Day Four in Philly
On Thursday morning we had a slide talk on Philadelphia architecture and then visited the National Constitution Center. The building contained several exhibits, most were multi-media and interactive. The information was overwhelming! The 20 minute multi-media presentation was impressive and left me feeling grateful that our Founding Fathers knew to protect our nation with a three part system of government with checks and balances.
The huge interior easily accommodated many school buses of children.
The state flags were arranged in the order that the states joined the union.
These are life-size bronze figures that visitors can mingle with.
Ben was seen everywhere!
For a change of pace, we then visited the Mummers' Museum. Here we saw fantastic costumes and learned about the culture of mummery that culminates on New Year's Day with the Philadelphia Mummers' Parade. Various clubs, concentrated in South Philly, spend lots of hours and money in preparation for the annual event where they perform and dress in one of 4 categories: Comics, String Bands, Fancies, and Fancy Brigades. As I kid, I saw the string bands on television and was awed by the outrageous costumes worn by the men as they strutted in a parade.
To learn more about the mummers, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummers_Parade or
To view a video of the mummers, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g18sY5t_Syk&NR=1
Then it was from Folk Culture to High Culture! After dinner we attended a performance by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra at the Kimmel Center. The building has a huge glass enclosure over the concert hall within.
We sat in the first tier of the Conductor's Circle, right behind the orchestra. The view was spectacular!
Simon Rattle conducted and Imogen Cooper was the piano soloist. The performance was excellent!
This photograph of Rattle was taken by Jennifer Taylor for the NY Times.
To view a video of Rattle conducting, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HpWDQsNJ3k
The huge interior easily accommodated many school buses of children.
The state flags were arranged in the order that the states joined the union.
These are life-size bronze figures that visitors can mingle with.
Ben was seen everywhere!
For a change of pace, we then visited the Mummers' Museum. Here we saw fantastic costumes and learned about the culture of mummery that culminates on New Year's Day with the Philadelphia Mummers' Parade. Various clubs, concentrated in South Philly, spend lots of hours and money in preparation for the annual event where they perform and dress in one of 4 categories: Comics, String Bands, Fancies, and Fancy Brigades. As I kid, I saw the string bands on television and was awed by the outrageous costumes worn by the men as they strutted in a parade.
To learn more about the mummers, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummers_Parade or
To view a video of the mummers, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g18sY5t_Syk&NR=1
Then it was from Folk Culture to High Culture! After dinner we attended a performance by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra at the Kimmel Center. The building has a huge glass enclosure over the concert hall within.
We sat in the first tier of the Conductor's Circle, right behind the orchestra. The view was spectacular!
Simon Rattle conducted and Imogen Cooper was the piano soloist. The performance was excellent!
This photograph of Rattle was taken by Jennifer Taylor for the NY Times.
To view a video of Rattle conducting, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HpWDQsNJ3k
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