Delaware River Waterfront.

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It was very nice and I enjoyed myself at Penn's Landing. I was very interested in learning the history at Penn's Landing. The five similar things about them is that they were both very clean, had shade, nice places to relax at, had cars and water has a surrounding. And the different thing about them is that Penn Landing have stores and the Schuylkill had no stores around. Also, the Schuylkill waterfront was like a park and the place where we were at at Penn's Landing had piers and had people driving there own speedboats and people riding on bigger boats. The Penn's Landing water looked more clean than the Schuylkill river. And Penn”s Landing had hotels and buildings around it.
- Michael Dorsey

Yesterday we visited Penn's Landing, located on the Delaware River Waterfront. We saw many things there; that included piers, ducks, maps, people, and the beautiful Delaware River. There were many piers there however not all of them were of the same use. Some piers were used as apartments, ship loading, for importing of goods, and there were abandoned ones with hopes to build parks and recreational fun on top of it. I think these places were built along the river because it is a very calming place to go and relax. My experience at Penn's landing was very calming, it is somewhere I love to go to clear my mind or on a romantic date. However, this river and the Schuylkill were very different experiences. Although, they both have paths to travel along, people who come visit them are major rivers within Philadelphia, and s on. They are very different from each other. The Delaware’s atmosphere was more calming and more family oriented. Where as the Schuylkill was more workout oriented. The Delaware also had more access to restrooms, places to sit, and water fountains. One last difference I found between the Delaware and Schuylkill River is the appearance. The Delaware is somewhere I would like to visit because the river appears bluer and the surrounding is less trashy or polluted.
- Imani Ferguson

Yesterday we went to Penn's Landing and we visited two piers that were very essential to the Delaware River. The first piers that we saw used to be used for loading goods, but over the years it has transformed into Condominiums and Residential areas. The second pier that we visited while at Penn's Landing is currently abandoned, but the Delaware Corporation has hopes of turning this port into a green area and park. There are plans of planting trees and grassland around the riverfront in order to soak up excess water that might flow back into the river. Also, the corporation desires to make the waterfront more appealing so people are more inclined to visit. By designing a park where people can come and relax, the attendance rate to the riverfront will hopefully increase immensely. Since Philadelphia is not as industrialized as it once was, there is no need to ship goods from factories, so the piers are used for social reasons. Restaurants and homes that overlook the river have now replaced the factories. The experience at Penn’s Landing was educational, because I learned a lot about William Penn’s vision for Philadelphia and how the neighborhoods and different parts of the city were developed. The experience at Penn’s Landing was very different from the Schuylkill Banks Walk because there were maps with information posted around Penn’s Landing that taught you history. The Schuylkill Banks Walk was just a little path that connected to the Art Museum there was nothing to learn or take away from the walk.
- Jessica Dixon

On July 27, we visited Penn’s Landing and the Delaware River Waterfront. While we were there we visited two piers. The first pier was used for condominiums and the second pier was being done over. They were turning the second pier into a playground. I believe they put condominiums there because maybe some people like the view outside of the window. I really do not understand why they would put a playground by a river, because I do not think it is safe for the children anyway. I really enjoy going to Penn’s Landing, because it is peaceful and it is a nice thinking and talking spot. I liked going to Penn’s Landing more than I liked going to Schuylkill Banks Trail. At Penn’s landing it was more walking space and it was more peaceful. Schuylkill Banks Trail was over-crowded. The trail was not big enough for the bikes, joggers, and people walking at Penn’s Landing it was big enough. Penn’s Landing also is right next to the Delaware River, which is Philadelphia’s only port. I just believe Penn’s Landing is more important than the Schuylkill Banks Trail.
- LaBria Farrell

The piers are being used in many ways. For example, people are using it for boating, fishing, relaxing, and for sightseeing. I think these uses are located along the river so more people can visit there. My experience out at Penn’s Landing was fun. I like this trip more then the other ones, because I had a good time. My experience was different then being on the Schuylkill banks trail because I thought the Schuylkill river trip was boring and we did to much walking. Also, it wasn't organized. Another reason why I like the Penn’s Landing trip better is because it doesn't take a long time to get there like all the other trips we went on.
- Tykeim Fisher

Some ways the piers are being used are, for people to go boating. One more reason why they use the piers is for loading and unloading cargo. Also, some people might wanna go fishing. Why I think these uses were located along the river is, because what person would not wanna go fishing or go boating. Also, we had to get our products from some where. The experience was greater and more fun to be on Penn’s landing then being on the Schuylkill, because I felt more relaxed on Penn’s Landing. The Schuylkill was not that much room for use as a group to walk. We had to keep moving over for the bikers and the runners. I just thought Penn’s Landing was way better.
- Zymair Cue

Reflection of past three weeks.

Oh how time flies! This is week four and we are almost finished the program. Everyday I come to work, I am fortunate enough to learn something new and exciting. Last week we took a trip to the Wissahickon Park and there we did a walk. While walking we made observations and answered questions on how we could improve the quality of the park. Some suggestions that I made were to post signs near the Regional Rail Station directing visitors to the entrance of the park, because if you are not familiar with the area then it can be difficult to find out where to enter the park. Another suggestion that I would make is for the park to put some benches and water fountains along the trail, because it is hard for senior citizens and people with disabilities to visit the park because there is no place for them to rest. Last week we also visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We walked down the Schuylkill Banks River to get to the museum. Once we arrived at the museum we looked at exhibits such as the European and American just to name a few. Our most recent lesson dealt with the issue of natural gas drilling. Today we watched a video about “fracking,” and this basically involves the government believing that there is oil in Eastern PA oil companies are paying citizens huge amounts of money to drill near their homes but ,the downside to this is the process that is being used to extract the oil from the ground is affecting the water and people are becoming sick and suffering because of it. The chemicals found in the water are so dangerous that people can set the water from their kitchen sink on fire. The standing debate is over whether or not the money offered for discovered worth healthy neighbors?
- Jessica Dixon

In the past 4 weeks I have learned a lot, also we have went on many of trips. Some of the trips we went to was the Wissahickon Park. We also went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. First thing I learned being here was so many paintings where put into the Museum of Art most of the paintings are very very old. Some where made in the 1900’s. Now the next thing I learned by going on the Wissahickon trip was a lot of things. Its many wildlife like spiders, ducks, butterflies, and many of things. Also if you listen carefully while in the park you can hear many things like water, birds, people, people talking, also cars. You can hear cars because the park is right next to a highway. There is no easy way to find the Park so i think people should put up more signs. Next we have watched a couple videos about the issue of the natural gas drilling, called fracking. People are drilling holes in the ground to get natural gas. It’s putting waste in the drinking water and people and pets are getting very sick. It’s not good cause gases are backing up into peoples drinking and bath water, and it is not good.
- Zymair Cue

So, this is week four of Bits. As the journey continues it is sad to say we are almost finished. However, I can say that I have had too much fun. Since I last wrote a blog we have visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Wissahickon Park, and learned about the natural gas drilling issue known as (fracking). At the art museum we visited the European, Modern and Contemporary, and Arms and Armor exhibits. We saw the weapons and armor used by the people of the middle ages in Arms and Armor. In the European exhibit we saw how the interior decoration of homes of Kings and Queens appeared. On our trip to Wissahickon we rode the R6 train to Manayunk. Then we walked to the park, where we had to travel down 100 steps to finally get on the path. We traveled up the path and explored our surroundings and took notes of it. We walked up another path to visit a cave however because of an unfortunate incident we were unable to finish our trip. Today we learned about the issue of fracking. Fracking is when oil companies invade on land that believe contains natural gas and the begin drilling. This is becoming a very common issue around the U.S., however it is mostly found in rural areas. This idea has both pro’s and con’s and continues to be an on going argument. Overall I am learning lots at the BITS Program and over the next few weeks i want to learn lots more.
- Imani Ferguson

We have visited two new places and discussed one new topic since the last time I have wrote a blog. At the Wissahickon Park many things interested me. When we first got off of the train we walked down the 100 steps. It did not actually seem like 100, although it was. The 1st thing that caught my attention was the nasty aroma that was in the air and the dirty river. As we walked and took notes I saw that some trees were knocked down maybe from termites because we saw a lot of little holes in the trees. I also noticed that there were fish in that nasty dirty water which was disgusting. We also visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We walked down the Schuylkill Banks River to get there, it was such a long walk, but I never knew it was used for so many things. People actually lay on the grass down there to get a tan and to watch the fireworks around the time of the 4th of July. When we entered the Museum my favorite exhibit was the European exhibit because everything was fancy and colorful. We discussed earlier the topic of “fracking, “ which is the issue of natural gas drilling. I believe that even though we would be saving and making more money it is not worth our water supply going bad. We have been learning new things every week and I can not wait to visit Pennslanding and the Water Works this week.
- LaBria Farrell

Some of the stuff I learned last week when I went to the art museum is that the Philadelphia Art Museum is one of the largest museums in the United States. Another thing I learned is the museum was founded in 1876. Some other stuff I learned is that the museum had the Arms Armor collection from Japan centuries ago. Also, I did not know how to get to the Philadelphia Art Museum until our mentor showed me how by catching the sub and the L.
- Tykeim Fisher

Over the last three weeks we have visited multiple places such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Benjamin Franklin parkway, and the Wissahickon park. While at the Philadelphia Museum of art we saw the Arms and Armor exhibit. While in the Arms and Armor exhibit I found out that they were making armor for not only men but even the small children. While we were at Benjamin Franklin parkway I learned that there was a museum on the park that I never knew about called the Rodin Museum. I also learned that the water at Wissahickon Park is believed to be 90% sewage release water.
- Devin Edwards

During the three weeks that I have been here we have visited places like the Philadelphia Museum of art, Wissahickon park and the Ben Franklin parkway. During our time at the Art Museum we was able to view numerous amounts of art which had their own special meaning based on past history. During the time we spent at the Wissahickon Park I learned a few things about it. I learned that the water their is very dirty and polluted. I also learned that you can go there and see different aspects of nature. I was able to see spiders,fish,ducks and etc. If I had not taken the walk along the parkway I would have never learned about the statues and the Rodin Museum which is located on the parkway.
- Dishaun Crawford

When I went to the Wissahickon Park I learned that the water was very dirty. Also, how people that live around the park help clean it. What interested me was how clean the park was and how it was a nice to come and visit and how green it was there,it looked like all the plants and trees were healty. And the Museum had some thing there that i would have never imagine. Like old chair and swords and armor for the horses and soldiers from back in the day and that really fascinated, that something that old was rite in front of me. And what I think about the Fracking, I think if they are going to do it if it is around where people live they souldnt do it at all.
- Michael Dorsey

Wissahickon Park.

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All groups in city by the water went on the trip to Wissahickon Park, and there was surprisingly enough space on the train for all 60+ of us. After arriving at the park, we walked down the 100 stairs to reach the path that surrounds the Wissahickon River. Immediately upon reaching the path, it was obvious to see one of the dams of the Wissahickon River. We also quickly noticed that the path was mainly used by bikers, and few walkers. On the other side of the river was Kelly Drive, but the high-traffic highway was not very distracting from the large amount of green space that surrounded us. Our trip was cut short due to unfortunate circumstances, however we all appreciated our time spent at the Wissahickon Park.

Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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After getting off the subway at 30th Street Station, we walked along the Schuylkill River to our final destination at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Our group enjoyed the Arms and Armor, European Art, and Modern and Contemporary Art galleries.

Visit from former Mayor John Street.

John Street having youths attempt to hold their breath for as long as possible.

Former Mayor John Street gave an excellent presentation to all of the BITS youths. He was very generous and gave away money and other prizes to youths whose names were pulled from a hat. The main topics covered during his speech were that each youth should have a plan in life, stay focused and do not be distracted, and do not rely on luck. His final words were, "If a man or woman stops to argue with every barking dog in their way, they will never reach their final destination."

Improvements to Benjamin Franklin Parkway & power point presentations on Wissahickon Park.

I recommend that there should be more places to take a break and eat your lunch and relax. I think this would improve the parkway because lots of people would benefit from this. One reason is because no one wants to be surrounded by a bunch of people while their eating or even just relaxing. If their are more places to go to everyone can have their own little comfort zone. I also recommend this because having a whole lot of people in one place can cause a lot of problems. One thing that can occur is if someone make a mistake and bumps against someone because it is over crowded then that person might get upset and try to do something back.
-Dishaun Crawford

Although the Parkway is a very interesting place to go site seeing one thing I think it lacks is places to take a rest at. Some examples are benches, chairs along the side walk, even a small rest stop like they have on the turnpike. My first reason for this is the Parkway is a very long road. It travels all the way from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to City hall, and people of all ages have to take this long walk. Secondly, some people like to take the site in through art be it a poem or painting, however they have to sit in the grass because of the lack of seating. The pit stop would help because it is somewhere where people can buy souviners for family and friends, go to the bathroom and even eat. These are just a few minor suggestions.
- Imani Ferguson

I think to improve Parkway it should include more benches. This would benefit many people including senior citizens and younger children. Senior citizens after a while need to sit down and rest their legs because they are old. Younger children on the other hand like to complain about their feet hurting so they need to have a seat after a while also. If more benches were added to the parkway I believe it would be more appreciated. People would say “Oh lets walk down the parkway”. I would suggest walking down south street to Penns Landing before I suggest walking down the Parkway because I know I would get irritated and tired. So, I believe benches would make the Parkway better for these reasons.
- LaBria Farrell

There are lots of things that can be improved in the Ben Franklin Parkway, but there should be more eating establishments or resting areas for the people that are walking. When you are walking on the parkway, after you pass the T.G.I Fridays restaurant there is no where else for someone to get any kind of refreshments. By adding more eating establishments or resting places people can find their walk to be more enjoyable instead of long and stressful. Also, the Ben Franklin Parkway is a big tourist attraction area in Philadelphia so it would be good for business as well. The lack of resting places is also bad for the handicap who can’t travel long distances without pausing for a break in between, which can cause problems towards their health. There can also be some weather interferences at times. Although it may seem nice and sunny, rain can be unpredictable during the summer causing people to get wet and/or soaked because of being stuck in the rain which can also cause them to get sick.
- Devin Edwards

One recommendation that I would make to improve the Benjamin Franklin parkway is to create or build an area for the younger children to play and learn about the history of the city and parkway.The monuments and the statues are interesting for the adult tourists but most young children have short attention spans and will tend to get bored and cranky easily. So, by creating a space where visitors can leave their kids and know that they are safe and educated, will be ideal for the success of the parkway.This children’s area will attract more families because parents do not have to worry about entertaining their kids all day. When they arrive for the tour they can drop the babies off at the building and then proceed with their tour and since lunch will be provided the parents will not have to pack any food for their kids. While the parents are learning, the kids will participate in a variety of activities like, crossword puzzles, coloring activities and role playing activities to help them learn about the the parkway and the city while enjoying themselves.
- Jessica Dixon

I think they should put more food places around the parkway. Because they only have one food place around there and it was subway and everybody doesn’t eat from there.Another reason is people that come around there can have more places to choose from instead of one, because the people that are there don’t always want to eat from the same place.
- Tykeim Fisher

One thing I think can make the park better is building playgrounds so there can be something there for the kids to do, including basketball courts. Also, there should be bike lanes in the street because there is not enough space for people and bikes on the sidewalk. There should also be benches next to the sidewalk plus a place for the homeless to chill at, because there are a lot of homeless people walking around that need somewhere to chill.
- Michael Dorsey


Labria:


Imani:


Dishaun:


Michael:


Tykeim:


Jessica:


Zymair:


Devin:

Reflection on first two weeks.

Over these first two weeks in the program I have been experiencing many different people, ideas, and information. The first week we began by meeting the new people within our group. My group includes three girls including myself and five males. Our mentor is Samantha Brown a temple student inspiring to become a Pharmacist. So far we have been studying the Ben Franklin Parkway and the history of it. We took a trip to the Parkway on Monday where we learned about the parks and statues on the Parkway. Some of our stops included Love Park, a mosaic map of the Parkway from the 1800’s, Logan Square, and lastly the Art Museum. One last thing we did over these few weeks is we watched a video on how Philadelphia is trying to go green. We learned about different ways that different neighborhoods have helped in accomplishing this goal. So far this has been a learning experience and over the next weeks I hope to learn more within both my group and the program.
- Imani Ferguson

Over the past two weeks I have enhanced my knowledge about my city, Philadelphia. I have lived in the city of Philadelphia all of my life and it is embarrassing to admit that I have never taken time out to appreciate and admire the history that is present in my backyard. Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a prime factor in what makes Philadelphia so beautiful. The Benjamin Franklin Parkway was formed in 1917 and over the years with the help of the creative minds of designers such as Paul Cret and Jacques Greber historical monuments. Also, statues like the Rodin Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Free Library of Philadelphia were born. In addition, in the last two weeks I have learned the process and planning that goes into creating murals. I never knew that so much time and effort goes into choosing the right wall to place the art and I was really surprised to learn that the community plays such a vital role in the development of the mural. Murals are not created just to beautify the neighborhood, but they are meant to tell a story and bring to light the visions and hopes of the community. I look forward to learning more as this program continues.
- Jessica Dixon

In the first two weeks that I have been here I have learned a few things.One of the first things that i learned was the year in which the Benjamin Franklin parkway was built, and that is 1917.I also learned that Logan’s square witch is on the parkway used to be an execution site. I was able to see a numerous amount of statues as we walked along the parkway and I was able to read facts about them. This experience has shown me that our city holds a lot of history under its belt. I also viewed a video about how many people use face book and different chatting websites.
- Dishaun Crawford

What I have learned in the past 2 week while working is that we do research on different parks before we visit them. Also when we visit the parks we look for the problems in the park so we could probably fix them. Another thing that we do is when we go to the parks we check the water to make sure its safe to drink. So, this is some of the stuff I have learned while working here in the past 2 weeks.
- Tykeim Fisher

Over the last two weeks i have learned a numerous amount of new things. For example, when we took our walk on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, I found out that Logan Square was once an execution site. I also learned about the mosaic map of Philadelphia. The mosaic map only shows the features of Philadelphia that have a historical background or meaning. The parkway has also changed its appearance over time and was not always as appealing to the eyes as we see it today. Outside of the Benjamin Franklin parkway I learned about the social media network. Examples of social media networks are facebook, myspace, twitter, and any other way to communicate with others through the world wide web. Without the social media network, our lives would be a lot more different from what they are today and might not be as successful.
- Devin Edwards

During the last two weeks I learned a lot of Philadelphia history and how it is good to know the history of the city you live in. Until recently, I didn't know that the parkway was first designed in 1917. So the parkway been around for a long time and is in good shape. And I learned about the statues in the area of the Parkway and we talked about the people that were important to the city. For example, the Rocky statue or the Benjamin Franklin statue. And the presentation we had on how the social media talked about how the internet is used in a lot of ways by checking the weather and how 8 out of ten couples today meet online. And how there are so many people that have a facebook account that if it was a country it would be the thired largest country. And how you can make money on wikipedia, and also how youtube is a large search engine.
- Michael Dorsey

Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Today we visited the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, where we were led by a Temple Geology/Urban Studies professor named Hamil. We began our walk at City Hall and then proceeded down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. On our walk, the youths took note of the many fountains and historical monuments that they passed. Luckily, the heat was not that extreme for our walk and we all found it very enjoyable and interesting.

Day 3.

G3 in front of the Bell Tower during our scavenger hunt.

(From left-right: Tykeim, Zymair, Devin, Imani, Dishaun, Labria, Jessica, Michael, and myself, Samantha)

The youths were able to get to know each other a little better by discussing where they saw themselves in five years from now, and what they would have to change or give up in order to accomplish that. They also discussed if they thought they would be living in Philadelphia in five years from now, and if the part of Philadelphia that they currently live in would look different in five years. Majority of the youths plan on attending college, and many said that their current communities will look very different in the next five years. The youths then each found their community on a google map and specified three landmarks. The links to these maps appear below. We ended the day with a scavenger hunt around Temple to familiarize the youths with the campus.

Labria's map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112241237686839336828.00048ae4e240b09614652&ll=39.901704,-75.282097&spn=0.09745,0.144196&z=13
Devin's map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=40.007099,-75.176367&spn=0.001512,0.003278&z=19&msid=117155880518727901965.00048ae5127483d704e9d
Imani's map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=101244105303796429062.00048ae4df43e57329e78&ll=39.992673,-75.237765&spn=0.012165,0.018024&z=16
Tykeim's map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=104953560538047355083.00048ae514447002c5a07&ll=40.154736,-78.95462&spn=0.729475,1.783905&z=10
Zymair's map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106067333178926027988.00048ae4fe23e8f8d23d3&ll=39.935523,-75.195107&spn=0.012109,0.018024&z=16&iwloc=00048ae53d47d4fdadfad
Jessica's map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=114186374083331141508.00048ae4e61182f46f172&ll=39.901006,-75.227165&spn=0.00137,0.002124&z=19
Dishaun's map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=105144207549739546458.00048ae5007183d3e99df&ll=39.984445,-75.180487&spn=0.001461,0.002253&z=19
Michael's map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110278077729079047255.00048ae4e73702be81505&ll=39.973671,-75.24854&spn=0.001513,0.00162&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.934532,-75.182606&panoid=zbpVkZHyXYVqWIq74AVBNw&cbp=12,127.39,,0,5

BITS 2010 officially begins!

Yesterday, the youths were introduced to their groups for the summer. City by the water group 3 is currently comprised of 8 youths: Dishaun, Zymair, Michael, Devin, Tykeim, Jessica, Labria, and Imani. In order to get to know each other better, we did a few icebreaker games over the past two days. Due to the excessive heat warning in Philadelphia we have been unable to tour Temple's campus, but we should finally be able to tomorrow. While we have been inside, we were able to come up with ground rules. Each youth signed and agreed to a paper today that contained these ground rules. The ground rules are: 1.) Be on time 2.) No cell phones 3.) Stay focused on tasks 4.) Respect yourself and others 5.) Participate fully- take risks 6.) Step-down, step-up 7.) Be open to new idea's 8.) No foul language. Everyone has been following the rules, and I was very glad that they were responsible enough to all be on time today. The activities that we did today were based on what a community is and how we each define a community. The youths drew pictures of how they perceived their community and in particular what landmarks define their community. After that assignment we headed to the computer lab for the first time where they made up g-mail accounts and were shown what a google map is and how to navigate one. I look forward to seeing what's in store for the youths tomorrow!