Franklin and the American Experiment

Here is the Poster that the Advertisement Committee and I created. We plan on hanging these up around campus to attract people to our showcase. We are currently in the process of creating a program to hand out at the showcase.

Saw this in the Onion, thought you would find it interesting.

Currency

The “timeline” committee is more of a planning committee.  We are organizing the general structure of the event, are taking care of the purchases necessary for the individual exhibit.  We are also helping any group that may need assistance.

I am also dressing up as Franklin, which may be fun for the advertisements.

Here is a video about Franklin and Boston.

Benjamin Franklin

We have come up with a few ideas for the Innovation section of the showcase. We are going to have a list of all of the innovations/inventions that Franklin created, and explain how all of these innovations have had such a detrimental impact on society today. We will then elaborate and demonstrate a few of these innovations and inventions, and give a little more background on each.

Jason and Anna will be working on Franklin’s invention of swim flippers, and Briana and Megan will demonstrate and explain the significance of Franklin’s experiment with electricity.

The invention I am focusing on is the Glass Armonica, one of Franklin’s favorite inventions. When Franklin invented the Glass Armonica in 1762, he was largely interested in music and attended concerts regularly. At one of these concerts, he saw a man perform a song on water tuned wineglasses. This made him wonder how he could make a musical instrument that would be far more convenient and take away the hassle of having to tune the water level every time, and thus, the Glass Armonica was born.

Below is a picture of what the Glass Armonica looked like.

The Glass Armonica is basically a bunch of horizontally stacked glass bowls of different width and thickness that are constantly spinning. The person playing the instrument must dip their fingers in water and touch the spinning glasses in order to produce sound. At first, this instrument was wildly popular. Even Mozart and Beethoven composed songs for the Glass Armonica. However its popularity quickly dies out, and today there are only about twelve Glass Armonica players worldwide.

For the showcase, I plan on demonstrating how the Glass Armonica worked by playing the classic song, “Mary had a Little Lamb” on four glasses. I have already established the correct amounts of water needed. Franklin too had to experiment with the glasses to get the perfect pitch for each to ensure that he created a perfect musical scale that. Below is a clip of what I am going to be doing.

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One of the most interesting trips that we have taken was to the printing press shop. What first caught my attention was that i thought it would be a chocolate shop trip but that was quickly overshadowed when i saw the guy completely dressed as if he was Benjamin Franklin and living in those times. Looking at all the equipment, i realized how much effort and time went into printing something in those times. The set up for printing took hours, requiring every letter to be precisely set in place before the actual printing could happen. The letters would have to be blotted with an ink ball and then pressed down (hence printing press) really hard in order to get the letters on the paper. It is impressive how something like the printing press could be created given the intricate process that it takes in order to get the final print, however i am grateful that now we have much simpler ways of printing thanks to the printing press. The guy who looked scarily similar to Benjamin Franklin was very informative and knew so much about the printing press and Franklin himself. It was an interesting and cool trip that i have never experienced before. Below is a picture that i took of the experience of Professor Allison in action with the ink balls.

Hey all!  These are what I singled out from Franklin’s life that we can decide what to make exhibits for.

• The family business: Soap making
• Franklin as a Printer
  • As apprentice or master printer
• Silence Dogood
  • Have examples of satirical articles and explaining what they mean/historical relevance
• Electricity experiment
• Franklin as politician
  • Treaty of Paris
  • Declaration of Independence
  • What was Franklin’s role?
• Present day significance of Franklin
  • Fire department
  • Libraries
  • $100 bill
  • Batteries
  • etc.
• Franklin Misconceptions

Between the last two days our group made our way around Boston to find many different spots given to us by Professor Allison to find.

Here is the link to look at all the pictures we took along our journey: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14bA9h2XcGwaWQxDKD8ZnmRszNqa4XtgeO-PjyswHSkc/edit?usp=sharing

To learn more about where we stopped on our scavenger hunt, enjoy these summaries and fun facts.

Faneuil Hall- The Great Hall, is located in the middle of the Faneuil Hall Market and meeting place. Here, many famous historical figures have given speeches, a few examples being Samuel Adams and James Otis. Today it is a stop on the Freedom Trail and remains an important part of Boston’s culture and history.

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company- The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company is the oldest commissioned Military Company of America and the third oldest in the world. The company has a museum on the 4th floor of the great hall that showcases many military relics from over the years. One of which, is the waist coat of General Warren, who died during the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Statue of Arnold “Red” Auerbach- Red Auerbach was a famous coach and manager of the Boston Celtics. He led the team to nine NBA titles in his time as coach of the team. The statue was made by Lloyd Lillie to commemorate him in one of his victory poses, lighting a cigar. Around him are casts of the shoes of both Bill Rodgers and Larry Bird, two famous players of the Celtics.

Boston’s Tallest Building when it opened in 1914, and for the next 50 years- Boston’s Custom House Tower was the tallest building in Boston standing at 496 ft. exceeding Boston’s height limit of 125 ft.. The Prudential surpassed the Custom House Tower in 1947. The building took four and a half years and $1.8 million dollars to complete. Today, the building is a Marriott Hotel.

Photograph of the seal of the United States (In the dome of the Custom House)- The seal of the United States, is located at the top of the Custom House tower and can be seen from the main lobby of the hotel, if guests simply stop and look up.

Seals at the Aquarium- The harbor seal exhibit is located to the left of the front doors of the New England Aquarium. In the 42,000 gallon tank are two families of seals, with each seal having a distinct look and names. One of the most famous seals, Hoover, could say several phrases, however he passed away in 1985 and now his grandson Chacoda is learning to speak to carry on this legacy.

Rowe’s Wharf & Captain Bonner’s Maps- Captain John Bonner was a mapmaker during the 1700’s. He is responsible for making maps of Boston during this time. The maps of him and others are on display at the Boston Harbor Hotel. P.S.A- Pictures of the maps are normally prohibited.

Independence Wharf- This historic building is a highlight of the Boston Harborwalk experience. On the 14th floor, there is an observation deck that offers a beautiful, bird’s eye view of the Fort Point Channel and beyond. Admission is free, visitors just need to show a picture ID and sign in at the front desk.

Real site of the Boston Tea Party- The actual site of the Boston Tea Party, was an area called Griffin’s Wharf. This wharf has since been filled in, and is not in existence, however the site is around the area of Independence Wharf and if you take a picture, facing south, chances are you have it that picture.

Joe Moakley Courthouse- The Joe Moakley Courthouse is located on 1 Courthouse Way in Boston. It can be seen from many locations down in the Boston Harbor. Despite being a courthouse, the building is more open to public use, having art and culture exhibitions, educational programs for children, and a chance to both view and tour historic vessels.

By: Brianna Duffy, Angela Cutone, Brendan Murphy, Vince Mastantuno, Ben Mimoso