Uwishunu.com

The Van de Graaff generator will make your hair stand on end. (Photo courtesy Franklin Institute)

Attention all you ingenious individuals who think you’re a regular Leonardo da Vinci: the Franklin Institute has a new program that’s right up your alley. Called “How Things Work,” and running every weekend from tomorrow, February 19, through March 27, the programming offers a chance to find your inner Renaissance man, or woman.

Special activities include the K,Nex® Build Challenge, where you can test your engineering skills with colorful contemporary tinker toys that connect in infinite ways. Then see how crafty and aerodynamic you can get with a single sheet of paper at the Paper Airplane Design and Test Zone. Or, hit up the Papermaking Cart and learn how to make paper by hand.

Special science experiments will highlight the work of da Vinci, like the Van de Graff Generator: an electrostatic machine that’ll make your hair stand on end (for real).

These events complement the Franklin Institute’s new exhibit Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop, featuring life-size models and touch-screen computers that enable you to delve deep into the mind of this original polymath.

All programs and events above are included in museum admission. An additional ticket is required for admission to the Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop exhibition.

How Things Work: Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop
When: Saturdays and Sundays, February 19 through March 27
Where: The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th Street, Philadelphia
Cost: Event is free with museum admission ($15.50 adults, seniors and military personnel $14.50, and children $12) Tickets for Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop are $24.50 adults, $23.50 seniors and $17.50 for children.
More info: www2.fi.edu

There’s been some uncertainty in the status of The Penn Museum’s Secrets of the Silk Road exhibition, so we wanted to clarify what the deal is.

From now to March 15, Secrets of the Silk Road will be presented with the original artifacts and mummies from China for a limited time only.

From March 17-28, the exhibition will continue with all the artifacts but without the two headlining mummies: an infant wrapped in a blue bonnet and burgundy woolen shroud nearly 2,000 years ago, and the nearly 4,000-year-old “Beauty of Xiaohe” woman.

This weekend is the perfect opportunity to visit the exhibition; save room for lunch at the Pepper Mill Cafe, which is serving Silk Road-inspired food.

Secrets of the Silk Road
When: Now-March 28
Where: Penn Museum, 3620 South Street
Cost: Adults $22.50, Seniors (65+)/Military $18.50, Children (6-17)/Students $16.50
More info: www.penn.museum

The replica tower will weigh 3 tons, be equipped with 6,000 light bulbs, and disassemble into 33 pieces for transportation.
(Image courtesy PIFA / Mimi Lien)

The Kimmel Center will be the epicenter of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), coming April 7-May 1, and as part of that role, the entire Commonwealth Plaza is soon to be transformed into a faux-City of Light.

Construction has already begun on the 81-foot light-filled Eiffel Tower that will soar to the sky inside the Kimmel Center, with trains and planes zooming overhead. It will be officially unveiled on April 8, and up for the duration of the festival.

Make like the Parisians and enjoy coffee, hot chocolate and pastries in the morning, and fresh crêpes during lunch, at the Plaza café. Plus at night, there will be wine tastings, free nightly performances and — très chic — a full service bar.

Twice each night, a dazzling light and sound show will bring the tower to life with 6,000 lightbulbs.

Check out PIFA’s constantly updated schedule of events — everything from circus arts to fashion to film — for a sneak peek at the festival’s offerings.

And take a look at another rendering of the tower below.

(more…)

It's going up to 69 degrees (!!) today — enjoy it. (Photo courtesy Parc)

Thank you, Punxsutawney Phil: early spring, indeed!

Take advantage of the warm weather this weekend by grabbing a drink and free appetizers on the roofdeck of The Corner, shopping at an outdoor farmers’ market (Philly Homegrown has a searchable database), or heading out to Longwood Gardens to visit the Orchid Extravaganza, which sees the entire Conservatory transformed into a spring-like refuge of color, beauty and warmth.

Check out our other picks for the long holiday weekend:

Friday

Firkin February at Iron Hill

Frances Trombly: Everything and Nothing exhibit at Moore College of Art & Design

Fifth Annual Marathon Reading: Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway at the Kelly Writers House

Johnny Showcase and the Lefty Lucy Cabaret at Connie’s Ric Rac

Art After 5: Ben Monder at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Amadeus at the Walnut Street Theatre

A Moon For The Misbegotten at the Arden Theatre

Saturday

Bizarre Beasts: Past And Present at The Academy Of Natural Sciences

Anatomy/Academy at The Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts

I ♥ Art! A Post Valentine’s Extravaganza at The Photo Studio

Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop at the Franklin Institute

Secrets of the Silk Road at the Penn Museum

The Peacock Male: Exuberance and Extremes in Masculine Dress at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

2011 Young Voices High School Monologue Festival at the Adrienne Theater

Quizzo Bowl VII at World Cafe Live

Sustainable 19125 Energy and Housing Fair

Ali and Elvis: American Icons at the Michener Museum — Opening Day!

Sunday

Sweet Honey in the Rock at First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia

Presidents’ Day Weekend at the Betsy Ross House and National Constitution Center

Wine and Chocolate class at Chaddsford Winery

Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens

World Music Weekend at the Please Touch Museum

Paleopalooza at the Academy of Natural Sciences — Closing Day!

Race at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre — Closing Day!

The Opera Company Of Philadelphia Presents Gounod’s Romeo And Juliet — Closing Day!

Monday – Presidents’ Day

Presidents’ Day Weekend celebrations at the Betsy Ross House

Presidents’ Day Weekend activities at the National Constitution Center

National Liberty Museum Activities

With the new Art & About Hotel Package, you get a two-day ticket that allows you to visit multiple venues, multiple times.
(Photo credits clockwise from top: Courtesy PMA; J. Smith for GPTMC; G. Widman for GPTMC)

For the first time ever, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is offering a two-day admission ticket (a $62 value) to five of its administered buildings that is included as part of the new Art & About In Philadelphia Hotel Package.

Book your stay (for one or two nights) and receive a pair of two-day combination tickets, meaning you can take your time and return the next day, to visit any of the five Art Museum venues including: the Main Building, Perelman Building, Rodin Museum and Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove Fairmount Park Houses.

Since the Art Museum is almost too big to thoroughly explore in a single visit, the added flexibility of the two-day ticket enables you to take your time gallery-hopping and return the next day to see what you missed. One potential scenario: head to Art After 5 Friday evening and take in some classic European Art complemented with some live eclectic music in the Great Stair Hall, and then return Saturday for to view the modern and contemporary art collections followed by lunch at Stephen Starr’s Granite Hill and maybe a side trip to the Perelman Building.

The hotel package also includes free parking at the hotel. Click here to check out additional offerings (like free coffee or in-room breakfast) from participating hotels around town.

And rates start at just $159!!

Note: The pass is not valid for special ticketed exhibitions and may not be combined with other offers or promotions.

Art & About in Philadelphia Hotel Package [Visit Philly]

Many tickets are already sold out for both shows! (Photo courtesy Shen Yun)

Shen Yun, which means “divine,” returns to Philadelphia for its fifth consecutive year, February 22 and 23.

The classical Chinese dance and orchestral company reinvigorates traditional Chinese culture through exquisite choreography, stunning costumes and sublime music. Ancient legends and modern tales of courage, compassion and grace are portrayed through uplifting performances.

Philadelphia’s grand Academy of Music will join the list of other elite venus at which Shen Yun has performed, including New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, London’s Royal Festival Hall, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center and Paris’s Le Palais de Congrès.

Tickets are available online.

Shen Yun Performing Arts
Where: Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Streets
When: February 22 at 7:30 p.m., February 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Cost: Tickets still available range from $70-$220
More info: www.kimmelcenter.org

Ali was idolized by millions of people around the world. (Photo courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery)

Two of our nation’s most well-known icons, “the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “the Greatest,” meet at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, beginning tomorrow, February 19 through May 15.

“Ali and Elvis: American Icons” features two photography exhibitions: the Smithsonian’s “Elvis at 21:Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer” and art2art’s “Muhammad Ali: The Making of an Icon.”

The former showcases images produced in the 1950s by freelance photojournalist Alfred Wertheimer of the 21-year-old Elvis. Wertheimer had unparalleled access and documented Elvis on the road, backstage, in concert, in the recording studio and at home in Memphis.

The latter exhibit chronicles the life and times of the now-iconic figure who was simultaneously the most beloved and most reviled man in boxing. On display are more than 50 photographs by such distinguished photographers as Annie Leibovitz, Gordon Parks and Art Shay that capture Ali’s positive public image.

With the spring-like weather, it’s the perfect weekend to take a day-trip over to Bucks County.

Below, check out a behind-the-scenes video of Michener staff unpacking the special crates that transport the artwork.

(more…)

McGillin's is now serving authentic O'Hara's Stout direct from Ireland, and O'Reilly's Stout from Sly Fox. (Photo courtesy McGillin's)

Even though St. Patrick’s Day is still a month off, Philadelphia is already getting in the spirit this weekend with special events celebrating all things Irish.

Break out your green garb and be transported to the Emerald Isle, for everything from Celtic music to Guinness.

• 19th Annual Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Music Festival and Fair: Friday, February 18, 6:30 p.m.-12 a.m., Saturday, February 19, 9:30 a.m.-12 a.m., and Sunday, February 20, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Head out to the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia for a weekend-long festival of Celtic music and entertainment. The festival starts with a kick-off concert Friday at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, bagpipers, musicians and dancers take to the stage throughout the day. Dance workshops, whiskey tastings, fencing classes, and other activities will be offered as well. Tickets are $23-$30.

• Philadelphia Irish Theatre Festival: Ongoing until May. Six Philadelphia theater companies have joined together to bring works by Irish playwrights to the stage. Two plays start this week: the Abbey Theatre of Dublin’s TERMINUS by Mark O’Rowe premiered Wednesday, and Theatre Exile’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh opened at Theatre Exile on Thursday. Both plays are part of Theatre Alliance’s Irish Theatre MixTix, so you can save 20% by buying tickets to two or more shows.

More below.

(more…)

Get free cooking tips from professional chefs.
(Photo courtesy Comcast Center)

The Market & Shops at Comcast Center has a new Test-Kitchen, with a regular schedule of cooking demonstrations and complimentary samplings for market patrons.

Located in the southwest portion of the Market & Shops, the kitchen will host demos every third Wednesday at 5 p.m. and third Saturday at noon. All the events are free and open to the public.

Check out the upcoming schedule:

• Saturday, February 19: Sook Hee’s Produce
• Wednesday, March 16: Di Bruno Bros.
• Saturday, March 19: Mike’s Steaks
• Saturday, April 16: Guest Chef Hope Cohen featuring Under the “C”

Stop into The Market & Shops during any of the scheduled demonstrations and pick up a few new cooking tips to try at home.

Market & Shops at Comcast Center Test Kitchen
1701 JFK Boulevard
www.themarketatcomcastcenter.com

Visit the National Liberty Museum to commemorate our nation's Presidents. (Photo courtesy National Liberty Museum)

Celebrate Presidents’ Day, this Monday, February 21, at the National Liberty Museum with exclusive access to presidential artifacts unavailable anywhere else.

There’s a free guided tour every hour, which lets you see genuine White House china, with place settings spanning from President George Washington (1789) to President and Mrs. Nancy Reagan (1988).

Also on display will be an impressive masterwork, the 44-President-strong mural entitled “44 American Presidents Standing Side By Side!” It’s the only one like it in the entire nation.

Young visitors can also help recreate the mural at a special holiday crafting station, open all day.

Pay holiday tribute to American Presidents at the museum that honors their memory year round.

Check out the presidential mural, below.

(more…)