Of all this country's Founding Fathers, Ben Franklin was the most like the bulk of its citizenry. Besides wanting for the accumulation of colonies to be free, he wasn't landed gentry, and he worked his tail off.

And that is the bottom line in terms of the message of a large, busy and somewhat ambiguous exhibition on Franklin opening today at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Large? There are 250 objects, grouped in four geographical settings that track his life, along with numerous interactive learning devices and carts carrying hands-on objects.

Busy? Just like Colorado's weather - the capriciousness of which Franklin would have loved - wait five minutes and you'll find something different, another topic that the statesman-diplomat-inventor-publisher-scientist-civic leader had his finger in.

And ambiguous? Well, "Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World" totters on the wobbly tightrope of contemporary exhibition theory.

On one hand, it is full of beautiful paintings, decorative objects that reveal the man's taste and style, scholarly documents that bring home an incredible era in this nation's development, and thoughtful references to his passion for working to make his city and nation better. (Not to mention working to better himself, since he was wealthy enough to retire at age 42 to assume the job of full-time diplomat.)

But then there are the many games and devices, which in some cases are genuinely whimsical, but overall give the sense that a visitor must be always able to not just look at something, but also do something, too.

Add the promotional language - try "Inventor. Diplomat. Scientist. Into skinny-dipping and parlor tricks" - plus a squirrel presented as an exhibition sidekick, and Franklin begins to take on the aura of the Jim Carrey of the Founding Fathers.

And that's a far cry from Franklin biographer Walter Isaacson's description of him in an essay that serves as foreword to the exhibition's companion book. Franklin was "the Founding Father who winks at us."

Curator Page Talbott began working on this show in 2003 with an eye toward opening it in Philadelphia on the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth. Denver is the fourth venue for a show that will, fittingly, conclude in Paris.

So she recognizes this slight disconnect between serious and madcap.

"I've tried to balance the fun and funky with the extraordinary richness of the artifacts and documents," said Talbott, during a recent walk-through as the crates were being unpacked.

"To tell the story of a man whose life equals a rich, complicated, diverse and undiscovered experience. I hope when people leave, they will have learned something, seen something they didn't expect, been inspired and had fun."

In short, "I've become less of an intellectual snob."

Point taken, and if both the erudite and the antsy can make their way through here and get a sense of Franklin's impact on this country, so be it.

What they will see is a show that traces his life through four sections, after the introductory area that boasts both the squirrel and the earliest known painting of Franklin, circa 1746 by Robert Feke.

From Franklin's boyhood in Boston in "Character Matters: 1706-1723," the exhibition moves to his adopted hometown of Philadelphia ("B. Franklin, Printer: 1723-1748"); then his travels from Philadelphia to London and Paris ("World Stage: 1744-1787") and finally "Seeing Franklin: 1787-Today," with an assessment of his life and contributions.

Franklin's foibles are certainly part of the show, his love of fine food and drink, his gout and his girth.

But his alleged love of the ladies? Not in evidence, though it is readily acknowledged that he sired a son before his marriage and that his marriage was of the common-law variety. A womanizer?

"Probably not," said Talbott. "He liked women, in every sense of the word. . . . There is an element of truth. He sought out women."

But in the end, "He was whomever people wanted him to be."

Five objects historians will appreciate

• Copies of five important documents for which Franklin was a signatory, including the Treaties of Amity and Commerce, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution.

• An anti-slavery medallion produced by Josiah Wedgwood in England, sent to Franklin in 1788. The tiny jasperware medal shows the figure of a chained man, in a supplicant's pose, with the words "Am I Not a Man and a Brother?".

• The earliest view of an American city, according to show organizers: The South East Prospect of the City of Philadelphia, an oil on canvas by Peter Cooper, circa 1718.

• The charter of the University of Pennsylvania, the country's first university as well as the first nonsectarian institution of higher learning.

• The only surviving copy of Franklin's first Poor Richard's Almanack from 1733.

Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World

• What: Exhibition on the life and work of the statesman-inventor, marking the 300th anniversary of his birth in 1706

• When and where: Today through May 20; Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.

• Admission: Free with general admission to the museum: $10 adults, $6 children

(ages 3 through 18), $6 seniors;

members free

• Information: 303-322-7009;

dmns.org

Five notable objects for younger visitors

• A replica of a "thunder House," which was used by those experimenting with electricity to demonstrate that homes without grounded lightning rods would blow apart, while those with the grounded device stayed unharmed. Touching the rod with current caused no effect, though a wooden model without that protective device would fly into pieces. Dismember it at will, since it fits right back together. (A thunder house from the 18th century also is on view.)

• A 25-foot-long model of a ship, which holds interactive devices that allow visitors to chart the Gulf Stream and discover what Franklin learned about various subjects during his many crossings to England and back.

Ink it up: Printers in Franklin's day used "inking balls" to daub ink on the plates that went on the press. (They look like flattened maracas.) A reproduction pair is available to practice with, mirroring the ones from Franklin's own operation.

• A short animated film that addresses Franklin's belief in the healthy aspects of fresh air. The piece depicts John Adams and Franklin sharing a bed on a diplomatic trip. Whenever Adams shuts the window, Franklin opens it. And on and on. It's OK to laugh at the hair on Franklin's legs.

• Pump it up: For those enamored of today's bright, shiny firetrucks, here's a more elegant compact version: a full-size, side-crank hand pumper, from 1759, representative of Franklin's contribution to the city of Philadelphia being able to fight fires with volunteer fire companies.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail

Or so said Franklin. Mark your calendars for the following programs in conjunction with the exhibition:

• Brunch With Ben: A family event with a Franklin enactor, 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday; $45 adults, $15 children

• A lot of lectures, including:

"Benjamin Franklin's Life and Accomplishments, in 8,000 Square Feet?," Page Talbott, associate director of Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary and chief curator of the Franklin exhibition, 7 p.m. March 12, Phipps IMAX Theater ($15, $12);

"Ben Franklin Live!," with Ben Franklin scholar, Chautauquan and actor Christopher Lowell, 7 p.m. March 21 and 22, Ricketson Auditorium ($25, $20, includes reception);

"Inventions and Improvements: Benjamin Franklin's Scientific and Intellectual Legacy," with Michael Friesen, Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Colorado, 7 p.m. April 24, Ricketson Auditorium ($15, $12); and

"Women in North America in Franklin's Time," with CU history professor Patricia Limerick, 7 p.m. May 15, Ricketson Auditorium ($15, $12)

• Numerous chances for tours, workshops, and Get Curious Camp-Ins

• Information/reservations: 303-322-7009

What's with the squirrel?

• The hook: Most major museum exhibitions now look for a hook to lure children into the story, and "Benjamin Franklin: Seeking a Better World" is no different. But in this case, it's a squirrel, here named Skuggs after the term used by the British of the period.

• The significance: Franklin apparently was fond of gray squirrels, kept one, and sent one to a friend in England, according to the introduction to Skuggs at the entry to the exhibition.

• The history: He also reportedly wrote an epitaph of sorts for a dead squirrel that contributed a now-familiar turn-of-phrase to the language:

"Here Skugg

Lies snug

As a bug

In a rug."

• The merchandise: No surprise here: A stuffed, plush version of Skuggs will be available in the museum gift shop.

Five things you didn't know about Ben Franklin

• He is beloved in China. More versions of his Autobiography are translated into Chinese than any other language except English.

• Franklin's first child, the illegitimate William Franklin, was nurtured by the statesman's common-law wife, Deborah; traveled with his father; and became royal governor of New Jersey in 1762. But father and son wound up on opposite sides of the War for Independence and met only once between 1776 and 1790.

• Franklin belongs to 14 halls of fame: The CIA Hall of Fame, the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame, Health Care Hall of Fame, Boston Latin School Hall of Fame, Electrostatics Hall of Fame, the American Mensa Hall of Fame, the World Chess Hall of Fame, United States Swim Schools Association Hall of Fame, Cooperative Hall of Fame, Self-Publishing Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, the Insurance Hall of Fame and the Direct Marketing Association Hall of Fame (inducted in 2004, for producing the first catalog).

• Franklin published the first non-English language newspaper in the United States, the short-lived German-language Philadelphische Zeitung, which he started in 1732.

• Franklin has two birthday anniversaries. Great Britain and its colonies didn't make the switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar until 1752, when dates shifted ahead 11 days to catch up with "real" or astronomical time. His birth certificate says Jan. 6, 1705, but in the stroke of a clock, his birth date became Jan. 17.Source: Page Talbott, Curator Of "Benjamin Franklin: Seeking A Better World."

Mary Voelz Chandler is the art and architecture critic. Chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677.

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