Our first stop was Franklin square. The kids had fun playing in the square and I spied a putt-putt to play with Andrew later. Our next stop was the National Constitution Center. We spent 4 hours upstairs alone and 2-3 hours in their Spies Traitors and Saboteurs exhibit. The kids noticed that several times the voting laws changed over the years to include women, blacks, and the age to vote changed from 21-18. The pictures below were shot in Signers Hall of The National Constitution Center. I have to say it was nice to see and touch the bronze castings of all the signers of the Constitution. We waited until several field trip groups left the room before we entered.
After our visit with the Constitution we walked across the street to the President's House Site and then on to the Liberty Bell. We didn't get to spend much time with the Liberty Bell since we arrived at the building 10 minutes before closing. The place was pretty empty and it was easy to get photographs.
Our favorite place to grab a bite to eat or grab groceries. Reading Terminal is a unique melting pot of fresh meat and seafood, cheeses,fresh fruits and veggies, candy, Pennsylvanian Dutch food and homemade goodies.
We caught a Phillie's game and the kids got to see Phillie's Phanatic in action. The Phillies lost to the Reds.
The Assembly Room where the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution were signed.
Elfreth's Alley the oldest inhabited street in Philadelphia. Houses date back to the early 1700's. Sabastian started chatting with a nice lady named Sue who let us come take a peak at her house which was built in 1762. Sue thought it was really cool that we arrived in Philadelphia by boat.
The Betsy Ross House was a must stop as well. Betsy Ross was working in her upholstery shop.
Putt Putt.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the American Revolution. A must stop on Memorial Day.
Our next stop was the Franklin Institute for some hands on Science!
Paisley and Sabastian are looking at slice of a brain and actually touched a horse and cat brain. After that we walked through a model heart.
One of their exhibits was a heart big enough to walk through. Pretty cool.
Sabastian and Paisley both working the pulley chair.
The kids were picked to help out in two science experiments with liquid Nitrogen. The second experiment didn't go as planned. It made for some funny entertainment. The experiments ended with a fun cloud. Definitely, a fun way to learn about solids, liquids and gases.
We are in the Second National Bank which now houses all of the painting done by Charles Wilson Peale and a few by several other artist. Charles Peale's collection is a Who's Who of 18th century people including many people who signed the Declaration of Independence and others who served in our military. There was also on display Charles Peale's own Bald Eagle that use to sit on top of the Liberty Bell.
Philadelphia has a program linked with the parks services called Once upon a Time. There are 13 storytelling benches in the historic area. Each bench tells a different story. We listened to several stories on the Underground railroad, Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross and many others.
The Post office is still a functioning location!
The Park Ranger is showing us how the press works. He is printing up a copy of The Constitution. The kids have enjoyed earing their park ranger badges, patches, and raiding cards through out our trip. I have to say the Philadelphia department did a fabulous job of making learning history fun and exciting.
Reading Market Terminal was our most frequented stop to pick up lunch, dinner, or groceries. It has a little bit of everything. We enjoyed the fresh produce and fresh meat selections.
Chinatown
No comments:
Post a Comment