DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word (925 13th St. NW in Franklin School):
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WORD_200606_08.JPG: Future Home of
Planet Word
the museum where language comes to life
WORD_201021_09.JPG: Planet Word
The museum where language comes to life
WORD_201021_25.JPG: In the courtyard is Speaking Willow Tree
Your Planet Word experience begins beneath a mesmerizing Speaking Willow tree. You'll hear murmurs in hundreds of languages as you pass under the branches of this unique sculpture, created by renowned contemporary artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.
WORD_201112_006.JPG: Welcome to Planet Word!
Your Journey with words starts with these words right here -- please follow our COVID-19 safety guidelines:
* Stay 6 feet apart. What has 6 feet and three eyes? Social distancing.
* Wear a mask. Everyone loves a mystery.
* Use hand sanitizer. Lady Macbeth would approve.
Thank you!
WORD_201112_010.JPG: Speaking Willow Tree
Your Planet Word experience begins beneath a mesmerizing Speaking Willow tree. You'll hear murmurs in hundreds of languages as you pass under the branches of this unique sculpture, created by renowned contemporary artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.
WORD_201112_035.JPG: The museum where language comes to life
WORD_201112_045.JPG: With thanks to our donors
Anonymous | AT&T Corporation
Bloomberg Philanthropies | Carolyn Bucksbaum
Diller-Von Furstenberg Family Foundation | Ann and John Doerr
Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman | Microsoft Corporation
Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman
WORD_201112_064.JPG: The inside of the elevator is covered with a picture of a bookcase.
WORD_201112_071.JPG: Ground Breaking
The Planet Word building originally served as the Franklin School. Constructed between 1865 and 1869, it was part of a groundbreaking experiment based on the idea that universal access to public education was essential to the survival of democratic society. It the 19th and early 20th centuries, Franklin School served as a laboratory for developing a modern public school program that included grading and curriculum, vocational education, high school, and professional training and standards for teachers.
The Franklin School was the flagship and prototype building of a group of seven modern urban public schools constructed between 1862 and 1875 to house the first comprehensive free universal public education program in the nation's capital, albeit still segregated by race and separated by gender. Until about 1900, all new public school buildings in DC were based on Cluss's prototypical design. Today, only the Sumner and Franklin schools survive from the original seven.
Some unique elements at the Franklin School include the turreted octagonal ventilation towers, patterned mansard roof, timber-frame roof truss system, twin cast iron staircases, and Great Hall with trompe l'oeil fresco secco wall decorations. The building design was intended to inspire students and create a comfortable, aesthetically pleasing environment for learning. Each classroom originally had a semicircular teacher's niche with a raised platform facing the students, which allowed clear sightlines between the instructors and students. The niche also acted as a sounding board, improving acoustics.
WORD_201112_085.JPG: 1865: Cluss's Plan for the Franklin School selected and construction begins.
1869: The Franklin School completed and dedicated.
1873: Scale model of the Franklin School constructed and exhibited.
1880: First photophone call completed on 4th floor. The photophone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1880 and allowed the transmission of sound via a beam of light.
1925: Building becomes the Franklin Administration Building.
1964: Listed in the DC Inventory of Historic Sites.
1973: Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
1996: Designed a National Historical Landmark.
2002: National Historic Landmark status amended to include interiors.
WORD_201112_092.JPG: Adolf Cluss: Brick Master
This building was designed by German-American architect Adolf Cluss (1825-1905), who was one of the 19th-century Washington, DC's pre-eminent architects. Cluss popularized the rundbogenstil, on round-arch style, reflected in his other buildings like Eastern Market, the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, and the Sumner School. Cluss was well known for his prolific use of red brick, helping the humble material rise in status throughout Washington from the 1860s through the 1880s.
Cluss also employed technological innovations at the Franklin School. He used the latest fireproof construction techniques and designed a new heating and ventilating system, wherein low-pressure steam heat moved through a series of arched brick ducts and flues. The inclusion of indoor restrooms was also novel at the time. These pioneering design solutions coupled with fine finishes throughout the school had the desired effect of impressing students, the general public, and the government, and demand for attendance exceeded the available space from the outset.
WORD_201112_104.JPG: Planet Word is flush with bathroom humor!
To pee or not to pee, that is the question.
WORD_201112_106.JPG: If at first you don't succeed, flush, flush again.
WORD_201112_109.JPG: Planet Word is flush with bathroom humor!
To pee or not to pee, that is the question.
I stink therefore I am.
WORD_201112_119.JPG: Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going...
-- Rita Mae Brown
WORD_201112_122.JPG: Please do not use the water fountains.
Thank you!
Closed due to COVID-19.
WORD_201112_124.JPG: John Baldessari
Prima Facie (Third state): Inconsolable/Exuberant, 2005
WORD_201112_132.JPG: There's a later photo of me from the photo booth.
WORD_201112_137.JPG: Unlock the Music
Be the star of the show! Choose an iconic song to sing karaoke-style and learn the techniques that help songwriters put together lyrics and create a hit.
WORD_201112_161.JPG: Making words rhymes for a living is one of the great joys of my life... I started at the same level as everybody else, and then I just listened to more music and talked to myself until it was an actual superpower I could pull out on special occasions.
-- Lin-Manuel Miranda
WORD_201112_168.JPG: A will is a dead giveaway.
WORD_201112_171.JPG: "I got up too early," Tom said with alarm.
WORD_201112_175.JPG: "They had to amputate them both at the ankles," said Tom, defeated.
WORD_201112_177.JPG: I didn't like my bear at first. Then it grew on me.
WORD_201112_180.JPG: "Help! My left ventricle is collapsing," said Tom halfheartedly.
WORD_201112_182.JPG: "I need a pencil sharpener," said Tom bluntly.
WORD_201112_184.JPG: A guy fell into an upholstery machine. Now he's fully recovered.
WORD_201112_186.JPG: Strike a Pose
Grab a prop and see if your friends can guess the common phrase.
WORD_201112_195.JPG: Joking Around
Who's the funniest person in your family? Find out in our humor gallery -- and see who will be the first to laugh!
WORD_201112_197.JPG: evocative (adj.)
Bringing strong images, memories, of feelings to mind.
WORD_201112_203.JPG: Lend Me Your Ears
Friends, Romans, countrymen -- it's your turn to make your voice heard! Here you can deliver a famous speech using a teleprompter and discover what made it immortal.
WORD_201112_207.JPG: Fiction is the lie that tells the truth.
-- Neil Gaiman
WORD_201112_209.JPG: The Rights of the Reader
1. The right not to read
2. The right to skip
3. The right not to finish a book
4. The right to re-read
5. The right to read anything
6. The right to mistake a book for real life ("Bovary-ism," a textually transmitted disease)
7. The right to read anywhere
8. The right to dip in
9. The right to read out loud
10. The right to be quiet
Daniel Pennac, Comme un Roman (Translated by Sarah Ardizzone)
WORD_201112_213.JPG: Rhyme is a verbal adhesive. It helps ideas to stick in the memory.
-- Sheila Davis
WORD_201112_220.JPG: I'm Sold!
How do advertisers do it -- constantly getting your attention and making you want their products and services? Learn the turns of phrase they use to make their goods and causes stand out, and try writing an ad yourself.
WORD_201112_223.JPG: You see 10,000 messages every day.
Behind every ad is a great writer. These are their techniques.
WORD_201112_225.JPG: Technique #1
Double Meaning
When writers use words with more than one meaning, you get the satisfaction of solving the puzzle, making the connection, or getting in on the joke.
Example:
Nothing runs like a Deere
WORD_201112_228.JPG: Technique #4
Twisted Phrase
A clever rework of a popular expression is a good way to make you do a double take.
Example:
Ask not what our shoes can do for you. Ask what our shoes can do for kids in other countries.
Technique #3
Provocation
Writers often use the surprising, unusual, or controversial to grab your attention. But watch out: the messages isn't always what it seems...
Example:
"Don't worry darling, you didn't burn the beer!"
WORD_201112_232.JPG: Technique #2
Wordplay
Writers use tricks like rhyme, alliteration, and puns to help their messages stick in your mind. They know a word's spelling and pronunciation are a chance to have fun with language.
Example:
"You (cough) look good"
Technique #1
Double Meaning
When writers use words with more than one meaning, you get the satisfaction of solving the puzzle, making the connection, or getting in on the joke.
Example:
Where I do hot yoga.
Find your place.
Where I do hot pastrami
WORD_201112_236.JPG: Technique #3
Provocation
Writers often use the surprising, unusual, or controversial to grab your attention. But watch out: the messages isn't always what it seems...
Example:
Immediate openings for people who drool, spit-up and wet their pants. [Ad for day care]
Technique #2
Wordplay
Writers use tricks like rhyme, alliteration, and puns to help their messages stick in your mind. They know a word's spelling and pronunciation are a chance to have fun with language.
Example:
Drive Sober or get pulled over
WORD_201112_239.JPG: Technique #5
Brand Personality
Just like people, brands have personalities. They can be silly, serious, or sarcastic, but it's consistency that makes them memorable.
Example:
Smell like a man, man. Old Spice
WORD_201112_255.JPG: Words Matter
How have words changed your life? Share your story in our fully-equipped recording booth, and listen to the stories of others who have felt the power of words.
WORD_201112_257.JPG: A sound booth
WORD_201112_260.JPG: One Word
Someone special calls me is:
Stinky
Here's why:
since I was a baby, I would eat and immediately poop.
WORD_201112_264.JPG: One Word
That makes me feel better is:
Creative
Here's why:
I'm an artist so the greatest compliment I can recieve [sic] is that I am creative.
WORD_201112_270.JPG: Unlock the Sounds of Language
The International Phoenetic Alphabet
WORD_201112_294.JPG: Bathroom again...
Empty the tank
See a man about a dog
Talk to a man about a horse
Powder one's nose
Check the plumbing
Tinkle
Freshen up
WORD_201112_327.JPG: Bruce Guthrie @ Planet Word photo booth
Wikipedia Description: Planet Word
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Planet Word is a language arts museum that opened in Washington, D.C., in October 2020. The museum is described as "The museum where language comes to life" and features exhibits dedicated to topics such as the history of the English Language, how children learn words, and how music and advertising use words. It is located in Franklin Square at the historic Franklin School.
The museum was created by Ann B. Friedman, a philanthropist and former reading teacher who is married to New York Times opinion columnist Tom Friedman. It occupies the historic Franklin School building, designed by Adolf Cluss, and located on Franklin Square at 13th and K Street.
Speaking Willow, an interactive, motion-detecting tree sculpture is an exhibit created by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer that whispers to visitors in hundreds of different languages as they enter the museum. Other notable exhibits within the museum include First Words, Where Do Words Come From?, and The Spoken Word.
While being constructed in 2019, construction was ordered to stop for illegally removing historic elements. Work resumed two months later after an agreement to reinstall the interiors.
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word (925 13th St. NW in Franklin School)) directly related to this one:
[Display ALL photos on one page]:
2023_DC_Planet_Word_WW: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word -- Exhibit: Word Worlds (5 photos from 2023)
2023_DC_Planet_Word_TSW: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word -- Exhibit: The Spoken World (4 photos from 2023)
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2023_DC_Planet_Word: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word (925 13th St. NW in Franklin School) (25 photos from 2023)
2023_11_18B4_PW_Between: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word -- Event: Enchanted Pages Community Day -- Between the Lines w/Jason Reynolds and Tony Keith, Jr. (79 photos from 11/18/2023)
2023_11_18B3_PW_Author: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word -- Event: Enchanted Pages Community Day -- The Author Is In (29 photos from 11/18/2023)
2023_11_18B2_PW_Chalk: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word -- Event: Enchanted Pages Community Day -- Chalk R!ot (21 photos from 11/18/2023)
2023_11_18B1_PW_Pages: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word -- Event: Enchanted Pages Community Day -- Misc (49 photos from 11/18/2023)
2023_11_18A7_Planet_Word_WCF: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word -- Exhibit: Where Do Words Come From? (12 photos from 11/18/2023)
2023_11_18A6_Planet_Word_TSW: DC -- Downtown -- Planet Word -- Exhibit: The Spoken World (14 photos from 11/18/2023)
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2020 photos: Well, that was a year, wasn't it? The COVID-19 pandemic cut off most events here in DC after March 11.
The child president's handling of the pandemic was a series of disastrous missteps and lies, encouraging his minions to not wear masks and dramatically increasing infections and deaths here.The BLM protests started in June, made all the worse by the child president's inability to have any empathy for anyone other than himself. Then of course he tried to steal the election in November. What a year!
Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000.
The farthest distance I traveled after that was about 40 miles. I only visited sites in four states -- Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and DC. That was the least amount of travel I had done since 1995.
Number of photos taken this year: about 246,000, the fewest number of photos I had taken in any year since 2007.
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