Thursday, September 21, 2023 • 6:30PM

Benjamin Franklin (interpreted by Mike Kochan) will be presenting and demonstrating some of the (Benjamin Franklin’s) experiments. Mike has appeared on the History Channel show “Franklin’s Electric Kite” and has incorporated some of the aspects of the TV show into his in-person presentation.

Mike will bring some reproductions of Franklin’s machines that he used in his experiments, as well as audience participation in some experiments to help tell the story of Benjamin Franklin’s involvement in these scientific experiments.

Mike’s presentation will show Franklin’s place in the history of the discoveries in electricity. The presentation will start with the Greeks, move to the seventeenth century, then the eighteenth century, and will finish in the mid-eighteenth century with a demonstration of his famous kite replicas. The talk will use a combination of a powerpoint as well as replicas of some of his experiments that the guests can do themselves, bringing the history of developments in electricity to life.

Over the years, Mike has made museum quality examples of the technology of the eighteenth and nineteenth century technology and is currently portraying Franklin in venues that include children as well as adults.