Where-To-Go Wednesdays - Betsy Ross House

We  were not financially compensated for this post. We were given free tickets for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are our own based on our experience.

 What: The Betsy Ross House

Where: 239 Arch Street
            Philadelphia, PA
Who: 10 and up (although there are some areas that younger children will enjoy as well)

Our view: Years ago, I believe there were guided tours, of the Betsy Rose House. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. However, you can rent an audiotape tour, I would recommend doing that because otherwise, it is just like looking at a bunch of old furniture. Knowing what you are seeing, makes it a lot more interesting. Although, most of the house would probably bore very young children, there are several areas that they would really enjoy. In the basement, next to the real kitchen, there is a play kitchen where children are encouraged to make pretend turkey potpie. In the lower level, there is Betsy's upholstery shop, there is an actress playing Betsy who will answer questions. She only talks as if she really lived during the time period when Betsy actually lived so be prepared to translate her answers to your children if necessary. She will also show children how to make a five point star by folding paper and making only one cut. It is also fun for kids if you get to the house early enough to raise the flag with Betsy which happens every day at 10:00 AM. Several young volunteers are even chosen to help in the flag raising ceremony. The Besty Ross House is open all year around. March 1 - November 30 it is open 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. December 1 through February 28, it is closed Mondays. Tickets are $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for children/students/seniors/military. Tickets with the audio tour are $2.00 extra. For more information go to http://historicphiladelphia.org/betsy-ross-house/visitors.

And that's our view. Tune in for tomorrow's Talking Topics where we will be talking more about the Betsy Ross House.

Tips for Tuesday - Misc.: PInk and Schoolhouse Rock

 

Me - Today I am recommending Pink, the singer not the color. She's got some really good songs. I really love Just Give Me A Reason,  So What, Perfect and Raise Your Glass. All of her songs are so completely different, you would never know the same person sings them.  She has so many different singing styles. I like that about her.

Mom- Today I am recommending Schoolhouse Rock. When I was young, Schoolhouse Rock was a collection of cute little songs that were on between TV shows. They taught us things about English grammar, multiplication, social studies and science. It was a fun way to learn and even now years later so many of the songs  are still stuck in my head from my childhood. Nowadays, you can get  the whole collection on DVD. We have it, and my girls love it as much as I did. It is especially great for kids learning their times tables. There is also a newer Schoolhouse Rock DVD about the Earth and conservation and recycling and related topics. However, that one isn't as good as the originals.

Petting Zoos

 

Me - Petting Zoos, wow! My little cousin had a petting zoo at her birthday party. It was really really cool. If I wasn't too old for birthday parties, I would totally have that for my next party. They had a bird that rode a quad. They had a really fluffy chinchilla. They had a dust bunny. They had other birds too. They had a rat that sat on the birthday girl's head. She didn't mind. She wanted them to put it on her head. I didn't like the rat and wouldn't want it on my head. We got to pet all the animals. Aurella and I didn't even pet the rat. We also went to a petting zoo at one of the county parks. They had ducklings. There were cute. They had a really adorable goat. It's name was Thirteen because it was born on the 13th. There were other goats too. There were a lot of sheep too. One was really annoying and wouldn't stop baaing. There were other birds too including  a turken which is combination of a turkey and a chicken. I like petting zoos.

Mom- I have always liked petting zoos because I love animals especially cute little baby ones. Years ago, when our  local Six Flags first opened there was a petting zoo in the park. The park wasn't actually even a Six Flags then. It was just called Great Adventure. Now, it is Six Flags Great Adventure. In recent years with the renovations to the Wild Safari park attached to the amusement park,  for the first time since those early days there is actually a place in the park where you can pet (and maybe even feed) some of the animals. Many zoos including the Bronx Zoo also have areas within the zoo where you can pet the animals. There are also many zoos where you can feed the animals. Over the years, we have feed Hippos at the San Antonio zoo and Giraffes at the Baltimore zoo among others. I seem to remember that we once even went to a zoo where you could brush the goats. Some of these zoos, my husband and I went to before our daughters were born, and some of them we went to with our daughters. Most recently, we went to a petting zoo at one of our local county parks held by the 4H. They had a lot of birds, sheep, and goats.  It was small but we still had fun there. Our family always has a good time when we are seeing cute little animals.

 

And that's our view. What is your favorite animal to see at a petting zoo?

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Photo credits
photo credit 1: melanie_hughes via photopin cc
photo credit 2: Tc Morgan via photopin cc 
photo credit 3: EssjayNZ via photopin cc