Philadelphia

Philadelphia Art Museum

     In April 2017 we took a trip to Philadelphia.  We arrived late Saturday night and on Sunday we went to The art museum. The first Sunday of the month the Art Museum is free and they have additional family activities.  April's theme was Japan.  The kids made tea bowls and we watched traditional Japanese dancers.    The museum is marvelous.  The kids loved the armory and Van Gogh's exhibit.  And of course the Rocky statue and running up the famous steps just like Rocky.  There is a wonderful statue park outside the art museum with hero's from the revolutionary war.  I highly recommend this if your family is familiar with the leaders of the revelation. 

 The Rocky statue

aAfter running up the steps to the art museum

First Sunday of the month family art project

Traditional Japanese  dancers

Checking out the Japanese exhibit

The knights exhibt was a highlight

Van Gogh's work

This is the America Revolutionary sculpture park outside.

First Hospital 
On Monday we went to the first hospital, which I highly recommend.   It's free and there were no other people in the museum while we were there.  I love finding cool places that are over looked by the majority of people.  It's still operational today but they have the original  medical library, original operation room, and a fire truck.  You can do the whole thing in around an hour or less.

Outside the first hospital

On the operating table

Operation tools in the 1700's

Liberty Bell 

After the first Hospital we walked to the liberty bell.  There are lots of neat exhibits in the hall. ITttakes less than an hour to see everything there. The kids got a Junior Ranger badge there then we walked over to Independence Hall, which is right across the street. You need to reserve a time to tour the hall.

Liberty bell

Free Junior Ranger badge at the Liberty Bell

Independace Hall 
They do a great job engaging the kids.  There are park rangers that hand out trading cards at Independence Hall.  There are rangers inside as well that do a great job explaining the importance of Independence Hall.

Independence Seaport Museum
This Museum was really cool.  You can board 2 ships and a submarine.  There was lots of hands on activities for the kids.  This is a ASTC museum so we got in for free.

City Tavern 
This restaurant is a must for any history lover.  It is not far from the Independence Seaport Museum so I recommend pairing them on the same day.  But this is the restaurant our founding fathers would have gone to to eat after their meetings.  The waiters are in costume and the menu features foods that our founding fathers would have eaten.  They also have coloring sheets for kids with colonial pictures on it.

Franklin Institute 
This is another ASTC museum freebie for us and it was AWESOME!  Our kids really loved this one.  They enjoyed playing in the giant heart, playing in the neuron exhibit, the aviation area, the train exhibit, and their was even a live demonstration of an ophthalmologist dissecting a cow eye.

Academy of natural science
This was a neat museum but relatively small.  It was a freebie for us as it is another ASTC museum.  The kids enjoyed the fossil dig site and seeing the fossils.  

Franklin Square 
This place was a family favorite.  I highly recommend it.  It's on the outskirts of the city near chinatown.  They have a great mini golf course with miniature Philly landmarks so it's fun to do at the end of your trip after you've seen the places in the course.  They also have a great free playground, fountain, ice cream shop, and carousel.

Chinatown 
Our kids love visiting a city's Chinatown when we travel.  We all love Chinese food but the shops often have the cheapest place to buy souvenirs.  They also love seeing the Chinese writing and buildings.  

Valley Forge
This was a lot of fun.  It is about 30 minutes out of the city but a fun place to explore and play.  They have a good visitor center with items from the Revolutionary war.  They have model cabins that the army would have stayed in and some cool monuments.   The kids loved playing on the canyons, and running up and down the fortifications.

Betsy Ross House 

This was another great stop.  They have great actors that interacted with the kids about Betsy Ross's life and the history of our flag. 

Benjiman Franklin's grave

The US Mint
This is another really cool freebie!  You can not take pictures inside.  You can learn about the history of US money and watch coins being made.  The kids can also design a coin on the tour.

Reading Terminal Market

This is a really cool place to eat.  The old railroad terminal turned into market has many fun vendors and the kids really enjoyed exploring here.

First Post Office

This is another great quick stop.  It's still an active post office so you can send letters from here, which is pretty cool.  There are a view exhibits here with items from the post office's history.

Benjiman Franklin Museum
This is another great museum.  It houses a lot of Franklin's inventions and personal items.  There are a lot of hands on activities for the kids to interact with.

Edgar Allen Poe House
The house is a little in the middle of nowhere but really fun.  There's lots of hands on things to do in the house and they offer a junior ranger badge at the house.