Philadelphia Field Trip

We've been studying the colonial period and the American Revolution for eight weeks now. Before the temperature started to dive, my mother and I chose to take Pearl on a field trip to Philadelphia to see the places we've been reading about.

After the much anticipated train ride, we began with a trip to a museum that has a collection of Washington and Ben Franklin busts and portraits. Pearl had asked to see a real art museum after our foray into York last spring, and I was very proud of how she made her way around the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The colored pencils I brought allowed her to engage with the art when she needed to sit. We also saw a few works by Benjamin West, a Quaker ancestor of ours who was the President of the (British) Royal Academy in the mid 1700s.





We thoroughly enjoyed a much needed meal in Chinatown before walking through that section of the city to Independence National Park. We had planned to skip the tour of Independence Hall, but it has been greatly shortened since I was young, and now you see just two rooms, the old court room and the congressional room where all the history happened. Pearl lagged a bit there, but she made it through with the help of her junior ranger activity book.

The next stop, Franklin's Printing Press, showcased a working, 18th-century press. The rangers running it entertained us with explanations. I enjoyed seeing the cases full of tiny type waiting to be set since it reminded me of the Victorian book creation I have read so much about.

We walked a few blocks to Betsy Ross's house, which is not part of the national park. Pearl and I climbed through the narrow building, winding up and down the stairs. The costumed Betsy Ross stole her heart, I think, when she gave Pearl a cut out star like the ones on the first American flag.








Our little historian retained just enough energy to walk back to the park office for her swearing in as a junior park ranger. The gentleman did a great job engaging her in the process, and she proudly displayed her little plastic pin.

Field trips are fun!

In front of the Chinatown gate