Philadelphia Trip

WHO'S UP FOR A TOUR OF THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE?!

We are! We are!!!

Jim had a conference at the Downtown Marriott, and, even though it was the week after spring break and the kids were going to have to miss two days of school, we were still going to have a family vacation! Philadelphia offers a CityPass option, where you pay one price and get admission to a whole bunch of things at a discounted rate. First stop, the bus tour!!!

We began with a quick photo opp here at the Liberty Bell. Although I did a pretty crappy job of explaining the significance of it (we were short on time), I think the kids got that it was "an old, important bell! that momma was excited about!!!"

 

The bus tour allowed you to sit on the top of the bus... which Oliver LOVED DOING. We drove past the Art Museum, hence the Rocky Pose below.

Fun fact #1: This is actually the EXIT area to the museum. Fun Fact #2: Sly Stallone didn't actually run up these stairs-- it was a stunt double (according to the tour guide, anyway)

Fun Fact #3: Next to the Liberty Bell, this is the second-most frequented photo opp in all of Philly. For awhile there, the Art Museum folks did NOT consider this "movie prop" to be of artistic value, and thus pushed it to a different location in the city. But visitor-ship to the Art Museum fell significantly, and so they asked that it be put back in this area here, near the back of the museum.

First stop for us? THE

(What is with zoos having GIGANTIC signs? See posts re: Washington DC Zoo)

That thing is a crocodile snapping turtle. It was all "Haaay, guys!"

 

Kid has never met a pony ride that he didn't like...

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We spent maybe three hours at the zoo. Although it was laid out well and offered lots of opportunities to see the animals, there were quite a few areas that were 'closed' for the day, and there were SWARMS of groups present-- lots of field trips and such. A total turn-off. Mental note: do popular sites on weekdays AFTER 1PM.

Below, the boys wait at the bus stop, overlooking the Schuylkill River and downtown Philly.

Next stop: The Children's Museum of Philadelphia. This "Please-Touch" mecca is housed in the OLD Art museum, making it an ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL building for children to explore and be exposed to lots of hands-on learning. Below, a replica of the piano from the movie Big.

 

Laid out similarly to our favorite children's museum in Cherry Hill, there were all kinds of areas that encouraged exploration and fun.

HERE

 

 

I'm very glad we went this year, as most of the stuff was applicable to Oliver, and Trenton was juuuust at the end of the recommended age, I'd say ;)

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 I LOVE staying at the Downtown Marriott because it is right around the corner from the Reading Terminal. And man, is there a selection of FOOD.

Boys eating sushi while staring out the window of our room on the 23rd floor.

 The boys really enjoyed the time we spent in the hotel room. I had packed a few games and (not enough) books. They went in the pool once... but we were really busy most days doing things around town.

 

By the time we were done with our four day trip, the kids knew 1)Where the capitol building was 2)Whose stature was on top of it 3)Who Ben Franklin was and 4)That it is very exhausting to be a tourist

(Instagramed below)

And THEN, there was the Franklin Institute.

We HAVE to return.

As I stated before, it is ludicrous to try to go to these places during school hours on a weekday-- it is so crowded, you can't enjoy it. Although we started in the room with the GIANT heart, we quickly moved on to the observatory on the roof. Talk about some cool telescopes...

Their favorite room was the Issac Newton loft. Lots of opportunities to experiment with physics and art.

A contraption similar to this exists in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC, and every time we pass it, the boys wish that the thing were fixed and in operation. Well, they were ecstatic to see this sister-replica totally working!

There was a special exhibit about Pompeii, but we did not visit it. We did get a chance to speak to some museum experts, who explained all about volcanic rock and historical interpretations of what happened during the explosion in the city of Vesuvius.

Wheelchair racing. Simple machine observations.

Trenton had a project ("Flat Me") where he had to bring this paper version of himself along with us. Oliver poses with it below,

A gigantic labyrinth-style maze.

I love when museums have special opportunities for you to interact with the staff and exhibits. Below, the boys watch a scientist as she talks about the states of matter and uses a gas to change the shape of a solid. On the right, Trenton was a participant on stage for a Space Exploration presentation. He's illustrating the idea of friction (his chair is spinning).

Oliver hugging part of a train.

Now, below, is a picture of the boys groping "the oldest thing they will ever touch". It's a small chunk of a much larger nickel-iron meteorite that fell to earth in Arizona about 50,000 years ago. Scientists say it is 5.5 billion years old: 500 million years older than our sun and a billion hears older than the Earth itself. SO BEAT THAT!

Finally! Daddy was done with his conference, and able to come out with us!

Our last stop was the Camden Aquarium. It was probably the biggest aquarium that we've ever taken them to... lots of opportunities to see diverse aquatic animals, and even to touch them!

Hands down, the hippos were our favorite. I've never seen a land/tank exhibit like that before for hippos. They were so friendly... goofing around as they swam. The boys loved watching them.

Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the end of our vacation. The boys saw & did & learned a lot. It was really nice to be out & about with them. We do travel frequently, but not always as a complete family. Here's hoping that they have many memories & are eager to return to the area again!