2 Best Sights in Pennsylvania, USA

Founded in 1824 to honor Benjamin Franklin, this large science museum is as clever as its namesake, thanks to many dazzling hands-on exhibits. Visitors of all ages can experience everything from sitting in the cockpit of a T-33 jet trainer to walking through an enormous artificial heart (15,000 times life-size). To optimize your time, study the daily schedule of science demonstrations and events online before visiting. Also check special exhibitions such as a major traveling show premiering in early 2026 that will look at the creativity of Universal Destinations and Experiences' theme parks. Don't miss the 30-ton white-marble statue of Franklin; you can see the likeness (and an accompanying 3½-minute multimedia presentation) without paying admission. Weekday afternoons are less busy. 

The Franklin Air Show celebrates powered flight with the Wright Model B Flyer and has virtual reality flight simulator experiences. Wondrous Space examines everything from gravity and asteroids to space careers and possible life beyond Earth. The SportsZone conveys the physics, physiology, and material science behind your favorite sport by simulating surfing, testing your reaction time, and more. Shows in the Fels Planetarium (one show included in general admission) focus on the stars, space exploration, comets, and other phenomena. Open seasonally, the outdoor Science Park has play equipment and picnic tables.

Skulls, antique microscopes, and a cancerous tumor removed from President Grover Cleveland's mouth in 1893 form just part of the unusual medical collection in the Mütter Museum, at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The museum has hundreds of anatomical and pathological specimens, medical instruments, and organs removed from patients, including a piece of John Wilkes Booth's neck tissue. The collection contains 139 skulls; items that belonged to Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, and Joseph Lister; and a 7-foot, 6-inch skeleton, the tallest on public exhibition in the United States.