Fodor's Expert Review Please Touch Museum

Philadelphia's children's museum occupies one of the city's most stately buildings, a gorgeous example of Beaux Arts–style architecture constructed for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition and one of just two public buildings still standing from the event. The facility, which is aimed at children seven and younger, instills a sense of wonder from the get-go, with its marble-floored Hamilton Hall, which has an 80-foot-high ceiling and a 40-foot-tall sculpture of the torch of the Statue of Liberty as its centerpiece. (The real statue's torch was displayed here for the nation's 100th birthday celebration.) The 38,000-square-foot facility is set up as six engaging exhibits, plus three areas designed for toddlers, where kids can learn through hands-on play at a mock supermarket, a hospital area, a space gallery with a rocket-making station, Alice's Wonderland, and a theater with interactive performances. Children can climb aboard with an interactive exhibit based on the railroad, or head outside to explore the Imagination Playground or Please Touch Garden. Another highlight is a circa-1908 Dentzel Carousel ride with 52 gleaming and colorful horses, pigs, cats, and rabbits that's housed in an adjacent, enclosed glass pavilion; separate tickets can be purchased for carousel rides. There also is a café serving lunch items and snacks.