Local Teens Record Audio Tours to Get Youth Interested in Philly’s Museums
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Many teenagers would argue that museum tours don’t exactly scream cool … up until now. The Philly museum scene is gaining youth appeal with the help of The Greater Philadelphia Culture Alliance’s Students At Museums in Philly (STAMP) program.
On Thursday May 28th hundreds of Philly teens will flock to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to partake in the debut of the teen-crafted STAMP Audio Tours. After special announcements by the STAMP Teen Council and Mayor Michael Nutter, hundreds of youth will be released to partake in a free scavenger hunt that will take participants through five different museums along the Parkway.
The first five tours will include the Dinosaur Hall exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University; the Modern and Contemporary Art and Japanese Tea House exhibits at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Al Capone’s Cell at Eastern State Penitentiary; the Joel N. Bloom Observatory at the Franklin Institute; and the Collection Gallery at The Barnes Foundation.
The scavenger hunt will end in front of the Barnes Museum, where local hip-hop artist Chill Moody will lead the teens in a dance party from 4 p.m. to 7.pm. Guests who successfully complete the STAMP on the Parkway scavenger hunt will have access to grand prizes along with additional smaller prizes that will be available throughout the evening. Museums haven’t sparked this much excitement since Ben Stiller played a night watchman and discovered exhibits came alive at night.
For the rest of the summer local high schoolers will have access to the STAMP Audio Tour. The tours were designed on a DIY platform and were written and recorded by teens for teens. Each audio tour comes complete with relatable insider tips and gives students access to collections beyond the typical museum tours. Teens can discover, for instance, more about the how Academy of Natural Science uses 3-D printing to recreate ancient fossils or learn why there are no labels on the walls of the Barnes Foundation. All insider tips and information have been pre-approved by fellow adolescents, so you know they’re “P.H.” phat.
The STAMP Pass is available at no charge to teens ages 14 to 19 who live in the City of Philadelphia. Even after the initial kickoff, teens will be able to access the audio tours at any time by visiting spts.us/stamp, where additional tours will be added later this summer.
Teens who are new to the program can sign up for a STAMP Pass at phillySTAMPpass.org.
The STAMP audio tours are available online and accessible at any location via smartphone.
Participating STAMP museums and cultural institutions:
- African American Museum in Philadelphia
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
- Barnes Foundation
- Eastern State Penitentiary
- Fabric Workshop and Museum
- The Franklin Institute
- Institute of Contemporary Art
- Mutter Museum
- National Constitution Center
- National Museum of American Jewish History
- Penn Museum
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Philadelphia History Museum
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Philadelphia Zoo
