First Grade Friends: December 2012

How many people live in your community?

The Philadelphia area consists of over 4 million people

"It is a huge community. St. Louis has fewer people than Philadelphia."

Is it in the country or the city?

It is in the city, but we spent most of our time in the suburbs of the city (Bensalem, PA)

How far away from St. Louis is your community?

886 miles!

What state is your community in?

Pennsylvania

What country is your community in?

The United States

What is important about your community?

Philadelphia is on two major rivers (Delaware and Schuylkill) that make it a large shipping center on the East coast of the United States. The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia and the Liberty Bell (picture) lives here! There was a lot of history made in this city, going back to the early days of our country all the way until now.

We learned that the bell is 259 years old. They pulled it with a rope. It was a heavy bell. The building was 50 feet tall that it was in. It used to be in Independence Hall but they replaced it with a different bell. When they rang it, they might have plugged their ears. The bell doesn't ring any more. They put it in a glass case. It has a big crack in it.

What is interesting about your community?

There is a lot of great food in Philadelphia. While here, we got to try their AMAZING pretzels and Cheesesteaks. From what the people I visited tell me, "Jim's Steaks" (picture) make the best in the world.

Also, they tape Sesame Street very close to Philadelphia, so we went to visit Sesame Place, which is an Amusement Park and Film Studio (pictures attached).