FRANKLIN INSTITUTE: Form 990, tax year 2015

View the entire original 990 at ProPublica ↗

Organization: FRANKLIN INSTITUTE (EIN 23-1370501)
Tax period: 2015-01-01 to 2015-12-31
Filed: 2016-11-11
IRS object ID: 201633169349304058
Schema version: 2015v2.1
Source: Download XML · Original 990 at ProPublica

Every field in the e-filed return. Faint text is the IRS element name, for citing.

Return header
Form 990
Schedule A
Schedule B
Schedule C
Schedule D
Schedule F
Schedule G
Schedule J
Schedule K
Schedule M
Schedule O

Return header ReturnHeader

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Return	2016-11-11T14:31:03-06:00	ReturnTs
Tax Period End	2015-12-31	TaxPeriodEndDt

Preparer Firm PreparerFirmGrp

Preparer Firm Name PreparerFirmName

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Business Name Line1	GRANT THORNTON LLP	BusinessNameLine1Txt

Preparer US Address PreparerUSAddress

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Address Line1	2001 MARKET STREET SUITE 700	AddressLine1Txt
City	PHILADELPHIA	CityNm
State Abbreviation	PA	StateAbbreviationCd
ZIP	19103	ZIPCd

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Return Type	990	ReturnTypeCd
Tax Period Begin	2015-01-01	TaxPeriodBeginDt

Filer Filer

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
EIN	231370501	EIN

Business Name BusinessName

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Business Name Line1	Franklin Institute	BusinessNameLine1Txt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
In Care Of	% K SIOBHAN KEEFE	InCareOfNm
Business Name Control	FRAN	BusinessNameControlTxt
Phone	2154481200	PhoneNum

US Address USAddress

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Address Line1	222 North 20th Street	AddressLine1Txt
City	Philadelphia	CityNm
State Abbreviation	PA	StateAbbreviationCd
ZIP	19103	ZIPCd

Business Officer BusinessOfficerGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Person	LARRY DUBINSKI	PersonNm
Person Title	PRESIDENT & CEO	PersonTitleTxt
Phone	2154481200	PhoneNum
Signature	2016-11-11	SignatureDt
Discuss With Paid Preparer	Yes (true)	DiscussWithPaidPreparerInd

Preparer Person PreparerPersonGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Preparer Person	Alycia Mecchella	PreparerPersonNm
PTIN	P01272637	PTIN
Phone	2155614200	PhoneNum

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Tax	2015	TaxYr
Build TS	2017-02-10 21:41:12Z	BuildTS

Form 990 IRS990

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Principal Officer	Larry Dubinski	PrincipalOfficerNm

US Address USAddress

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Address Line1	222 North 20th Street	AddressLine1Txt
City	Philadelphia	CityNm
State Abbreviation	PA	StateAbbreviationCd
ZIP	19103	ZIPCd

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Gross Receipts	$108,273,198	GrossReceiptsAmt
Group Return For Affiliates	false	GroupReturnForAffiliatesInd
Organization501c3	Yes (X)	Organization501c3Ind
Website Address	www.fi.edu	WebsiteAddressTxt
Type Of Organization Corp	Yes (X)	TypeOfOrganizationCorpInd
Formation	1824	FormationYr
Legal Domicile State	PA	LegalDomicileStateCd
Activity Or Mission	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.	ActivityOrMissionDesc
Voting Members Governing Body	43	VotingMembersGoverningBodyCnt
Voting Members Independent	42	VotingMembersIndependentCnt
Total Employee	521	TotalEmployeeCnt
Total Volunteers	1779	TotalVolunteersCnt
Total Gross UBI	$497,667	TotalGrossUBIAmt
Net Unrelated Bus Txbl Incm	$151,090	NetUnrelatedBusTxblIncmAmt
PY Contributions Grants	$17,807,535	PYContributionsGrantsAmt
CY Contributions Grants	$5,912,180	CYContributionsGrantsAmt
PY Program Service Revenue	$20,990,122	PYProgramServiceRevenueAmt
CY Program Service Revenue	$25,674,691	CYProgramServiceRevenueAmt
PY Investment Income	$1,957,635	PYInvestmentIncomeAmt
CY Investment Income	$7,116,671	CYInvestmentIncomeAmt
PY Other Revenue	$946,268	PYOtherRevenueAmt
CY Other Revenue	$1,085,343	CYOtherRevenueAmt
PY Total Revenue	$41,701,560	PYTotalRevenueAmt
CY Total Revenue	$39,788,885	CYTotalRevenueAmt
PY Grants And Similar Paid	$250,000	PYGrantsAndSimilarPaidAmt
CY Grants And Similar Paid	$250,000	CYGrantsAndSimilarPaidAmt
PY Benefits Paid To Members	$0	PYBenefitsPaidToMembersAmt
CY Benefits Paid To Members	$0	CYBenefitsPaidToMembersAmt
PY Salaries Comp Emp Bnft Paid	$14,783,530	PYSalariesCompEmpBnftPaidAmt
CY Salaries Comp Emp Bnft Paid	$16,157,916	CYSalariesCompEmpBnftPaidAmt
PY Total Prof Fndrsng Expns	$15,131	PYTotalProfFndrsngExpnsAmt
CY Total Prof Fndrsng Expns	$51,163	CYTotalProfFndrsngExpnsAmt
CY Total Fundraising Expense	$2,108,618	CYTotalFundraisingExpenseAmt
PY Other Expenses	$18,908,629	PYOtherExpensesAmt
CY Other Expenses	$20,277,055	CYOtherExpensesAmt
PY Total Expenses	$33,957,290	PYTotalExpensesAmt
CY Total Expenses	$36,736,134	CYTotalExpensesAmt
PY Revenues Less Expenses	$7,744,270	PYRevenuesLessExpensesAmt
CY Revenues Less Expenses	$3,052,751	CYRevenuesLessExpensesAmt
Total Assets BOY	$159,972,701	TotalAssetsBOYAmt
Total Assets EOY	$154,930,241	TotalAssetsEOYAmt
Total Liabilities BOY	$24,974,365	TotalLiabilitiesBOYAmt
Total Liabilities EOY	$24,259,440	TotalLiabilitiesEOYAmt
Net Assets Or Fund Balances BOY	$134,998,336	NetAssetsOrFundBalancesBOYAmt
Net Assets Or Fund Balances EOY	$130,670,801	NetAssetsOrFundBalancesEOYAmt
Info In Schedule O Part III	Yes (X)	InfoInScheduleOPartIIIInd
Mission	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.	MissionDesc
Significant New Program Srvc	false	SignificantNewProgramSrvcInd
Significant Change	false	SignificantChangeInd
Expense	$6,456,013	ExpenseAmt
Revenue	$5,774,061	RevenueAmt
Desc	EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, SERVICES & GRANTS Completing its 22nd year in 2015, the Partners for Achieving Careers in Technology and Science (PACTS) program is one of the regions oldest and most comprehensive science immersion programs for diverse urban high school students. PACTS serves 150 students from more than 40 Philadelphia public schools. 2015 was the sixth year for the Institutes STEM Scholars programs, a concentrated program of 15 students each year who show high interest in and aptitude for STEM fields. These students receive STEM education and mentoring throughout their high school years; in 2015 the program continued to run at capacity, serving 60 students total. PACTS and STEM Scholars provide students with access to STEM professionals as well as college educational programs and services, application and financial aid counseling, exposure to STEM careers, and annual robotics programs attracting more than 1,000 participants. These two programs deliver unique STEM programming to a diverse audience. As the organizer of the Philadelphia Science Festival, The Franklin Institute helped more than 200 partners to reach more than 75,000 people in neighborhoods across the city with hands-on workshops and demonstrations in its fifth year in 2015. Featuring a Carnival at Penns landing that was attended by 175 exhibitors and more than 50,000 people, the Festival also held dozens of stargazing events in city neighborhoods and offered a diverse range of public programming about science and technology for both adults and child audiences. One particular success was a dozen Discovery Days, gatherings of nonprofit, corporate, and academic partners in neighborhoods across the city and the surrounding suburbs, who worked together to educate and inspire residents about various aspects of science and discovery. The Institute also works closely with the Science Leadership Academy (SLA), a magnet high school that stands as a further testament to the Institutes commitment to formal education. An inquiry-based, science and technology-focused school founded in 2006 through a unique collaborative between The Franklin Institute and the School District of Philadelphia, SLA quickly earned a national reputation for excellence. Its students are consistently among the top performers on state standardized tests, exceeding the city and state averages in every subject. It has a 98% graduation rate as compared to the 64% graduation rate of the rest of the school district. The Institute looks forward to continuing this unique partnership with the school district to provide formative opportunities for SLAs students, who come from more than 60 different middle schools. The Franklin Institute also develops model programs in science learning for the K12 education community that are delivered both inside and outside the museum walls, including in 52 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia.	Desc

Prog Srvc Accom Acty2 ProgSrvcAccomActy2Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Expense	$17,246,682	ExpenseAmt
Revenue	$17,957,553	RevenueAmt
Desc	MUSEUM ADMISSIONS & OPERATIONS As the most visited museum in the Commonwealth and a top-five tourist destination in the City of Philadelphia, The Franklin Institute serves as both a prominent educational and cultural resource, and as an anchor of the local economy. In 2015, the Institute welcomed 888,084 visitors to the museum, including 156,136 children who came as part of school groups, representing every county in Pennsylvania and surrounding states including New Jersey, Delaware, and New York. The Franklin Institutes longstanding reputation helps to elevate the Commonwealth and the City of Philadelphia as models for cultural and informal education excellence. The Institute welcomes visitors of all ages to explore science in interactive exhibits and public programs. The Institute remains fully committed to providing an exceptional experience for its many visitors and increasing service to its audience, extending the Institute's mission-to inspire passion for learning about science and technology-to children and families throughout Greater Philadelphia, regardless of means, remains, as always, at the heart of its priorities. It does so through outstanding exhibits and many education and outreach programs, especially those for underserved youth and families such as Community Night, and the Student Access Program that welcomes students from under-resourced schools, free of charge. In 2015, the Institute hosted Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out, where visitors embarked on an anatomical safari to explore the intricate biology, zoology, and physiology of the worlds most spectacular creatures both large and small; Sesame Street Presents: The Body, where visitors learned all about their body from the inside out featuring Sesame Street characters and interactives that covered everything from how the body works during different modes of transportation to germs. The Institutes blockbuster show Art of the Brick, which showcased artistic creations built from LEGO bricks welcomed 336,000 visitors; and Vatican Splendors: Life and Faith in Ancient Time, displayed priceless works of art on loan from the Vatican Museum in Rome, many of which had never before left Italy, and offered visitors special science programming on art conservation and preservation. Timed to coincide with the historic visit of Pope Francis, Vatican Splendors welcomed diverse audiences from across the city and around the world to the Institute to experience a piece of the Vatican right here in Philadelphia. The three Institute theaters: the Fels Planetarium, the Franklin 3D Theater, and the Tuttleman IMAX, opened new worlds to hundreds of thousands of visitors. The frequently updated schedule of IMAX documentary programming in 2015 included Forces of Nature, Titans of the Ice Age, Journey to Space, Born to be Wild, Humpback Whales, and Great White Shark. The Institutes Franklin Theater provided museum guests with engaging and educational 3D films throughout the day, including Mysteries of the Unseen World, Kenya, Watermelon Magic, Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet, and The Last Reef amongst its 2015 offerings. The Institutes historic Fels Planetarium continued to offer out-of-this-world shows including the first Franklin Institute-produced full-dome planetarium show, To Space and Back, along with Wildest Weather in the Solar System, The Sky Tonight, and Dark Universe. During the 2015 calendar year, 1,779 people volunteered their time at the Institute, equivalent to 41 full time positions. From working at the Brain Bar on the floor to staffing the Philadelphia Science Festival to working behind the scenes to catalog items in the archives, the Institutes volunteers provide valuable assistance-literally. The total value of volunteer and intern time donated to the Institute in 2015 equals more than $1.8 million. The Franklin Institute welcomed 75 college interns from schools across the state in 2015, who contributed over 10,000 hours out of their busy schedules. In addition to lending the Institute their skills, they learned on-the-job lessons that will help them in the tough market, and gained experience as museum educators. Another group of volunteers are the retired scientists, engineers, and inventors who work on the floor explaining the exhibits and demonstrations to visitors. Still other volunteers work with students in the Partnerships for Achieving Careers in Technology and Science (PACTS) program, teaching them how to build robots, design buildings, and become who they want to be. Other volunteers include the members of the Committee on Science and the Arts, who help to select the Franklin Awards laureates each year, and the many members of the community who serve on boards such as the Friends Committee, the Awards Committee, and the Board of Trustees.	Desc

Prog Srvc Accom Acty3 ProgSrvcAccomActy3Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Expense	$1,324,393	ExpenseAmt
Grant	$250,000	GrantAmt
Revenue	$1,628,151	RevenueAmt
Desc	FRANKLIN INSTITUTE AWARDS & OTHER PROJECTS For nearly two centuries The Franklin Institute Awards Program has recognized outstanding achievements in science and technology, celebrated the pursuit of excellence, and provided dynamic connections between the Institute and the academic, scientific, and business communities. On April 23, the sold-out Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony and Dinner was the culmination of a full week of inspiring events. Awards Week, which began the Monday before the Awards Ceremony and Dinner, included a series of public symposia and lectures that provided opportunities for the internationally distinguished laureates to share their discoveries, experiences, and views with public audiences. Other Awards Week activities included Laureates Laboratory, a session at the Institute in which the laureates participated in interactive demonstrations of their work geared toward visiting students; and the Meet the Scientists program, which was moderated by students from the PACTS program. One highlight of the 2015 Awards Ceremony and Dinner was the conferring of the 2015 Bower Business Award to Jon M. Huntsman, Sr. He received this award for his innovative leadership in founding the Huntsman Corporation and building it into one of the world's preeminent chemical companies; and for his global leadership in philanthropy, with a special focus on cancer research and treatment in support of some of the highest-impact developments towards curing cancer. The 2015 Bower Award for Achievement in Science and its accompanying $250,000 prize was conferred to Jean-Pierre Kruth, Ph.D. For his pioneering research in additive manufacturing (3D printing), which led to many technological innovations and several global companies. His work has inspired further research, enabled the creation of many patents, and built the foundation for others businesses. Eight other scientists, each of whom represents the pinnacle of revolutionary achievement in their respective fields, received awards, including Dr. Steven Lippard (chemistry), Dr. Syukuro Manabe (earth and environmental science), Dr. Roger Harrington (electrical engineering), Dr. Elissa Newport (computer and cognitive science), Dr. Cornelia Bargmann (life science), and Dr. Charles Kane, Dr. Eugene Mele, and Dr. Shoucheng Zhang (all physics). The Journal of The Franklin Institute, the second oldest scholarly journal in continuous publication in the United States, has increased the volume of articles per issue, as well as the readership. All 190 years of the Journal are available online through libraries and research institutions. A key part of the visitor experience at The Franklin Institute is science programming. During the year the Institute offered five different experiential packages for grades 312. The packages combined an exhibit with related theater and workshop programs, and were designed to support National Science Education Standards. The Institutes website continues to serve as a popular source of complementary information for educators and the general public alike; nearly 3 million people visited the website in 2015. More than 137,000 students and adults from Connecticut to Northern Virginia were inspired by traveling science shows presented in hundreds of locations. The Institute has long been a leader in providing professional development offerings for teachers throughout the region. While teachers may only have one opportunity to bring their students to the museum each year, The Franklin Institutes wealth of educator resources and workshops enables teachers to bring the spark for hands-on science interaction into their daily lessons. The Institutes professional development programs build teachers confidence, and help them to align classroom education with nationally mandated standards and with inquiry-based learning activities. Extracurricular activities for youth filled weekends and vacations. Discovery Camp, Spring Break Camp, and the Schools Closed Camp welcomed thousands of youngsters, and the weekend overnight Camp-In program drew nearly 7,000 young people.	Desc

Prog Srvc Accom Acty Other ProgSrvcAccomActyOtherGrp (3 entries)

ExpenseExpenseAmt	DescDesc	RevenueRevenueAmt
$584,952	Interest
$5,075,262	Depreciation
	Theaters UBI	$314,924

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Other Prog Srvc Expense	$5,660,214	TotalOtherProgSrvcExpenseAmt
Total Other Prog Srvc Revenue	$314,924	TotalOtherProgSrvcRevenueAmt
Total Program Service Expenses	$30,687,302	TotalProgramServiceExpensesAmt
Described In Section501c3	Yes (true)	DescribedInSection501c3Ind
Schedule B Required	Yes (true)	ScheduleBRequiredInd
Political Campaign Acty	false	PoliticalCampaignActyInd
Lobbying Activities	Yes (true)	LobbyingActivitiesInd
Subject To Proxy Tax	false	SubjectToProxyTaxInd
Donor Advised Fund	false	DonorAdvisedFundInd
Conservation Easements	false	ConservationEasementsInd
Collections Of Art	Yes (true)	CollectionsOfArtInd
Credit Counseling	false	CreditCounselingInd
Temp Or Permanent Endowments	Yes (true)	TempOrPermanentEndowmentsInd
Report Land Building Equipment	Yes (true)	ReportLandBuildingEquipmentInd
Report Investments Other Sec	Yes (true)	ReportInvestmentsOtherSecInd
Report Program Related Invst	false	ReportProgramRelatedInvstInd
Report Other Assets	false	ReportOtherAssetsInd
Report Other Liabilities	false	ReportOtherLiabilitiesInd
Include FIN48 Footnote	Yes (true)	IncludeFIN48FootnoteInd
Independent Audit Fincl Stmt	Yes (true)	IndependentAuditFinclStmtInd
Consolidated Audit Fincl Stmt	false	ConsolidatedAuditFinclStmtInd
School Operating	false	SchoolOperatingInd
Foreign Office	false	ForeignOfficeInd
Foreign Activities	Yes (true)	ForeignActivitiesInd
More Than5000 K To Org	false	MoreThan5000KToOrgInd
More Than5000 K To Individuals	Yes (true)	MoreThan5000KToIndividualsInd
Professional Fundraising	Yes (true)	ProfessionalFundraisingInd
Fundraising Activities	Yes (true)	FundraisingActivitiesInd
Gaming Activities	false	GamingActivitiesInd
Operate Hospital	false	OperateHospitalInd
Grants To Organizations	false	GrantsToOrganizationsInd
Grants To Individuals	false	GrantsToIndividualsInd
Schedule J Required	Yes (true)	ScheduleJRequiredInd
Tax Exempt Bonds	Yes (true)	TaxExemptBondsInd
Invest Tax Exempt Bonds	false	InvestTaxExemptBondsInd
Escrow Account	false	EscrowAccountInd
On Behalf Of Issuer	false	OnBehalfOfIssuerInd
Engaged In Excess Benefit Trans	false	EngagedInExcessBenefitTransInd
PY Excess Benefit Trans	false	PYExcessBenefitTransInd
Loan Outstanding	false	LoanOutstandingInd
Grant To Related Person	false	GrantToRelatedPersonInd
Business Rln With Org Mem	false	BusinessRlnWithOrgMemInd
Business Rln With Fam Mem	false	BusinessRlnWithFamMemInd
Business Rln With Officer Ent	false	BusinessRlnWithOfficerEntInd
Deductible Non Cash Contri	Yes (true)	DeductibleNonCashContriInd
Deductible Art Contribution	false	DeductibleArtContributionInd
Terminate Operations	false	TerminateOperationsInd
Partial Liquidation	false	PartialLiquidationInd
Disregarded Entity	false	DisregardedEntityInd
Related Entity	false	RelatedEntityInd
Related Organization Ctrl Ent	false	RelatedOrganizationCtrlEntInd
Trnsfr Exmpt Non Chrtbl Rltd Org	false	TrnsfrExmptNonChrtblRltdOrgInd
Activities Conducted Prtshp	false	ActivitiesConductedPrtshpInd
Schedule O Required	Yes (true)	ScheduleORequiredInd
IRP Document	153	IRPDocumentCnt
IRP Document W2 G	0	IRPDocumentW2GCnt
Backup Wthld Compliance	Yes (true)	BackupWthldComplianceInd
Employee	521	EmployeeCnt
Employment Tax Returns Filed	Yes (true)	EmploymentTaxReturnsFiledInd
Unrelated Bus Incm Over Limit	Yes (true)	UnrelatedBusIncmOverLimitInd
Form990 T Filed	Yes (true)	Form990TFiledInd
Foreign Financial Account	false	ForeignFinancialAccountInd
Prohibited Tax Shelter Trans	false	ProhibitedTaxShelterTransInd
Taxable Party Notification	false	TaxablePartyNotificationInd
Nondeductible Contributions	false	NondeductibleContributionsInd
Quid Pro Quo Contributions	Yes (true)	QuidProQuoContributionsInd
Quid Pro Quo Contri Discl	Yes (true)	QuidProQuoContriDisclInd
Form8282 Property Disposed Of	false	Form8282PropertyDisposedOfInd
Rcv Fnds To Pay Prsnl Bnft Cntrct	false	RcvFndsToPayPrsnlBnftCntrctInd
Pay Premiums Prsnl Bnft Cntrct	false	PayPremiumsPrsnlBnftCntrctInd
Indoor Tanning Services	false	IndoorTanningServicesInd
Info In Schedule O Part VI	Yes (X)	InfoInScheduleOPartVIInd
Governing Body Voting Members	43	GoverningBodyVotingMembersCnt
Independent Voting Member	42	IndependentVotingMemberCnt
Family Or Business Rln	Yes (true)	FamilyOrBusinessRlnInd
Delegation Of Mgmt Duties	false	DelegationOfMgmtDutiesInd
Change To Org Documents	false	ChangeToOrgDocumentsInd
Material Diversion Or Misuse	false	MaterialDiversionOrMisuseInd
Members Or Stockholders	false	MembersOrStockholdersInd
Election Of Board Members	false	ElectionOfBoardMembersInd
Decisions Subject To Approva	false	DecisionsSubjectToApprovaInd
Minutes Of Governing Body	Yes (true)	MinutesOfGoverningBodyInd
Minutes Of Committees	Yes (true)	MinutesOfCommitteesInd
Officer Mailing Address	false	OfficerMailingAddressInd
Local Chapters	false	LocalChaptersInd
Form990 Provided To Gvrn Body	Yes (true)	Form990ProvidedToGvrnBodyInd
Conflict Of Interest Policy	Yes (true)	ConflictOfInterestPolicyInd
Annual Disclosure Covered Prsn	Yes (true)	AnnualDisclosureCoveredPrsnInd
Regular Monitoring Enfrc	Yes (true)	RegularMonitoringEnfrcInd
Whistleblower Policy	Yes (true)	WhistleblowerPolicyInd
Document Retention Policy	Yes (true)	DocumentRetentionPolicyInd
Compensation Process CEO	Yes (true)	CompensationProcessCEOInd
Compensation Process Other	Yes (true)	CompensationProcessOtherInd
Investment In Joint Venture	Yes (true)	InvestmentInJointVentureInd
Written Policy Or Procedure	Yes (true)	WrittenPolicyOrProcedureInd
States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld	CA	StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd
States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld	CT	StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd
States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld	FL	StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd
States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld	MD	StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd
States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld	MA	StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd
States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld	NJ	StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd
States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld	NY	StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd
States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld	PA	StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd
Upon Request	Yes (X)	UponRequestInd

Books In Care Of Detail BooksInCareOfDetail

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Person	K SIOBHAN KEEFE	PersonNm
Phone	2154481200	PhoneNum

US Address USAddress

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Address Line1	222 NORTH 20TH STREET	AddressLine1Txt
City	Philadelphia	CityNm
State Abbreviation	PA	StateAbbreviationCd
ZIP	19103	ZIPCd

Form990 Part VII Section A Form990PartVIISectionAGrp (76 entries)

TitleTitleTxt	Average Hours Per WeekAverageHoursPerWeekRt	Average Hours Per Week Rltd OrgAverageHoursPerWeekRltdOrgRt	Individual Trustee Or DirectorIndividualTrusteeOrDirectorInd	OfficerOfficerInd	Reportable Comp From OrgReportableCompFromOrgAmt	Reportable Comp From Rltd OrgReportableCompFromRltdOrgAmt	Other CompensationOtherCompensationAmt	Key EmployeeKeyEmployeeInd	Highest Compensated EmployeeHighestCompensatedEmployeeInd	Former Ofcr Director TrusteeFormerOfcrDirectorTrusteeInd
Larry Dubinski
President & CEO	37.5	0.0	Yes (X)	Yes (X)	$456,125	$0	$45,159
Donald E Morel Jr PhD
Chair	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)	Yes (X)	$0	$0	$0
Sandra K Baldino
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Michael F Barry
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Joel A Bernstein
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Wade H Berrettini MD PhD
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Suzanne Boda
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Renee B Booth PhD
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Donald E Callaghan
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Michael F Camardo
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Troy Carter
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Robert Chappelear
Trustee (Term End 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Peter K Classen
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Annie Duke
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Stephen J Felice
Trustee (Term End 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Michael C Forman
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
John T Fries
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Christopher Gali
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Toni Garrison
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Elizabeth H Gemmill
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Richard J Green
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Grete Greenacre
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Richard A Greenawalt
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Paul C Heintz Esq
Trustee (Term End 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Frances E Jensen MD FACP
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Nooruddin Karsan
Trustee (Term End 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Stephen E Kelly
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Charisse R Lillie Esq
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Ira M Lubert
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Thomas Lynch
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
James J Maguire Jr
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Miriam G Mandell
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Sandra G Marshall
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Christopher McIsaac
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Robert S McMenamin
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Denis P O'Brien
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Paul Offit MD
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Jane Palmieri
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Marvin Samson
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Michael A Sanchez
Trustee (Term End 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
William Sigmund
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Joan N Stern Esq
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
James G Stewart
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
I Steven Udvarhelyi MD
Trustee (Term End 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Richard W Vague
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Tina Wells
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
David R White
Trustee (Term End 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Paul H Woodruff PE
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Harold L Yoh III
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Karen Zimmer MD
Trustee	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
The Honorable Darrell L Clarke
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Pam Green
Trustee, Ex Officio (end 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
William R Hite
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Margaret Hughes
Trustee, Ex Officio (end 2015)	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
The Honorable Michael Nutter
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Mollie Lawrence
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Dennis O'Brien
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Nancy Ronning
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Michelle W Singer
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Gerard F Jones
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
The Honorable Tom Wolf
Trustee, Ex Officio	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
Marsha R Perelman
Trustee, Emeritus	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
William J Avery
Trustee, Emeritus	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
James A Unruh
Trustee, Emeritus	1.0	0.0	Yes (X)		$0	$0	$0
K Siobhan Keefe
VP of Finance & Treasurer	37.5	0.0		Yes (X)	$161,668	$0	$17,623
Julie Appolloni
VP of Strategic Initiatives	37.5	0.0			$156,235	$0	$9,394	Yes (X)
Frederic M N Bertley Phd
SVP for Science	37.5	0.0			$223,680	$0	$31,675	Yes (X)
Troy Collins
SVP - Earned Rev., Mrktg & Ops	37.5	0.0			$246,097	$0	$29,135	Yes (X)
RICHARD D RABENA
VP Ops & Capital Projects	37.5	0.0			$179,420	$0	$30,150	Yes (X)
REID O STYLES
VP Human Resources	37.5	0.0			$175,236	$0	$19,859	Yes (X)
Kara Callahan
Director of Marketing	37.5	0.0			$119,089	$0	$13,396		Yes (X)
Karen Elinich
Dir. -Science Content & Learn.	37.5	0.0			$121,689	$0	$13,872		Yes (X)
Kathryn Giorgianni
AVP -I/T Services	37.5	0.0			$141,752	$0	$27,017		Yes (X)
Susan Poulton
Chief Digital Officer	37.5	0.0			$132,618	$0	$5,309		Yes (X)
Lois Switken
Director of Sales and Catering	37.5	0.0			$122,867	$0	$12,496		Yes (X)
Dennis Wint PHD
Former President & CEO	1.0	0.0			$409,842	$0	$0			Yes (X)

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Reportable Comp From Org	$2,646,318	TotalReportableCompFromOrgAmt
Tot Reportable Comp Rltd Org	$0	TotReportableCompRltdOrgAmt
Total Other Compensation	$255,085	TotalOtherCompensationAmt
Indiv Rcvd Greater Than100 K	19	IndivRcvdGreaterThan100KCnt
Former Ofcr Employees Listed	Yes (true)	FormerOfcrEmployeesListedInd
Total Comp Greater Than150 K	Yes (true)	TotalCompGreaterThan150KInd
Compensation From Other Srcs	false	CompensationFromOtherSrcsInd

Contractor Compensation ContractorCompensationGrp (5 entries)

Address Line1ContractorAddress/USAddress/AddressLine1Txt	CityContractorAddress/USAddress/CityNm	State AbbreviationContractorAddress/USAddress/StateAbbreviationCd	ZIPContractorAddress/USAddress/ZIPCd	ServicesServicesDesc	CompensationCompensationAmt
Harmelin Media
525 Righters Ferry Road	BALA CYNWYD	PA	19004	Media Consultation	$1,720,867
Art Guild Inc
300 Wolf Drive	WEST DEPTFORD	NJ	08086	Creative Design/Fab.	$1,285,144
Skanska USA
518 East Township Line Road Suite	BLUE BELL	PA	19422	Bldg Construction	$776,037
ABM Janitorial
Lockbox 787401	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19178	Janitorial	$734,030
Frog Commissary Catering
222 North 20th Street	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19103	Catering/Food Serv.	$594,282

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Cntrct Rcvd Greater Than100 K	24	CntrctRcvdGreaterThan100KCnt
Membership Dues	$132,833	MembershipDuesAmt
Fundraising	$573,943	FundraisingAmt
Government Grants	$65,000	GovernmentGrantsAmt
All Other Contributions	$5,140,404	AllOtherContributionsAmt
Noncash Contributions	$601,999	NoncashContributionsAmt
Total Contributions	$5,912,180	TotalContributionsAmt

Program Service Revenue ProgramServiceRevenueGrp (5 entries)

DescDesc	BusinessBusinessCd	Total Revenue ColumnTotalRevenueColumnAmt	Related Or Exempt Func IncomeRelatedOrExemptFuncIncomeAmt	Unrelated Business RevenueUnrelatedBusinessRevenueAmt
MUSEUM ADMISSIONS	900099	$11,050,321	$11,050,321
ANCILLARY ACTIVITIES	900099	$4,370,200	$3,878,655	$491,545
GRANTS	900099	$3,598,628	$3,598,628
MEMBERSHIPS	900099	$2,851,958	$2,851,958
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS & SERVICES	611710	$2,175,433	$2,169,311	$6,122

Total Oth Program Service Rev TotalOthProgramServiceRevGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$1,628,151	TotalRevenueColumnAmt
Related Or Exempt Func Income	$1,628,151	RelatedOrExemptFuncIncomeAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Program Service Revenue	$25,674,691	TotalProgramServiceRevenueAmt

Investment Income InvestmentIncomeGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$628,215	TotalRevenueColumnAmt
Exclusion	$628,215	ExclusionAmt

Incm From Invest Bond Proceeds IncmFromInvestBondProceedsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$0	TotalRevenueColumnAmt

Royalties Revenue RoyaltiesRevenueGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$428,757	TotalRevenueColumnAmt
Exclusion	$428,757	ExclusionAmt

Rental Income Or Loss RentalIncomeOrLossGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Real	$0	RealAmt
Personal	$0	PersonalAmt

Net Rental Income Or Loss NetRentalIncomeOrLossGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$0	TotalRevenueColumnAmt

Gross Amount Sales Assets GrossAmountSalesAssetsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Securities	$74,703,635	SecuritiesAmt

Less Cost Oth Basis Sales Expnss LessCostOthBasisSalesExpnssGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Securities	$68,215,179	SecuritiesAmt

Gain Or Loss GainOrLossGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Securities	$6,488,456	SecuritiesAmt

Net Gain Or Loss Investments NetGainOrLossInvestmentsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$6,488,456	TotalRevenueColumnAmt
Exclusion	$6,488,456	ExclusionAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Fundraising Gross Income	$177,368	FundraisingGrossIncomeAmt
Contri Rpt Fundraising Event	$573,943	ContriRptFundraisingEventAmt
Fundraising Direct Expenses	$269,134	FundraisingDirectExpensesAmt

Net Incm From Fundraising Evt NetIncmFromFundraisingEvtGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	-$91,766	TotalRevenueColumnAmt
Exclusion	-$91,766	ExclusionAmt

Net Income From Gaming NetIncomeFromGamingGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$0	TotalRevenueColumnAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Gross Sales Of Inventory	$748,352	GrossSalesOfInventoryAmt

Net Income Or Loss NetIncomeOrLossGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$748,352	TotalRevenueColumnAmt
Related Or Exempt Func Income	$748,352	RelatedOrExemptFuncIncomeAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Other Revenue Total	$0	OtherRevenueTotalAmt

Total Revenue TotalRevenueGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Revenue Column	$39,788,885	TotalRevenueColumnAmt
Related Or Exempt Func Income	$25,925,376	RelatedOrExemptFuncIncomeAmt
Unrelated Business Revenue	$497,667	UnrelatedBusinessRevenueAmt
Exclusion	$7,453,662	ExclusionAmt

Grants To Domestic Orgs GrantsToDomesticOrgsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Grants To Domestic Individuals GrantsToDomesticIndividualsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Foreign Grants ForeignGrantsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$250,000	TotalAmt
Program Services	$250,000	ProgramServicesAmt

Benefits To Members BenefitsToMembersGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Comp Current Ofcr Directors CompCurrentOfcrDirectorsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$2,191,295	TotalAmt
Program Services	$1,214,797	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$660,484	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$316,014	FundraisingAmt

Comp Disqual Persons CompDisqualPersonsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Other Salaries And Wages OtherSalariesAndWagesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$10,297,498	TotalAmt
Program Services	$8,503,298	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$767,179	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$1,027,021	FundraisingAmt

Pension Plan Contributions PensionPlanContributionsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$697,282	TotalAmt
Program Services	$542,866	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$79,616	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$74,800	FundraisingAmt

Other Employee Benefits OtherEmployeeBenefitsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$2,051,123	TotalAmt
Program Services	$1,031,203	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$914,932	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$104,988	FundraisingAmt

Payroll Taxes PayrollTaxesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$920,718	TotalAmt
Program Services	$716,821	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$105,128	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$98,769	FundraisingAmt

Fees For Services Management FeesForServicesManagementGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Fees For Services Legal FeesForServicesLegalGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$766,210	TotalAmt
Management And General	$766,210	ManagementAndGeneralAmt

Fees For Services Accounting FeesForServicesAccountingGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$64,950	TotalAmt
Management And General	$64,950	ManagementAndGeneralAmt

Fees For Services Lobbying FeesForServicesLobbyingGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Fees For Services Prof Fundraising FeesForServicesProfFundraising

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$51,163	TotalAmt
Fundraising	$51,163	FundraisingAmt

Fees For Srvc Invst Mgmnt Fees FeesForSrvcInvstMgmntFeesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Fees For Services Other FeesForServicesOtherGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$1,296,776	TotalAmt
Program Services	$1,133,504	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$162,970	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$302	FundraisingAmt

Advertising AdvertisingGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$1,630,396	TotalAmt
Program Services	$1,624,972	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$5,424	ManagementAndGeneralAmt

Office Expenses OfficeExpensesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$936,267	TotalAmt
Program Services	$696,651	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$70,516	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$169,100	FundraisingAmt

Information Technology InformationTechnologyGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$223,883	TotalAmt
Program Services	$222,797	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$101	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$985	FundraisingAmt

Royalties RoyaltiesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$551,733	TotalAmt
Program Services	$551,625	ProgramServicesAmt
Fundraising	$108	FundraisingAmt

Occupancy OccupancyGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$2,655,451	TotalAmt
Program Services	$2,651,283	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$1,051	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$3,117	FundraisingAmt

Travel TravelGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$620,634	TotalAmt
Program Services	$555,565	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$27,993	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$37,076	FundraisingAmt

Pymt Travel Entrtnmnt Pub Ofcl PymtTravelEntrtnmntPubOfclGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Conferences Meetings ConferencesMeetingsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$56,491	TotalAmt
Program Services	$43,504	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$5,060	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$7,927	FundraisingAmt

Interest InterestGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$585,038	TotalAmt
Program Services	$585,038	ProgramServicesAmt

Payments To Affiliates PaymentsToAffiliatesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Depreciation Depletion DepreciationDepletionGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$5,075,262	TotalAmt
Program Services	$5,075,262	ProgramServicesAmt

Insurance InsuranceGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$394,682	TotalAmt
Program Services	$336,894	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$57,788	ManagementAndGeneralAmt

Other Expenses OtherExpensesGrp (4 entries)

DescDesc	TotalTotalAmt	Program ServicesProgramServicesAmt	Management And GeneralManagementAndGeneralAmt	FundraisingFundraisingAmt
PROGRAM AND EXHIBIT SUPPLIES,	$3,039,129	$3,038,244	$885
GRANT SUBCONTRACT EXPENSES	$845,630	$845,630
EVENT EXPENSES	$416,955	$410,027	$6,928
CULTIVATION & FULFILLMENT	$319,522	$172,726	$2,701	$144,095

All Other Expenses AllOtherExpensesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$798,046	TotalAmt
Program Services	$484,595	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$240,298	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$73,153	FundraisingAmt

Total Functional Expenses TotalFunctionalExpensesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$36,736,134	TotalAmt
Program Services	$30,687,302	ProgramServicesAmt
Management And General	$3,940,214	ManagementAndGeneralAmt
Fundraising	$2,108,618	FundraisingAmt

Cash Non Interest Bearing CashNonInterestBearingGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Savings And Temp Cash Invst SavingsAndTempCashInvstGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$8,631,089	BOYAmt
EOY	$5,570,037	EOYAmt

Pledges And Grants Receivable PledgesAndGrantsReceivableGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$4,977,127	BOYAmt
EOY	$3,900,193	EOYAmt

Accounts Receivable AccountsReceivableGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$1,491,298	BOYAmt
EOY	$4,203,009	EOYAmt

Receivables From Officers Etc ReceivablesFromOfficersEtcGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Rcvbl From Disqualified Prsn RcvblFromDisqualifiedPrsnGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Oth Notes Loans Receivable Net OthNotesLoansReceivableNetGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Inventories For Sale Or Use InventoriesForSaleOrUseGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$15,571	BOYAmt
EOY	$14,667	EOYAmt

Prepaid Expenses Defrd Charges PrepaidExpensesDefrdChargesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$1,425,700	BOYAmt
EOY	$913,904	EOYAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Land Bldg Equip Cost Or Other Bss	$168,976,438	LandBldgEquipCostOrOtherBssAmt
Land Bldg Equip Accum Deprec	$81,214,208	LandBldgEquipAccumDeprecAmt

Land Bldg Equip Basis Net LandBldgEquipBasisNetGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$88,865,561	BOYAmt
EOY	$87,762,230	EOYAmt

Investments Pub Traded Sec InvestmentsPubTradedSecGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$38,156,270	BOYAmt
EOY	$36,991,412	EOYAmt

Investments Other Securities InvestmentsOtherSecuritiesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$15,841,574	BOYAmt
EOY	$15,160,230	EOYAmt

Investments Program Related InvestmentsProgramRelatedGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$451,579	BOYAmt
EOY	$307,869	EOYAmt

Intangible Assets IntangibleAssetsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Other Assets Total OtherAssetsTotalGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$116,932	BOYAmt
EOY	$106,690	EOYAmt

Total Assets TotalAssetsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$159,972,701	BOYAmt
EOY	$154,930,241	EOYAmt

Accounts Payable Accr Expnss AccountsPayableAccrExpnssGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$8,435,191	BOYAmt
EOY	$7,702,526	EOYAmt

Grants Payable GrantsPayableGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Deferred Revenue DeferredRevenueGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$784,174	BOYAmt
EOY	$3,278,914	EOYAmt

Tax Exempt Bond Liabilities TaxExemptBondLiabilitiesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$15,755,000	BOYAmt
EOY	$13,278,000	EOYAmt

Escrow Account Liability EscrowAccountLiabilityGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Loans From Officers Directors LoansFromOfficersDirectorsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Mortg Notes Pybl Scrd Invst Prop MortgNotesPyblScrdInvstPropGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Unsecured Notes Loans Payable UnsecuredNotesLoansPayableGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Other Liabilities OtherLiabilitiesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$0	BOYAmt
EOY	$0	EOYAmt

Total Liabilities TotalLiabilitiesGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$24,974,365	BOYAmt
EOY	$24,259,440	EOYAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Organization Follows SFAS117	Yes (X)	OrganizationFollowsSFAS117Ind

Unrestricted Net Assets UnrestrictedNetAssetsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$84,401,990	BOYAmt
EOY	$84,374,811	EOYAmt

Temporarily Rstr Net Assets TemporarilyRstrNetAssetsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$32,327,547	BOYAmt
EOY	$28,731,642	EOYAmt

Permanently Rstr Net Assets PermanentlyRstrNetAssetsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$18,268,799	BOYAmt
EOY	$17,564,348	EOYAmt

Total Net Assets Fund Balance TotalNetAssetsFundBalanceGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$134,998,336	BOYAmt
EOY	$130,670,801	EOYAmt

Tot Liab Net Assets Fund Balance TotLiabNetAssetsFundBalanceGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
BOY	$159,972,701	BOYAmt
EOY	$154,930,241	EOYAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Info In Schedule O Part XI	Yes (X)	InfoInScheduleOPartXIInd
Reconcilation Revenue Expnss	$3,052,751	ReconcilationRevenueExpnssAmt
Net Unrlzd Gains Losses Invst	-$7,853,115	NetUnrlzdGainsLossesInvstAmt
Donated Services And Use Fclts	-$17,000	DonatedServicesAndUseFcltsAmt
Other Changes In Net Assets	$489,829	OtherChangesInNetAssetsAmt
Method Of Accounting Accrual	Yes (X)	MethodOfAccountingAccrualInd
Accountant Compile Or Review	false	AccountantCompileOrReviewInd
FS Audited	Yes (true)	FSAuditedInd

FS Audited Basis FSAuditedBasisGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Separate Basis Fincl Stmt	Yes (X)	SeparateBasisFinclStmtInd

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Audit Committee	Yes (true)	AuditCommitteeInd
Federal Grant Audit Required	Yes (true)	FederalGrantAuditRequiredInd
Federal Grant Audit Performed	Yes (true)	FederalGrantAuditPerformedInd

Schedule A IRS990ScheduleA

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Public Organization170	Yes (X)	PublicOrganization170Ind

Gifts Grants Contri Rcvd170 GiftsGrantsContriRcvd170Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Current Tax Year Minus4 Years	$11,452,312	CurrentTaxYearMinus4YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus3 Years	$10,813,204	CurrentTaxYearMinus3YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus2 Years	$15,267,620	CurrentTaxYearMinus2YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus1 Year	$17,807,535	CurrentTaxYearMinus1YearAmt
Current Tax Year	$5,912,180	CurrentTaxYearAmt
Total	$61,252,851	TotalAmt

Tax Rev Levied Orgnztnl Bnft170 TaxRevLeviedOrgnztnlBnft170Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Govt Furn Srvc Fclts Vl170 GovtFurnSrvcFcltsVl170Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Total Calendar Year170 TotalCalendarYear170Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Current Tax Year Minus4 Years	$11,452,312	CurrentTaxYearMinus4YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus3 Years	$10,813,204	CurrentTaxYearMinus3YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus2 Years	$15,267,620	CurrentTaxYearMinus2YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus1 Year	$17,807,535	CurrentTaxYearMinus1YearAmt
Current Tax Year	$5,912,180	CurrentTaxYearAmt
Total	$61,252,851	TotalAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Substantial Contributors Tot	$13,997,792	SubstantialContributorsTotAmt
Public Support Total170	$47,255,059	PublicSupportTotal170Amt

Gross Investment Income170 GrossInvestmentIncome170Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Current Tax Year Minus4 Years	$1,335,424	CurrentTaxYearMinus4YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus3 Years	$1,209,233	CurrentTaxYearMinus3YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus2 Years	$1,121,728	CurrentTaxYearMinus2YearsAmt
Current Tax Year Minus1 Year	$1,077,399	CurrentTaxYearMinus1YearAmt
Current Tax Year	$1,056,972	CurrentTaxYearAmt
Total	$5,800,756	TotalAmt

Unrelated Business Net Incm170 UnrelatedBusinessNetIncm170Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Other Income170 OtherIncome170Grp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total	$0	TotalAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Support	$67,053,607	TotalSupportAmt
Gross Receipts Rltd Activities	$104,867,742	GrossReceiptsRltdActivitiesAmt
Public Support CY170	0.70474	PublicSupportCY170Pct
Public Support PY170	0.71440	PublicSupportPY170Pct
Thirty Thr Pct Suprt Tests CY170	Yes (X)	ThirtyThrPctSuprtTestsCY170Ind

Schedule B IRS990ScheduleB

Contributor Information ContributorInformationGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Contributor	RESTRICTED	ContributorNum

Contributor Business Name ContributorBusinessName

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Business Name Line1	RESTRICTED	BusinessNameLine1

Contributor US Address ContributorUSAddress

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Address Line1	RESTRICTED	AddressLine1
Address Line2	RESTRICTED	AddressLine2
City	RESTRICTED	City
State	RESTRICTED	State
ZIP Code	RESTRICTED	ZIPCode

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Contributions	RESTRICTED	TotalContributionsAmt

Schedule C IRS990ScheduleC

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Grassroots Lobbying		TotalGrassrootsLobbyingGrp
Total Direct Lobbying		TotalDirectLobbyingGrp
Total Lobbying Expend		TotalLobbyingExpendGrp

Other Exempt Purpose Expend OtherExemptPurposeExpendGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Filing Organizations Total	$36,736,134	FilingOrganizationsTotalAmt

Total Exempt Purpose Expend TotalExemptPurposeExpendGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Filing Organizations Total	$36,736,134	FilingOrganizationsTotalAmt

Lobbying Nontaxable Amount LobbyingNontaxableAmountGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Filing Organizations Total	$1,000,000	FilingOrganizationsTotalAmt

Grassroots Nontaxable GrassrootsNontaxableGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Filing Organizations Total	$250,000	FilingOrganizationsTotalAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Tot Lbbyng Grassroot Mns Non Tx		TotLbbyngGrassrootMnsNonTxGrp
Tot Lbby Expend Mns Lbbyng Non Tx		TotLbbyExpendMnsLbbyngNonTxGrp

Avg Lobbying Nontaxable Amount AvgLobbyingNontaxableAmountGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Current Year Minus3	$1,000,000	CurrentYearMinus3Amt
Current Year Minus2	$1,000,000	CurrentYearMinus2Amt
Current Year Minus1	$1,000,000	CurrentYearMinus1Amt
Current Year	$1,000,000	CurrentYearAmt
Total	$4,000,000	TotalAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Lobbying Ceiling	$6,000,000	LobbyingCeilingAmt

Avg Grassroots Nontaxable AvgGrassrootsNontaxableGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Current Year Minus3	$250,000	CurrentYearMinus3Amt
Current Year Minus2	$250,000	CurrentYearMinus2Amt
Current Year Minus1	$250,000	CurrentYearMinus1Amt
Current Year	$250,000	CurrentYearAmt
Total	$1,000,000	TotalAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Grassroots Ceiling	$1,500,000	GrassrootsCeilingAmt

Schedule D IRS990ScheduleD

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Art Public Exhibition Amounts		ArtPublicExhibitionAmountsGrp
Held Works Art		HeldWorksArtGrp
Collection Used Pub Exhibition	Yes (X)	CollectionUsedPubExhibitionInd
Collection Used Preservation	Yes (X)	CollectionUsedPreservationInd
Solicited Assets Sale	false	SolicitedAssetsSaleInd

CY Endwmt Fund CYEndwmtFundGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Beginning Year Balance	$38,156,270	BeginningYearBalanceAmt
Contributions	$145,456	ContributionsAmt
Investment Earnings Or Losses	$269,566	InvestmentEarningsOrLossesAmt
Other Expenditures	$1,579,880	OtherExpendituresAmt
End Year Balance	$36,991,412	EndYearBalanceAmt

CY Minus1 Yr Endwmt Fund CYMinus1YrEndwmtFundGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Beginning Year Balance	$38,104,799	BeginningYearBalanceAmt
Investment Earnings Or Losses	$1,565,619	InvestmentEarningsOrLossesAmt
Other Expenditures	$1,514,148	OtherExpendituresAmt
End Year Balance	$38,156,270	EndYearBalanceAmt

CY Minus2 Yr Endwmt Fund CYMinus2YrEndwmtFundGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Beginning Year Balance	$33,798,367	BeginningYearBalanceAmt
Contributions	$1,164,210	ContributionsAmt
Investment Earnings Or Losses	$4,610,933	InvestmentEarningsOrLossesAmt
Other Expenditures	$1,468,711	OtherExpendituresAmt
End Year Balance	$38,104,799	EndYearBalanceAmt

CY Minus3 Yr Endwmt Fund CYMinus3YrEndwmtFundGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Beginning Year Balance	$31,319,598	BeginningYearBalanceAmt
Contributions	$164,210	ContributionsAmt
Investment Earnings Or Losses	$3,716,123	InvestmentEarningsOrLossesAmt
Other Expenditures	$1,401,564	OtherExpendituresAmt
End Year Balance	$33,798,367	EndYearBalanceAmt

CY Minus4 Yr Endwmt Fund CYMinus4YrEndwmtFundGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Beginning Year Balance	$34,065,273	BeginningYearBalanceAmt
Investment Earnings Or Losses	-$1,290,611	InvestmentEarningsOrLossesAmt
Other Expenditures	$1,455,064	OtherExpendituresAmt
End Year Balance	$31,319,598	EndYearBalanceAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Board Designated Balance EOY	0.27000	BoardDesignatedBalanceEOYPct
Prmnnt Endowment Balance EOY	0.07000	PrmnntEndowmentBalanceEOYPct
Term Endowment Balance EOY	0.66000	TermEndowmentBalanceEOYPct
Endowments Held Unrelated Org	Yes (true)	EndowmentsHeldUnrelatedOrgInd
Endowments Held Related Org	false	EndowmentsHeldRelatedOrgInd

Land LandGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Other Cost Or Other Basis	$12,000,000	OtherCostOrOtherBasisAmt
Book Value	$12,000,000	BookValueAmt

Buildings BuildingsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Other Cost Or Other Basis	$88,698,347	OtherCostOrOtherBasisAmt
Depreciation	$31,599,431	DepreciationAmt
Book Value	$57,098,916	BookValueAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Leasehold Improvements		LeaseholdImprovementsGrp

Equipment EquipmentGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Other Cost Or Other Basis	$7,569,649	OtherCostOrOtherBasisAmt
Depreciation	$5,344,053	DepreciationAmt
Book Value	$2,225,596	BookValueAmt

Other Land Buildings OtherLandBuildingsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Other Cost Or Other Basis	$60,708,442	OtherCostOrOtherBasisAmt
Depreciation	$44,270,724	DepreciationAmt
Book Value	$16,437,718	BookValueAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Book Value Land Buildings	$87,762,230	TotalBookValueLandBuildingsAmt
Financial Derivatives		FinancialDerivativesGrp
Closely Held Equity Interests		CloselyHeldEquityInterestsGrp

Other Securities OtherSecuritiesGrp (2 entries)

DescDesc	Book ValueBookValueAmt	Method ValuationMethodValuationCd
BEN. INT. IN PERP TRUSTS	$15,124,877	F
BEN. INT. IN CHAR. GIFT ANNUIT	$35,353	F

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Book Value Securities	$15,160,230	TotalBookValueSecuritiesAmt
Federal Income Tax Liability	$0	FederalIncomeTaxLiabilityAmt
Total Liability	$0	TotalLiabilityAmt
Footnote Text	Yes (X)	FootnoteTextInd
Total Rev Etc Audited Fincl Stmt	$32,777,975	TotalRevEtcAuditedFinclStmtAmt
Net Unrealized Gains Invst	-$7,853,115	NetUnrealizedGainsInvstAmt
Donated Services And Use Fclts	$62,000	DonatedServicesAndUseFcltsAmt
Other Revenue	$780,205	OtherRevenueAmt
Revenue Not Reported	-$7,010,910	RevenueNotReportedAmt
Revenue Subtotal	$39,788,885	RevenueSubtotalAmt
Total Revenue Per Form990	$39,788,885	TotalRevenuePerForm990Amt
Tot Expns Etc Audited Fincl Stmt	$37,105,510	TotExpnsEtcAuditedFinclStmtAmt
Donated Services Use Fclts	$79,000	DonatedServicesUseFcltsAmt
Other Expenses Included	$290,376	OtherExpensesIncludedAmt
Expenses Not Reported	$369,376	ExpensesNotReportedAmt
Expenses Subtotal	$36,736,134	ExpensesSubtotalAmt
Total Expenses Per Form990	$36,736,134	TotalExpensesPerForm990Amt

Supplemental Information Detail SupplementalInformationDetail (5 entries)

Form And Line ReferenceFormAndLineReferenceDesc	ExplanationExplanationTxt
Collections of Art, historical treasures or similar other assets	Schedule D, Part III, Line 1a Collection assets of the Institute have not been capitalized nor recognized. Collection items are held as historical treasures and are under the stewardship of the Institute acting through its President and Senior Curator. Schedule D, Part III, Line 4 The historical and interpretive collections of The Franklin Institute are organized into three types of holdings: Museum, Archives and Library. They each play an instrumental role in educational and public programming through permanent and temporary gallery exhibitions; development initiatives; outreach, marketing, and promotional activities; and internet-based presentations.
Endowment Funds	Schedule D, Part V, Line 4 The endowment funds support a variety of The Franklin Institute's activities based upon original donor intent. Activities supported include the following: Awards Program, Library, Curatorial and Collections, Museum Programs, subsidized admission to the science museum and general operations.
FIN 48 (ASC 740) Footnote	Schedule D, Part X, Line 2 The Institute has been granted exemption from federal income tax under Section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code"), and has been classified as an organization, which is not a private foundation under Section 509(a) of the Code. Certain unrelated business income is subject to federal income taxes. Management has reviewed the tax positions for each of the open tax years (2012 - 2014) or those expected to be taken in the Institute's 2015 tax return and has concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions that would require recognition in the financial statements.
Reconciliation of Revenue with AFS	Schedule D, Part XI, Line 2d Fundraising Event Direct Expenses $269,134 Net Unrealized Gain on Interest Rate Swap 207,037 Net Actuarial Gain on Defined Benefit Retirement Plan 304,034 ---------- Total $780,205 ==========
Reconciliation of Expense with AFS	Schedule D, Part XII, Line 2d Fundraising Event Direct Expenses $269,134 Items Capitalized in Subsequent Year 21,242 -------- Total $290,376 ========

Schedule F IRS990ScheduleF

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Grant Records Maintained	Yes (true)	GrantRecordsMaintainedInd

Account Activities Outside US AccountActivitiesOutsideUSGrp (3 entries)

RegionRegionTxt	EmployeeEmployeeCnt	Type Of Activities ConductedTypeOfActivitiesConductedTxt	Specific Services ProvidedSpecificServicesProvidedTxt	Region Total ExpendituresRegionTotalExpendituresAmt
Middle East and North Africa	7	Program Services	Egypt STEM School	$422,126
South America	4	Program Services	STEM exchang Program	$16,834
Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland)		Grantmaking		$250,000

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Subtotal Offices	0	SubtotalOfficesCnt
Subtotal Employees	11	SubtotalEmployeesCnt
Total Office	0	TotalOfficeCnt
Total Employee	11	TotalEmployeeCnt
Subtotal Spent	$688,960	SubtotalSpentAmt
Total Spent	$688,960	TotalSpentAmt

Foreign Individuals Grants ForeignIndividualsGrantsGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Type Of Assistance	BOWER AWARD CASH PRIZE TO LAUREATE	TypeOfAssistanceTxt
Region	Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland)	RegionTxt
Recipient	1	RecipientCnt
Cash Grant	$250,000	CashGrantAmt
Manner Of Cash Disbursement	Check	MannerOfCashDisbursementTxt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Transfer To Foreign Corp	false	TransferToForeignCorpInd
Interest In Foreign Trust	false	InterestInForeignTrustInd
Foreign Corp Ownership	false	ForeignCorpOwnershipInd
Passive Foreign Investmest Co	false	PassiveForeignInvestmestCoInd
Foreign Partnership	false	ForeignPartnershipInd
Boycott Countries	false	BoycottCountriesInd

Supplemental Information Detail SupplementalInformationDetail (2 entries)

Form And Line ReferenceFormAndLineReferenceDesc

ExplanationExplanationTxt

Procedures for monitoring the use of grant funds outside the U.S.

THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE AWARDS ONE INDIVIDUAL WITH THE BOWER AWARD AND PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SCIENCE EACH YEAR. THE AWARD WINNER IS CHOSEN BY THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND THE ARTS, FOLLOWING A FORMAL NOMINATION AND DELIBERATION PERIOD. THE PRIZE MONEY AWARDED IS NOT A GRANT, SO MONITORING OF FUNDS IS NOT REQUIRED OR APPROPRIATE.

Grants Under 5,000

The Franklin Institute makes de Minimis scholarship and participant support/honoraria payments to individuals throughout its normal course of business. None of these payments exceed $5,000. Payments for scholarships are made to the student's schools directly rather than to the individual, thereby ensuring proper use of scholarship funds. The Franklin Institute does not issue grants to individuals or organizations.

Schedule G IRS990ScheduleG

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Mail Solicitations	Yes (X)	MailSolicitationsInd
Email Solicitations	Yes (X)	EmailSolicitationsInd
Phone Solicitations	Yes (X)	PhoneSolicitationsInd
In Person Solicitations	Yes (X)	InPersonSolicitationsInd
Solicitation Of Non Govt Grants	Yes (X)	SolicitationOfNonGovtGrantsInd
Solicitation Of Govt Grants	Yes (X)	SolicitationOfGovtGrantsInd
Special Fundraising Events	Yes (X)	SpecialFundraisingEventsInd
Agrmt Prof Fundraising Acty	Yes (true)	AgrmtProfFundraisingActyInd

Fundraiser Activity Info FundraiserActivityInfoGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Person	Mae Daniller Co	PersonNm

US Address USAddress

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Address Line1	3724 Jefferson Suite 302	AddressLine1Txt
City	Austin	CityNm
State Abbreviation	TX	StateAbbreviationCd
ZIP	78731	ZIPCd

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Activity	Mailings	ActivityTxt
Fundraiser Control Of Funds	false	FundraiserControlOfFundsInd
Gross Receipts	$91,190	GrossReceiptsAmt
Retained By Contractor	$95,328	RetainedByContractorAmt
Net To Organization	-$4,138	NetToOrganizationAmt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Total Gross Receipts	$91,190	TotalGrossReceiptsAmt
Total Retained By Contractors	$95,328	TotalRetainedByContractorsAmt
Total Net To Organization	-$4,138	TotalNetToOrganizationAmt
Licensed States	AZ	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	CA	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	CT	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	FL	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	MD	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	MA	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	NJ	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	NY	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	PA	LicensedStatesCd
Licensed States	WA	LicensedStatesCd

Fundraising Event Information FundraisingEventInformationGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Event1	Franklin Awards	Event1Nm
Gross Receipts Event1	$751,311	GrossReceiptsEvent1Amt
Charitable Contri Event1	$573,943	CharitableContriEvent1Amt
Gross Revenue Event1	$177,368	GrossRevenueEvent1Amt
Food And Beverage Event1	$142,099	FoodAndBeverageEvent1Amt
Other Direct Expenses Event1	$127,035	OtherDirectExpensesEvent1Amt
Other Events Total	0	OtherEventsTotalCnt
Gross Receipts Total	$751,311	GrossReceiptsTotalAmt
Charitable Contributions Tot	$573,943	CharitableContributionsTotAmt
Gross Revenue Total Events	$177,368	GrossRevenueTotalEventsAmt
Food And Beverage Total Events	$142,099	FoodAndBeverageTotalEventsAmt
Oth Direct Expnss Total Events	$127,035	OthDirectExpnssTotalEventsAmt
Direct Expense Summary Events	$269,134	DirectExpenseSummaryEventsAmt
Net Income Summary	-$91,766	NetIncomeSummaryAmt

Schedule J IRS990ScheduleJ

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Club Dues Or Fees	Yes (X)	ClubDuesOrFeesInd
Written Policy Ref T And E Expnss	Yes (true)	WrittenPolicyRefTAndEExpnssInd
Substantiation Required	Yes (true)	SubstantiationRequiredInd
Compensation Committee	Yes (X)	CompensationCommitteeInd
Compensation Survey	Yes (X)	CompensationSurveyInd
Board Or Committee Approval	Yes (X)	BoardOrCommitteeApprovalInd
Severance Payment	Yes (true)	SeverancePaymentInd
Supplemental Nonqual Rtr Plan	false	SupplementalNonqualRtrPlanInd
Equity Based Comp Arrngm	false	EquityBasedCompArrngmInd
Comp Based On Revenue Of Flng Org	false	CompBasedOnRevenueOfFlngOrgInd
Comp Bsd On Rev Related Orgs	false	CompBsdOnRevRelatedOrgsInd
Comp Bsd Net Earns Flng Org	false	CompBsdNetEarnsFlngOrgInd
Comp Bsd Net Earns Rltd Orgs	false	CompBsdNetEarnsRltdOrgsInd
Any Non Fixed Payments	Yes (true)	AnyNonFixedPaymentsInd
Initial Contract Exception	false	InitialContractExceptionInd

Rltd Org Officer Trst Key Empl RltdOrgOfficerTrstKeyEmplGrp (9 entries)

TitleTitleTxt	Base Compensation Filing OrgBaseCompensationFilingOrgAmt	Compensation Based On Rltd OrgsCompensationBasedOnRltdOrgsAmt	Bonus Filing OrganizationBonusFilingOrganizationAmount	Bonus Related OrganizationsBonusRelatedOrganizationsAmt	Other Compensation Filing OrgOtherCompensationFilingOrgAmt	Other Compensation Rltd OrgsOtherCompensationRltdOrgsAmt	Deferred Compensation Flng OrgDeferredCompensationFlngOrgAmt	Deferred Comp Rltd OrgsDeferredCompRltdOrgsAmt	Nontaxable Benefits Filing OrgNontaxableBenefitsFilingOrgAmt	Nontaxable Benefits Rltd OrgsNontaxableBenefitsRltdOrgsAmt	Total Compensation Filing OrgTotalCompensationFilingOrgAmt	Total Compensation Rltd OrgsTotalCompensationRltdOrgsAmt	Comp Report Prior990 Filing OrgCompReportPrior990FilingOrgAmt	Comp Report Prior990 Rltd OrgsCompReportPrior990RltdOrgsAmt
Larry Dubinski
President & CEO	$342,875	$0	$102,974	$0	$10,276	$0	$17,327	$0	$27,832	$0	$501,284	$0	$0	$0
K Siobhan Keefe
VP of Finance & Treasurer	$150,957	$0	$10,000	$0	$711	$0	$9,119	$0	$8,504	$0	$179,291	$0	$0	$0
Julie Appolloni
VP of Strategic Initiatives	$143,554	$0	$12,500	$0	$181	$0	$8,557	$0	$837	$0	$165,629	$0	$0	$0
Frederic M N Bertley Phd
SVP for Science	$183,104	$0	$39,794	$0	$782	$0	$10,777	$0	$20,898	$0	$255,355	$0	$0	$0
Troy Collins
SVP - Earned Rev., Mrktg & Ops	$207,281	$0	$38,011	$0	$805	$0	$12,437	$0	$16,698	$0	$275,232	$0	$0	$0
RICHARD D RABENA
VP Ops & Capital Projects	$158,966	$0	$18,933	$0	$1,521	$0	$10,295	$0	$19,855	$0	$209,570	$0	$0	$0
REID O STYLES
VP Human Resources	$154,046	$0	$17,898	$0	$3,292	$0	$9,736	$0	$10,123	$0	$195,095	$0	$0	$0
Kathryn Giorgianni
AVP -I/T Services	$140,027	$0	$0	$0	$1,725	$0	$9,103	$0	$17,914	$0	$168,769	$0	$0	$0
Dennis Wint PHD
Former President & CEO	$0	$0	$35,000	$0	$374,842	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$409,842	$0	$0	$0

Supplemental Information Detail SupplementalInformationDetail (3 entries)

Form And Line ReferenceFormAndLineReferenceDesc	ExplanationExplanationTxt
Health & Social Club Dues	Schedule J, Part I, Line 1a During 2015, The Franklin Institute provided membership in the Union League of Philadelphia for the President and CEO. The membership is principally for business purposes.
Sevarance Payments	Schedule J, Part I, Line 4 The Franklin Institute paid severance in the amount of $374,842 to former President and CEO Dennis Wint in 2015.
Non-Fixed Payments	Schedule J, Part I, Line 7 Refer to Schedule O, disclosure for FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15A and 15B, PROCESS USED TO DETERMINE EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.

Schedule K IRS990ScheduleK

Tax Exempt Bonds Issues TaxExemptBondsIssuesGrp (2 entries)

Bond ReferenceBondReferenceCd	Bond Issuer EINBondIssuerEIN	CUSIPCUSIPNum	Bond IssuedBondIssuedDt	Issue PriceIssuePriceAmt	PurposePurposeDesc	DefeasedDefeasedInd	On Behalf Of IssuerOnBehalfOfIssuerInd	Pool FinancingPoolFinancingInd
Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development
A	232237287	717818QG8	2006-03-22	$14,095,000	Refinanced debt, funding for prior	false	false	false
Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development
B	232237287		2013-09-30	$11,000,000	Funding for capital projects	false	false	false

Tax Exempt Bonds Proceeds TaxExemptBondsProceedsGrp (2 entries)

Bond ReferenceBondReferenceCd	RetiredRetiredAmt	Bond DefeasedBondDefeasedAmt	Total ProceedsTotalProceedsAmt	In Reserve FundInReserveFundAmt	Capitalized InterestCapitalizedInterestAmt	Refunding EscrowRefundingEscrowAmt	Issuance Costs From ProceedsIssuanceCostsFromProceedsAmt	Credit EnhancementCreditEnhancementAmt	Working Capital ExpendituresWorkingCapitalExpendituresAmt	Capital ExpendituresCapitalExpendituresAmt	Other Spent ProceedsOtherSpentProceedsAmt	UnspentUnspentAmt	Substantial CompletionSubstantialCompletionYr	Current RefundingCurrentRefundingInd	Advance RefundingAdvanceRefundingInd	Final Allocation MadeFinalAllocationMadeInd	Adequate Books And Rec MaintAdequateBooksAndRecMaintInd
A	$1,715,000	$0	$14,265,843	$0	$0	$0	$206,552	$5,358	$0	$0	$14,058,055	$0	1990	false	Yes (true)	Yes (true)	Yes (true)
B	$10,102,000	$0	$11,000,000	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$4,491,358	$0	$0	2014	false	false	Yes (true)	Yes (true)

Tax Exempt Bonds Private Bus Use TaxExemptBondsPrivateBusUseGrp (2 entries)

Bond ReferenceBondReferenceCd	Owning Bond Financed PropertyOwningBondFinancedPropertyInd	Any Lease ArrangementsAnyLeaseArrangementsInd	Mgmt Contract Bond Fincd PropMgmtContractBondFincdPropInd	Any Research AgreementsAnyResearchAgreementsInd	Private Bus Use By OthersPrivateBusUseByOthersPct	Bond Iss Meet Prvt Sec Pymt TestBondIssMeetPrvtSecPymtTestInd	Change In Use Bond Financed PropChangeInUseBondFinancedPropInd	Remedial Action TakenRemedialActionTakenInd	Procs Nonqualified Bond RemdtdProcsNonqualifiedBondRemdtdInd
A	false	false	false	false	0	false	false	false	Yes (true)
B	false	false	false	false	0	false	false	false	Yes (true)

Tax Exempt Bonds Arbitrage TaxExemptBondsArbitrageGrp (2 entries)

Bond ReferenceBondReferenceCd	Form8038 T FiledForm8038TFiledInd	Variable Rate IssueVariableRateIssueInd	Hedge Identified In Bks And RecHedgeIdentifiedInBksAndRecInd	Term Of HedgeTermOfHedgePct	Superintegrated HedgeSuperintegratedHedgeInd	Hedge TerminatedHedgeTerminatedInd	Gross Proceeds Invested In GICGrossProceedsInvestedInGICInd	Business Name Line1GICProviderName/BusinessNameLine1Txt	Gross Proceeds InvestedGrossProceedsInvestedInd	Written Proc To Monitor ReqsWrittenProcToMonitorReqsInd	Rebate Not Due YetRebateNotDueYetInd
Bank of America
A	Yes (true)	Yes (true)	Yes (true)	20.	false	false	false	0	false	Yes (true)
0
B	false	Yes (true)	false				false	0	false	Yes (true)	Yes (true)

Procedures Corrective Action ProceduresCorrectiveActionGrp (2 entries)

Bond ReferenceBondReferenceCd	Procedures Corrective ActionProceduresCorrectiveActionInd
A	Yes (true)
B	Yes (true)

Supplemental Information Detail SupplementalInformationDetail

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Form And Line Reference	PART II LINE 3 COLUMN A	FormAndLineReferenceDesc
Explanation	TOTAL PROCEEDS OF ISSUE: ISSUE PRICE PLUS INVESTMENT EARNINGS	ExplanationTxt

Schedule M IRS990ScheduleM

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Works Of Art		WorksOfArtGrp
Art Historical Treasures		ArtHistoricalTreasuresGrp
Art Fractional Interest		ArtFractionalInterestGrp
Books And Publications		BooksAndPublicationsGrp
Clothing And Household Goods		ClothingAndHouseholdGoodsGrp
Cars And Other Vehicles		CarsAndOtherVehiclesGrp
Boats And Planes		BoatsAndPlanesGrp
Intellectual Property		IntellectualPropertyGrp

Securities Publicly Traded SecuritiesPubliclyTradedGrp

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Non Cash Checkbox	Yes (X)	NonCashCheckboxInd
Contribution	11	ContributionCnt
Noncash Contributions Rpt F990	$601,999	NoncashContributionsRptF990Amt
Method Of Determining Revenues	Market Value	MethodOfDeterminingRevenuesTxt

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Securities Closely Held Stock		SecuritiesCloselyHeldStockGrp
Secur Prtnrshp Trust Intrsts		SecurPrtnrshpTrustIntrstsGrp
Securities Miscellaneous		SecuritiesMiscellaneousGrp
Qualified Contrib Hist Struct		QualifiedContribHistStructGrp
Qualified Contrib Other		QualifiedContribOtherGrp
Real Estate Residential		RealEstateResidentialGrp
Real Estate Commercial		RealEstateCommercialGrp
Real Estate Other		RealEstateOtherGrp
Collectibles		CollectiblesGrp
Food Inventory		FoodInventoryGrp
Drugs And Medical Supplies		DrugsAndMedicalSuppliesGrp
Taxidermy		TaxidermyGrp
Historical Artifacts		HistoricalArtifactsGrp
Scientific Specimens		ScientificSpecimensGrp
Archaeological Artifacts		ArchaeologicalArtifactsGrp
Any Property That Must Be Held	false	AnyPropertyThatMustBeHeldInd
Review Process Unusual NC Gifts	Yes (true)	ReviewProcessUnusualNCGiftsInd
Third Parties Used	Yes (true)	ThirdPartiesUsedInd

Supplemental Information Detail SupplementalInformationDetail

Field	Value	IRS element (for citing)
Form And Line Reference	Third Party Assistance of Noncash Contributions	FormAndLineReferenceDesc
Explanation	Schedule M, Part I, Line 32b With one exception in 2015, the Franklin Institute utilizes a broker to immediately sell any gifts of securities upon receipt of the gift. The one exception in 2015 was made for various stocks received on February 19, 2015 for a perpetual trust, in which corpus receipts by the perpetual trust is required to be held in perpetuity based on the perpetual trust agreement.	ExplanationTxt

Schedule O IRS990ScheduleO

Supplemental Information Detail SupplementalInformationDetail (6 entries)

Form And Line ReferenceFormAndLineReferenceDesc	ExplanationExplanationTxt
BUSINESS OR FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS	FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION A, LINE 2 Renee B. Booth, PhD has a business relationship with The Franklin Institute. Michael F. Camardo has a business relationship with Harold L. Yoh III. Michael C. Forman has a business relationship with Richard W. Vague, Richard J. Green and Ira M. Lubert. John T. Fries has a business relationship with Ira M. Lubert. Charisse R. Lillie, Esq. has a business relationship with Michelle W. Singer.
FORM 990 REVIEW PROCESS	FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11 IRS Form 990 is prepared and reviewed by the accounting firm of Grant Thornton. A draft is then sent to the Institute to review and ask any questions, as well as answer any comments or questions. The audit committee of the board of trustees then reviews the draft of the 990 and approves the Form 990 prior to the form being filed with the IRS. A complete copy of the Form 990 is provided to the board prior to filing with the IRS.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT	FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C The Franklin Institute board members and senior management staff complete an annual conflict of Interest questionnaire and disclosure form, which includes acknowledging receipt of, and familiarity with, The Institute's code of conduct and ethics policy. In addition, all employees receive the code of conduct and ethics policy approved by the Board of Trustees. The Vice President of Finance reviews the completed annual conflict of interest questionnaires and provides a summary for review by the audit committee.
PROCESS USED TO DETERMINE EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION	FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15A and 15B The process The Franklin Institute uses to establish compensation for Officers and key employees includes a complete review of executive compensation levels by the Compensation Committee of The Board of Trustees of The Franklin Institute. The review is based on a market analysis prepared by The Hay Group using published compensation surveys for both Not-For-Profit and For-Profit organizations comparable in size to The Franklin Institute. The Compensation Committee develops recommendation for the President and CEO's compensation and refers its recommendations to the Executive Committee of The Board of Trustees for approval. Recommendations are made by the President and CEO to The Compensation Committee for approval of actions regarding the compensation of Senior Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents.
HOW DOCUMENTS ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC	Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 The Franklin Institute's Form 990 is posted annually on Guidestar.org. The Franklin Institute publishes an annual report, which includes the audited Statement of Operations and Changes in Net Assets and the audited Statement of Financial Position. The Franklin Institute's governing documents, conflicts of interest policy and financial statements are made available upon request.
Other Changes in Net Assets & Fund Balances	Form 990, Part XI, Line 5 Net Unrealized Gain on Interest Rate Swap $207,037 Net Actuarial Gain on Defined Benefit Retirement Plan 304,034 Items Capitalized in Subsequent Year (21,242) ---------- Total $489,829 ==========