February 13, 2026
Kristin Hunt/PhillyVoice
The Universal exhibit at the Franklin Institute opens with a special message from Steven Spielberg, whose 'Jurassic Park' franchise inspired rides and entire islands at the studio's theme parks. A velociraptor model from one of them is pictured above.
The Franklin Institute has invited a velociraptor from "Jurassic World" and a gingerbread man from "Shrek" into its halls, but the museum's new exhibit isn't exactly about movies.
"Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition," opening Saturday, focuses on the rides and attractions spun off from the studio's properties. A mix of roller coaster pieces, costumes, storyboards and interactive displays, the collection spans eight galleries in the museum's upper floors. It is making its first stop in Philadelphia ahead of a planned five-year national tour.
Franklin Institute President and CEO Larry Dubinski characterized the exhibit as the latest in a "roster of special exhibits" the museum has brought to Philadelphia that have "strengthened our cultural landscape and brought tens of millions of people to our great city and region" at a press conference Thursday. The museum also has served as the launchpad for touring Harry Potter and Disney collections.
The Universal exhibit begins in a small room lined with video screens, each trimmed with scalloped frames that emulate the awnings of the Universal studio tour trams. After the lights go down, Steven Spielberg welcomes visitors with a recorded message about the theme parks' history. The collection continues behind the door with sketches and large-scale models from "How to Train Your Dragon," "Kung Fu Panda," "The Secret Life of Pets," "Shrek" and "Jurassic World" attractions. A glass case contains an enormous, three-headed animatronic sheep, which can be manipulated with joysticks. Tilts in different directions move its heads, eyelids and jaws.
Figures from 'Kung Fu Panda' and 'Shrek' are scattered across the galleries.
These interactive displays, a staple of the Franklin Institute, also include a model roller coaster that demonstrates basic physics. Kids can take a marble from the bottom and drop it from any part of the peak.
Another station lets people design their own coasters with hand-drawn drops and loops; a simulation then explains if their creations are structurally sound.
A "Guitar Hero"-style game prompts players to man the control board of a live show at a Universal theme park. And aspiring make-up artists can paint blood, spiders and stitches on digital clowns and vampires, in a nod to the studio's century-old monster franchise.
A mechanical display demonstrates the basic principles of physics. Visitors take a marble and drop it from any point on the roller coaster model track.
Short videos playing throughout the 18,000-square-foot space feature interviews with the artists, designers and engineers who build these theme parks. There's also a gift shop stocked with Harry Potter merchandise on the way out.
The exhibit, pitched as the Franklin Institute's marquee 2026 attraction, is open through Sept. 7.
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