At Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, one of the most beloved exhibits is also the most delicious. Food & Family, a 3,650-square-foot permanent exhibit on the museum’s Lower Level, doubles the size of the museum’s original market and turns the journey of food, from source to gathering place, into pure play.
Presented by GIANT, the exhibit unfolds in three connected zones: a shopping market, a hybrid home and industrial kitchen, and a neighborhood festival area. Children can shop for dinner at the supermarket, restock shelves and ring up groceries for customers, cook a pizza in a wood-fire oven, explore spices, cheeses and teas from around the world, grill burgers for a block party, and even decorate a birthday cake.
The big questions behind the fun are woven through every activity: Where does food come from, and where can we find it? How do we prepare food? And how can we share food together? Along the way, kids discover the importance of food in cultures, communities and family traditions, including their own.
Please Touch Museum fills Memorial Hall, the grand 1876 Centennial hall in Fairmount Park, at 4231 Avenue of the Republic. Food & Family is included with museum admission; hours and tickets are at pleasetouchmuseum.org.
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons
