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From the time Phineas was a child, he was fascinated with imagination and invention. He envisioned ways to improve and revolutionize everything from electricity to communication to transportation. As his knowledge of the world, history, science, music, and art increased (from books, of course!), his house became filled with gizmos, gadgets, stuff, stuff, and more stuff. His entire home became his workshop and laboratory.
His experiments in time travel are the most interesting. From the time machine in his Library, Phineas has been able to travel throughout history to meet other famous inventors and scientists. His hand was in nearly every historic invention that mankind has known, and his friendships with Marconi, Edison, Houdini, and others are legendary. He is the author of several books on time travel (as seen in his Library at Pennypickle's Workshop) and his inventions like the "Illusionator", the "Philharmonicamatic" and the "Electrolight-o-later" are worth making a special trip to see. You might want to ask one of the Professor's assistants how the hot air balloon ended up in the Foyer... Beaker has finally forgiven Phineas for that... almost.
And oh, yes, almost forgot...the Professor has a fabulous sense of humor. The fireplace in the Library is actually a secret passage into the mysterious Maze Room (where he keeps the surprise of a replica of his childhood home), a London Call Box door leads to his amazing SATTA (Space And Time Travel Apparatus) console, and his Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich-Making-Machine has to be seen to be believed.
Lost in his world of imagination, Phineas is somewhat reclusive...not that he intends to be. He loves to think that he may be the inspiration for a new generation of thinkers and inventors.
Little field mouse Beaker is a character in his own right...and just because he doesn't speak doesn't mean that he and the Professor don't communicate. They both have an uncanny ability to know what each other is thinking.
Beaker's either following Phineas around, or is catching a ride in the Professor's lab coat pocket. Sometimes he sits on the Professor's shoulder when he is inventing something or playing the Philharmonicamatic. Beaker loves when Phineas uses the peanut butter and jelly sandwich-making-machine because then he gets to share the end result!
Pennypickle's gift shop (which started out as Phineas' parlor, but ended up full of shipments of interesting science toys and gifts from exotic lands) is Beaker's favorite playing and hiding place. Sometimes he gets into the cabinet where the iron cars and special items are sold and pretends he can drive. Other times he'll hide in one of the many trunks holding fun and exciting items for sale and hopes that some child will discover him there and smile at him! There are toy Beakers that people can buy for a very lucky person, and stickers that tell people what a science geek you are.
The Professor and Beaker have been together for a long time. It all began many years ago when a lot of construction was going on around the Professor's home. Poor little Beaker was displaced from his habitat, and on a dark and stormy night wandered into a small crack in the Professor's basement. Phineas was working on his plastic-bottles-into-T-shirts-machine and noticed Beaker huddling in the corner. Rather than forcing him out into the cold, the Professor softly started a conversation addressed to Beaker and explained what he was doing. Beaker was entranced. When the Professor went into his bedroom, Beaker followed. Seeing that the room had been turned into a very unusual sight, with the bed being taken over by the "Illusionator", a human kaleidoscope was made out of a picket fence, and the armoire that became a secret viewing area, Beaker was hooked.
He snuggled next to the Professor in the hammock that was now Phineas' bed, and knew that they would always be the best of friends.
Now, whenever Phineas is on one of his trips, he leaves Beaker in charge of his workshop. Visitors are cautioned to be careful where they step.
beaker
Professor Phineas T. Pennypickle
Discover Science through play
Copyright 2004 | Friends of the Temecula Children's Museum | All rights reserved
Pennypickles© and Pennypickle's Workshop© are located at 42081 Main Street, Temecula, California 92590
951-308-6376 | phineas@pennypickles.org