FlyingMOm Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 We are planning on taking our children to Philadelphia this summer- we are going to visit the The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to wrap up our Ancients year. We will have an additional day and a half to spend there. Can I get some recommendations of things to do, great restaurants to eat at, etc.? At the time of travel, our kids will be 10, 9, almost 7 and 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 You must visit the Franklin Institute www.fi.edu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 You must visit the Franklin Institute www.fi.edu Agreed! The Franklin Institute is one cool science museum -- AND if you are a member of any sort of homeschool group and have a card to prove it, you can get an educator's discount (for just you). Don't know how fast your family takes in a museum, but I'd suggest at LEAST half to 2/3rd of a day -- make this the only event of the day, due to all the walking around. We also enjoyed: - Philadelphia Mint (where they make our money!) -- FREE - Liberty Bell -- FREE - Independence Hall -- FREE - Arch Street Meeting House -- FREE (probably not too exciting for young ones) - Betsy Ross house (NOT free -- and need to get TIMED advance tickets) - Ben Franklin's grave (NOT free) -- although, you can see his grave through the fence and toss a penny These are all close together, within about 3-4 blocks. We got through most of these in a half day (3-ish hours), as there is walking between sites. For this day, we parked at some meters about 1/2 mile away and fed them enough coins for 4 hours, and then walked, with a lunch bag, and ate in the park area around Independence Hall. NOTE: NO bags or cameras allowed in the Mint, so half your group goes through with one parent, while the other parent hangs onto everyone's stufff and takes the rest of the group through sites nearby, and then after 45 minutes, meet out front and switch. We also made sure to get authentic Philly Cheesesteak while there. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We did Philly last summer as part of our youth history trip at church. We spent 12 hours in downtown Philly. Here were our favorites (our group was ages 13-21). National Constitution Center - if nothing else for their Signer's Hall with life size statues (George Washington was SO tall) of the signer's of the Declaration of Independence, but there is so much more here than we anticipated! There are also voting booths for the kids to get in and experience. Had to drag them away from there too. We didn't save enough time for it. There is a cost. http://constitutioncenter.org/ The Betsy Ross House - Betsy Ross is inside and will talk to you and answer questions in character. Very interesting. There is a cost but we didn't have timed tickets here (as of Aug 2013). We paid at the Betsy Ross House when we got there. http://www.historicphiladelphia.org/betsy-ross-house/what-to-see/ Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell - these you have to get tickets at the Independence Visitor Center first thing and they give you a time to be there for your tour. Liberty Bell line is long. http://www.phlvisitorcenter.com/ Christ Church - It was amazing to sit in the pews where our founding fathers sat and worshipped. And there were a lot of them attending Christ Church, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Betsy Ross all have pews there as well as many others! I can't remember if there is a cost here or not. Christ Church Burial grounds is where Benjamin Franklin is buried. There is a small fee to get into the cemetery there. http://www.christchurchphila.org/ We ate authentic Philly Cheese Steaks at Campo's for lunch - YUM! http://www.camposdeli.com/ And one of the biggest highlights of the day, we had dinner at the City Tavern - where the founding fathers met to eat and discuss what was going on over at Independence Hall and there is more history than just that. They serve authentic food (rabbit and duck were on the menu) and Thomas Jefferson's muffins/rolls - YUM! Every single one of us enjoyed having dinner here. We made reservations. And it was pricey but it was SO worth every penny. http://m.citytavern.com/ Also if time permits hit all the Once Upon a Nation storytellers that you can. They are set up all over Philly and each one we heard was excellent. They gave the younger kids flags and each time they heard another story, they were able to put a star on their flag. http://www.historicphiladelphia.org/once-upon-a-nation/storytelling/ This site http://www.theconstitutional.com/ helped me see what all was available and had a map that we followed (loosely) when I was planning this part of our trip. Enjoy! We did have a fabulous time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 - Ben Franklin's grave (NOT free) -- although, you can see his grave through the fence and toss a penny Lori, our kids thought this was hilarious, seeing as how Ben Franklin had the "penny saved, penny earned" quote. They all thought he would be horrified that people were wasting there pennies on his grave. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Many great ideas, but if you will be near King of Prussia check out Valley Forge National Historic Park where the continental army camped one winter during the Revolutionary War. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Lori, our kids thought this was hilarious, seeing as how Ben Franklin had the "penny saved, penny earned" quote. They all thought he would be horrified that people were wasting there pennies on his grave. :laugh: :smilielol5: That's hilarious! (we didn't pay or toss a penny either, just looked and saved our earned pennies ;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMOm Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 Thanks for all the great ideas!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Oh! A day and a half extra isn't at all enough... We just moved from Philadelphia and miss it dearly. It's a funny little city that I hated at first, but it grows on you. I second all of the above; they're all great choices. Lunch at Reading Terminal Market is a great option when out in the city. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is pretty amazing. My kids loved their armor room. Children 12 and under are free - it's a steal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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