Lighting a Philadelphia Historic Landmark with Reliable Color
New exterior lighting fixtures from Acclaim Lighting help prepare The Franklin Institute for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
Philadelphia is a city deeply steeped in respected traditions and a rich patriotic history. So, it was only natural that it would provide the backdrop for a lot of our country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
One building in particular that played a major role in the celebrations was The Franklin Institute which honors one of America’s favorite forefathers – Benjamin Franklin. As the most visited museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a top five tourist destination in the City of Philadelphia, The Franklin Institute (TFI) is one of the leading science centers in the country and serves as both a prominent educational and cultural resource and an anchor of the local economy.
Every day, The Franklin Institute provides resources that help people connect with science and technology in creative ways that resonate with learners of all ages and backgrounds. The museum directly reaches more than one million people each year with informal learning experiences that engage students, adults, and families.
A Pivotal Role in American History
In the spirit of inquiry and discovery embodied by Benjamin Franklin, the mission of The Franklin Institute is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. Since its founding in 1824, The Franklin Institute has played a central, yet constantly evolving, role in meeting America's educational needs in the fields of science and technology. More than 100 years later in 1932, despite the fact that the entire country was engulfed in the Great Depression, The Franklin Institute raised enough money in less than two weeks to start building the new science museum and memorial hall located at its current location at 20th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
It became one of the first museums in the nation to offer a hands-on approach to learning. Through three additional capital campaigns (in 1990, 2003, and 2012), The Franklin Institute continued to grow its exhibitions, educational programming, and visitor amenities. Today, the museum features three floors of permanent exhibits, renowned traveling exhibitions, and two auditoriums that welcome local, national, and international visitors. It also houses curatorial collections related to Benjamin Franklin and the Wright Brothers, which are considered national treasures.
Given its proud history and many contributions to American culture and knowledge, it was fitting that The Franklin Institute played a featured role in celebrating our country’s 250th anniversary. To prepare it for the added public attention, a comprehensive exterior and interior lighting upgrade was planned.
A Lighting Upgrade Worth Celebrating
The new lighting system is integrated with the museum's existing control system, which unifies both the interior and exterior environments. The project focused on upgrading interior and exterior lighting systems surrounding the museum to support enhanced multimedia programming and future visitor experiences while preserving the architectural character of the landmark itself. More than simply updating fixtures, the museum needed a flexible visual environment capable of supporting storytelling, presentations, special events, and future programming without losing the atmosphere that makes the memorial feel timeless.
The solution came in the form of programmable RGBW Flood One EO Color fixtures by Acclaim Lighting that were installed across the building façade for dynamic, large-scale public event illumination.
Creating a Welcoming Vibe
Leadership at The Franklin Institute had always wanted the visitor experience to begin even before guests entered the building. Unfortunately, the existing incandescent exterior lights were not bright enough and did not respond consistently to dimming commands received via the older wireless DMX.
That created the need for brighter, more dynamic and more controllable lighting on the building’s exterior in time for the July 2026 celebrations. More specifically, leadership at The Franklin Institute wanted further light throw, more saturated color, and consistent control with fully dimmable lights that matched the overall architecture.
After considerable bench testing of various options, the customer hand-picked Acclaim Lighting Flood One EO Color fixtures for the east and north facades to highlight columns and vertical real estate between the windows. These provided programmable RGBW façade illumination capable of supporting both everyday presentations and large-scale public events. The upgrades also allowed the museum to participate more visibly in citywide activations, commemorative programming, and evening experiences tied to the Semi quincentennial.
Since several exterior fixtures along the East stairs sat directly within guest sightlines, Starlite, a Moorestown, New Jersey-based audiovisual and lighting integration firm, installed the new exterior fixtures, integrated them with the museum's existing lighting control system, and programmed custom scenes for daily operation, special events, and multimedia presentations. The team also designed and fabricated color-matched shrouds for fixtures positioned within guest sightlines, allowing the technology to blend into the architecture and preserve the clean appearance of the historic façade during daytime hours. Integration with the museum's existing control system streamlined management of scene changes, façade lighting, and multimedia-driven presentations across both the exterior and interior environments.
Not only did Acclaim Lighting Flood One fixtures meet the customer’s objectives for brightness and controllability, but they are also durable enough to withstand Philadelphia’s extreme weather conditions. The previous fixtures were subject to water ingress which caused reliability issues.
Flood One EO is a high output, outdoor rated, white LED floodlight. It features an internal 100-277VAC power supply, DMX dimming with RDM configuration, and very low-profile design to fit into small spaces. It comes with a 10-degree beam standard, with optional spread lenses for wider applications. It is ideal for facade lighting applications and as an area floodlight.
Visibility Is Key
"For visitors approaching the museum at night, the building now has a stronger visual presence along the Parkway while maintaining the architectural identity that has made The Franklin Institute such a recognizable part of Philadelphia’s cultural landscape,” said Clifford Greer, AV & Theater Specialist for The Franklin Institute. “The experience now begins before guests even step inside the memorial itself. The Acclaim products definitely checked all of our boxes.”
With its many energy-saving and “green” features, the new building is LEED-Silver certified and has received an award from the American Institute of Architects.
“The customer is very pleased with what they chose. It’s given new life to the building, which is showcased often on the local news,” said Patrick Nadjarians, Marketing Director of Acclaim Lighting. “The fixtures brighten the building, as well as the surrounding environment. And, the color-changing capabilities give the museum the opportunity to tune its colors to reflect public events happening in the Philadelphia region.”
Photographer: Kat Kendon
