Fun Family Outing

Last weekend, we went with some new friends to the "Please Touch" museum...a literal wonderland for children! It's in a newly renovated building that was originally built for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 (the first major world’s fair to be held in the United States).

For those of you who love random trivia, here are some little-known facts about the Centennial:

• Some 30,000 exhibits filled over 240 exhibit halls spread over 284 acres in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. Nearly every nation in the world exhibited at the fair.
• Charles Hires, a Philadelphia pharmacist, first introduced his new beverage, root beer, at the Centennial.
• Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone during the Exhibition.
• The banana was first introduced to the U.S. at the 1876 Centennial, where it was wrapped in foil and sold as an exotic treat for a dime.
• Served at the Exhibition, “Centennial Cake” survives today as shoofly pie.