National Honor Society Trip to Philadelphia

Meet the 2015 National Honor Society of Moshannon Valley High School. Students traveled to Philadelphia for a unique study away experience. (Photo credit: Laura Kohute)

This is a guest post by Moshannon Valley High School students Samantha Matchock (12^th grade) and Laura Kohute (11^th grade). Kohute and Matchock are both members of the National Honors Society.

Our National Honor Society trip to Philadelphia through Scholastica Travel was enjoyable and left us with many memories. With the majority of us being seniors and preparing to go to college, our trip covered all fields of study such as science, history, and art. Our Honor Society advisor took her first trip to Philadelphia through Scholastica Travel in 1990 and enjoyed her time working with them so much that she has continued to travel with them and wanted to take her last trip through the company at the same destination. Our trip included many sites and experiences that were different than the average school trip. Through ghost tours, physician’s museum, and historical art, our interest was kept throughout the whole duration of the trip.

See an example of a 3-day customized Ben Franklin Philadelphia itinerary

See a sample of a 3-day Philadelphia itinerary

One of our highlights from the trip was the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Our group used the scavenger hunt that was provided by the museum to focus on some of the most interesting specimens in the collection. Also, the museum guide told us intriguing facts about the specimens without overloading us with information. The anatomy students were excited to see many examples of the things they were discussing in class.

Students check out art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (photo credit: Laura Kohute)

Another highlight was our dinner at Maggiano’s. The atmosphere was great and we had our own room. The food was served family-style and we could get as much as we wanted. The food was delicious. Although it may a bit more expensive than other options it was well worth it. Just a hint: You should allow at least 2 hours to have dinner there.

Other places that we visited were the Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia Museum of Art, US Mint, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, a ghost tour of the historical area, and Christ’s Church. The Eastern State Penitentiary was a surprising place. We didn’t expect to learn so much about how the prison system has changed through the years and that Ben Franklin was involved in building it. Our group always ends their trip to Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Everyone finds something that they are interested in from armor and swords to American artists, plus we enjoyed running up the steps and posing with Rocky.