What is there to do in Philly that will entertain a teen and a 9-year-old?

Question

My Mom has a confrence in Philly all of next week and me and my sister are going. We aren't ALL that interested in the historical values of the area, so are there any cool places to visit? Museums, art galleries, anything like that? I heard there is a Chinatown, anything good there?

Thanks!

Wow! Way helpful! I heard about the Amish Country, but according to the maps we've found it's about 50 miles away. We can't do that during the major confrence.

Answer 1

The Amish country is far from the city you can't go there while Mom is in conference. You can, however, go to the Reading Terminal Market and eat some Amish food. Their pretzels and mashed potatoes with butter are soooo good. They are only there Wed-Sat. The terminal is a good place to eat even if the Amish aren't in that day. I agree with the people who recommend The Franklin Institute, The Zoo, The Art Museum, The Mutter Museum, and University of Penn's Museum. Penn's museum is one of my favorite places in the world, it's great, the Egyptian exhibit is exquisite. There is a Chinatown, mostly it's restaurants and shops. You really should check out some of the historic stuff. Independence Hall is one of most important buildings in our entire country. Also the Liberty Bell is cool, so is Ben Franklin's house. The Acadamy of Natural Sciences is great, so is the Rodin Museum. There's plenty to do, I'm sure you'll have a good time.

Answer 2

I'm not much into the history of Philadelphia either, but was blown away by the Constitution Center that opened a couple of years ago. It's not expensive to buy a ticket to a very cool multi-media show that only lasts 20 minutes. It's worth it--I've been twice! Then you can decide how long you want to spend looking around the exhibits after the show, some of which are fun. You can be sworn in as the president and sit in chairs like the Supreme Court. Another option is to take a horse and carriage ride. You can pick one up at 5th and Chestnut Streets. You can pick the horse and the driver, some of whom are very colorful. You can also take an open top bus tour that could be fun. Or, if you dare, take a duck tour. You get a duck whistle and quack your way around center city and even go on water. There are several funky art galleries in Old City that are always great to visit. If you really like art, then the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum are amazing. Run up the steps to the PMA like Rocky and then see some masterpieces. When you're done, you can walk around the corner and see all of Philly's boat houses right on the river and see people rowining. Chinatown is small, but interesting. It's near Reading Terminal Market, a very interesting market that sells so many different things--worth a stop by just to be part of the energy. Philly's a great city, so I hope you have a great time.

Answer 3

The Zoo --has some new Big Cat exhibits and has a balloon to see the whole place. A reptile house, monkeys,otters, a cute polar bear exhibits, giraffes, a fountain,and peacocks roam the place. It also has resteraunts and a lake for swan boats, there are many more animals from different places.
The franklin.-- is very entertaining. Has a sports center that range from "surfing" ,pitching baseballs to see the speed, to blocking goals in soccer.They also have an outdoor exhibit that is fun.Thay can also build dams be a weather forcastor,learn about aviation. Near the gift shop there are also many more exhibits.There is also a movie theatre to see differnt movies on things that are actually interesting for someone my age (15). There is an elevator in case you dont want to go up stairs,even though there arent many.They also have a show on the second floor that is interactive and fun.There is a new exhibit i believe where you can be animated? Sounds fun.
Hope it helps.

Answer 4

For a teen & 9 yr old Dave & Busters is the place to go. A Riverfront pier complex with dinning, bar, and the best Arcade & game play in the area. The games and Skeetball & etc. Will keep them occupied for hours. Located on Columbus Blvd, Next to the Ben Franklin Bridge. Other Plus? It's close to downtown and near other riverfront sites (Penn's landing, The USS Olympia museum, The USS New Jersey across the river, the Nj Aqaurium, etc.). Has parking. For further ideas see the vistor site below.

Answer 5

museums! The Frankin Institute! (way cool!) Art galleries? Hello... this is Philadelphia.... remember the steps Rocky Balboa ran up in the first Rocky movie? Those steps are at the Art Museum ! Then there's the Philadelphia zoo, the OLDEST continually running zoo in the US! (not to mention all the interesting critters you see on the bus!)
former resident of the City of Brotherly Love...

Answer 6

It isn't for everyone, but the Mutter Museum is pretty interesting. Its a museum of artifacts from the Philadelphia College of Physicians.

Some things on display there:
* The plaster cast of the torso of world-famous Siamese Twins, Chang & Eng, and their conjoined livers
* Joseph Hyrtl's collection of skulls
* Preserved body of the "Soap Lady"
* Collection of 2,000 objects extracted from people's throats
* Cancerous growth removed from President Grover Cleveland
* Tallest skeleton on display in North America

http://www.collphyphil.org/mutter.asp

Answer 7

im from philly and i say nothing , but there is an amusement park in allentown which is about 2 hours away. the gallery mall is a good place to go shopping and creative silver is the best jewlery store in that mall. oh and the people is nice

Answer 8

k this may sound all historical and all, but its not. there's a place called Amish Country, and its SO cool. people there live without electricity!!!!!!!! it's crazy cool, i mean, i would go CRazY without all our technical stuff!!!!!!!!!!! the amish people dress like they did a 100 or so ish years ago. check it out if u get the chance!

Answer 9

There's a baseball stadium - the Phillies play there. You might see if you can get tickets to a game if you like baseball.

Answer 10

go to the Ben Franklin exhibit - it's huge and will take a few hours. It's interactive and is great!