their kids, ``Don't touch that!'' Please Touch moved and 
expanded several times, but inevitably, its popularity outpaced every 
new location.
  Meanwhile stately Memorial Hall, grand icon and last vestige of the 
world-shattering 1876 Centennial Exhibition, stood almost unused and 
slowly deteriorating in Fairmount Park, a few miles to the west.
  Under the leadership of President and CEO Nancy Kolb, the search for 
a new home for Please Touch began in earnest a decade ago. When a 
riverfront plan failed to materialize, the search turned to Memorial 
Hall. A landmark agreement among the City of Philadelphia, the 
Fairmount Park Commission and Please Touch resulted in an 80-year lease 
signed in 2005, and the project was underway.
  On October 18, 2008, the ``new'' Memorial Hall, fresh from an $88 
million renovation, opened its doors as home for the dramatically 
expanded, 38,000 square foot Please Touch Museum. At the same time, 
Please Touch won coveted accreditation by the American Association of 
Museums, one of just 775 institutions out of the nation's 17,500 
museums to be currently accredited.
  Please Touch now joins the nearby Philadelphia Zoo and other 
attractions--as well as Fairmount Park itself--in the exciting 
Centennial District of West Philadelphia. The October 18 official 
opening drew a record attendance, and the crowds keep on coming--to 
ride the century-old restored carousel or the monorail, to ``drive'' a 
kid-size SEPTA bus, to ``shop'' in a scaled down ShopRite grocery store 
(complete with checkout counters), to float water duckies, to visit 
Fairytale Garden and Alice's wonderland adventures . . .
  And always, always to ``Please Touch.''

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