Contact Stephen Wilson
+44 208 7839 2013 education@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Benjamin Franklin House Children’s Summer Fête, 9, 16 and 23 August 2011
London, 13 July 2011 – Benjamin Franklin House, the world’s only remaining
Franklin Home, will be hosting its first annual Summer Fête, in collaboration with special guests from the world of heritage including Burgh House, Dr. Johnson’s
House, John Wesley ’s House, Keats House, and Kelmscott House.

At the Summer Fête , children will have the opportunity to: learn about Benjamin Franklin’s success as a printer and print their own message, picture, or sign using everyday objects.
 help construct a large model of the ‘Hollow Elm School’ (a school at the top of an elm tree) that reputedly stood on Hampstead Heath in the 18 th century.
 transform themselves into a Georgian lady or gentleman with 18 th century costumes and accessories, and discover language at that time with games using the weird and wonderful words in Dr Johnson's Dictionary.
 test their literary skills with the Keats House Word Game and write their own haiku inspired by John Keats and Regency London.
 create their own original art work inspired by Willia m Morris’s beautiful patterns.
Morris’s swirling leaves, glowing fruit and enchanting flowers will inspire their own designs which will be transferred onto a cotton bag to take home.
 make their own 18th-century puppets and create stained glass windows inspired by John Wesley’s 18th century chapel.
Benjamin Franklin House opened to the public for the first time on 17 January 2006 on Franklin’s 300 th birthday and now serves as a unique living history museum and

- 2 - educational facility in the heart of London, just off Trafalgar Square. Built in 1730, the
Grade I listed building was home to Franklin – scientist, inventor, philosopher, diplomat and US Founding Father – for nearly 16 years between 1757 and 1775.
During his time in London, Franklin developed strong personal and professional relationships with a number of the eminent thinkers of the day (Franklin and Samuel
Johnson lived and worked within a mile of each other between 1757 and 1759, when
Dr Johnson was residing in Gough Square in the City of London). Benjamin Franklin
House celebrates such relationships with this first ever Summer Fête .
Ends
Notes to Editors:
1. The Benjamin Franklin House Summer Fête takes place on Tuesdays 9, 16 and 23 August 2011, 11.00-2.00pm at Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven
Street, London WC2N 5NF. For more information and images, please contact
Stephen Wilson, Education Manager on +44 (0)20 7839 2013 or education@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
.
2. Tickets are £5 for children and free for accompanying adults and can be booked by phone +44 (0)20 7839 2013, email education@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
, or a cheque payable to Friends of
Benjamin Franklin House sent to Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street,
London WC2N 5NF.
3. Benjamin Franklin House is located in the heart of London, just steps from famed Trafalgar Square. It is the world's only surviving Franklin residence.
Between 1757 and 1775, it was home to Dr Benjamin Franklin – scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor, and US Founding Father – and became the first de facto US embassy during a pivotal time in Anglo-American history.
Rescued from dereliction, the Grade I heritage treasure opened to the public on Franklin's 300th birthday in 2006. See www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org
.
4. Benjamin Franklin House is a founding member of the London Shh… (Small historic houses) network, along with Fête partners Burgh House , Dr Johnson’s
House , Keats House and Kelmscott House . London Shh... is a collection of six of the city's hidden-gems; small historic houses which tell the stories of fascinating and famous former residents.