Exploring Pennsylvania Through Little Passports

Trevor and I always enjoy working our way through a Little Passports kit, but it's particularly fun when it's a state we've visited. We had a great time in Philadelphia, Easton, Hershey, and Hanover last month. How neat to take a virtual trip to The Keystone State as well! 

We started off with a maze activity that taught us more about transportation in Lancaster County. This reminded Trevor of the craft he made for Ohio's Little Passports! We learned about the regions of Pennsylvania, discovered the origins of the state's nickname, and did a word search for Pennsylvania's historic locations. We read all about the famous events in Pennsylvania history and did a matching activity about the important people who lived there. There was even an activity about Punxsutawney Phil!

The science experiment was about electricity, inspired by the many experiments and discoveries of Benjamin Franklin. Trevor followed the directions to fill a tray with a mixture of salt and pepper.

He rubbed a spoon vigorously with a piece of felt, then held it over the tray. Nothing. Hmm...  

Perhaps the type of spoon makes a difference. Sure enough! When he rubbed the plastic measuring spoon with the felt, the pepper leaped up toward it and stuck in place on the negatively-charged spoon. Neat!

Next we built the model of the Liberty Bell. 

The next day, we jumped back into Little Passports with a fun Battleship-inspired activity related to Hershey's Chocolate. Then we enjoyed a logic puzzle about the how coins are made. We'd learned all about that in Philadelphia at the US Mint.  

Finally, we worked on the Water Ice recipe. We tried two different flavors in Philadelphia and it was delicious! How fun to make our own! Trevor chopped strawberries and put them in the blender, then combined them with simple syrup and a little lemon juice.

He put it in the freezer, scraped it with a fork to break the ice crystals, then put it back in the freezer. After another round of scraping, we had the most delicious strawberry water ice ever!

Trevor and I really enjoyed our virtual travels in Pennsylvania through Little Passports. I strongly recommend it for the child in your life.