A new exhibit has made its world premiere at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and it’s perfect for theme park lovers and aspiring designers.
Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition highlights the creativity and labor that goes into building Comcast’s globally popular theme parks. Thanks to the Franklin Institute’s dedication to science education, visitors can expect some great STEAM lessons from this unique exhibit.
Location
For more than 200 years, the Franklin Institute has been one of America’s foremost science centers, and in modern times it has established itself as a champion for STEAM learning. In recent years, it has partnered with several beloved IP — including Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney 100 — to illustrate the connection between pop culture and STEAM. Teaming up with Universal naturally made perfect sense. Abby Bysshe of the Franklin Institute describes this first-of-its-kind exhibit as “an immersive showcase of the innovation and imagination behind theme park creation” that “demonstrates our commitment to delivering exceptional experiences with global audience appeal.”
Exhibit Details
The exhibit is laid out over eight themed galleries within 18,000 square feet of space. It was created in collaboration with Comcast/Universal and the award-winning creative design firm MDSX. Fan-favorite IP are featured alongside important details explaining the story of creating rides, shows, and experiences the parks offer. 100 original props, artifacts, and designs from the parks are featured, with a focus on Universal Studios Orlando and Hollywood. With the recent opening of Epic Universe at the Orlando resort, it’s no surprise that a lot of the exhibit features items from this hot new property.
As a theme park lover and aspiring animator, my 11-year-old son loved this entire experience. He dreams of working with Disney Imagineering someday, and this exhibit was the first behind-the-scenes glimpse we’ve ever had into the “imagineering” equivalent of Universal Parks. Best of all, it’s not just pieces in glass cases — there are many interactive elements to the experience. The hands-on immersive aspects of the experience are the most popular parts, forming small lines in front of every station where excited guests of all ages wait to try their hands at theme park engineering and design.
We got to control animatronics from How to Train Your Dragon, design our own themed food treats, and even learn how to put on light projection shows and stage performances. The tasks are all hands-on using things like joysticks and touch-screen computers — but they’re not simple! The rollercoaster design program required careful analysis and final designs frequently came back “not approved” if we didn’t take into account things like momentum for launch.
The various stations are built for all ages, and force even the oldest visitors to use their noggins. Of course, there are also themed items on view that require less “work” — you can look at castle concept art, examine animation tools, or see the inner workings of an animatronic (that’s Snowball from The Secret Life of Pets!)
You can also enjoy the many character photo ops sitting in ride vehicles or posing with beloved pandas and dragons.
Alongside 3D models of the actual carousel in Epic Universe, we also saw the concept art for an interactive show based on the Sing movies that never came to fruition! Learning these little-known park secrets and seeing the behind-the-scenes designs were the best part of this exclusive exhibit.
I especially appreciated the small design details on display here, such as the work and creativity that goes into the interior design of restaurants like this one in Epic Universe.
Just like any good theme park ride, this exhibit ends with — you guessed it — a gift shop! It was a welcome addition, and we were excited to snag a few pieces of Universal merchandise as well as souvenirs themed to this exhibit.
Tickets and Tips
Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition is open seven days a week from February 14, 2026, through September 7, 2026. Times vary by day, and on certain weekend evenings the Universal exhibit stays open later than the rest of the Franklin Institute. You can view schedules and purchase tickets on their website, and opt to either just see the exhibit or pay a bit extra to also have entrance to the entire museum and Fels Planetarium (the second oldest planetarium in America.) We made a great day trip out of it by purchasing tickets for the entire Franklin Insititute experience, and I felt it was a better deal for the price.
The Institute has a two-level parking deck that is on a first-come/first-served basis, so we arrived a bit before opening to ensure we had secure parking. The fee is $25 per car for the day, and you can pay at a kiosk inside the museum before exiting. The whole experience was very smooth and user-friendly.
My Review
We had a truly enjoyable day experiencing this Universal exhibit and touring the entire Franklin Institute. In my opinion, the exhibit is best for: people who are familiar with Universal movies, fans of theme parks, and aspiring engineers or theme park designers.
While visiting an actual Universal Park isn’t a pre-requisite for enjoying this experience, I do think the fact that we’ve been to Universal Orlando and Hollywood helped us appreciate some things we saw. On the other hand, it may be more intriguing to those who have never visited Universal and hope to go someday. While some current items may be a fun preview for people who haven’t been to the parks before, it wasn’t too exciting for me to see current team member costumes or merchandise I already have at home. In my opinion, it would have been more interesting to see classic costumes and merchandise from Universal Parks of yesteryear.
A few other improvements I’d like to see to this exhibit would be themed music, more rarely-seen design items like Epic Universe blueprints, and a bit more of a show-stopping last gallery, as the “finale” they promised did not quite deliver. Nonetheless, the pros of this exhibit greatly outweighed the cons.
Overall, Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition is a fun way for your family to spend a day together. Its use of well-designed interactive elements makes it engaging and educational for visitors of all ages. It’s also a great way to introduce kids to the Franklin Institute and the many careers available in the STEAM field. Any experience that inspires and educates is a universal win in my book.
What Lara Wrote 