Franklin Gallery

The U.S. Pavilion experience begins in the Franklin Gallery, a pre-show area where visitors are introduced to Benjamin Franklin.  Returning to the world on the eve of his 300th birthday, Franklin is both the narrator and host of the Pavilion main show, The Franklin Spirit.

The centerpiece of this area is a larger-than-life statue of Franklin featuring his kite with an illuminated string, symbolic of his life-changing experiment that unlocked nature's secret of electricity. In the gallery, visitors can control lightning with their fingertips and see changing portraits of Franklin, as well as other scenes from his life, as the narrator relates the story of this man who was an instrumental figure in a time of great progress.

In his amazing life Franklin had witnessed the invention of the steam engine, the submarine and the hot air balloon, and he helped found a nation based on new ideas of freedom. But he is often quoted as saying he had only one regret: he felt he had been born too soon and would miss the amazing age of wonders that was just beginning.