Gabagoo44 t1_j5sf304 wrote on January 25, 2023 at 5:53 AM

Reply to comment by ksquad80 in Did the train at the Franklin Institute use to move? by Zyoy

I did this also and a mouse ran right by me at 3am, couldn’t sleep the rest of the night Lmao.

continuity0 t1_j5si3hj wrote on January 25, 2023 at 6:26 AM

I chaperoned a camp-in my kids took part in a few years ago, couldn't sleep at all so I roamed the museum most of the night, and met up with more than a few mice, even one making its way up the main stairwell.. But that's life in the city.

rovinchick t1_j5sjtwu wrote on January 25, 2023 at 6:47 AM

Crap, I slept over there in 2020 right before the pandemic hit and now my skin is crawling thinking about mice running past me. 😂 They still haven't brought back the sleepover since then, even though other museums have, including the Academy of Natural Science. When I asked why, they said they didn't have enough employees to run them, but at $60/head times hundred of kids and chaperones, it seems like it was a profitable endeavour and would be worth finding a few more employees, even if they had to pay them a bit more. Heck, they may even be able to recruit volunteers to run them like the Battleship NJ and Adventure Aquarium do. 🤷

voteforbk t1_j5tip5w wrote on January 25, 2023 at 1:43 PM

The Franklin Institute laid off a far higher percentage of its staff than any other local museum. They laid off something like 2/3 of the staff at the end of March 2020, before any federal loans kicked in. There was a second round in June that year. There might not be anyone left who was involved in that Camp-In program in any capacity. They may have to rebuild it completely.

Also, that place is like the most mouse-infested in the city. A huge old structure that hosts hundreds of elementary schoolers every day who snack all throughout the building.

rovinchick t1_j5tj830 wrote on January 25, 2023 at 1:47 PM

Letting museum space sit any empty instead of generating revenue seems like poor management at this point. My kids loved that sleepover so much, we ended up purchasing a family membership right afterwards. They also haven't brought back their summer camp program, which I'm sure was a profitable program.

voteforbk t1_j5tjn31 wrote on January 25, 2023 at 1:50 PM

What can I say? It is poorly managed.

That said, I think the summer camp management were the same folks who ran the overnight camp, so you’d have to rebuild that as well.