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Penitentiary Trip (2005)
By Andrew W. and Aaron E.
with added information from Itai P. and Noah C.
On Friday, September 30th, the Sixth Grade went on a field trip to the Eastern State Penitentiary with our Core teacher Mrs. Pransky and our Art teacher Ms. Stern. The Eastern State Penitentiary is a 176-year-old prison built to reform criminals and convicts. It opened in 1829 and was in use until 1971. For about 20 or so years it was left unattended, but once it was reopened it was recognized as an archaeological artifact. On our trip, we saw many things and we also had a great time. One of the things we learned was how the structure of the building made it harder for prisoners to break out. This is because the walls were rounded at the corners, and were 30 feet high and 12 feet thick. Also, the guards could turn around in the center of the building and oversee all of the cell blocks. Another thing that we saw was the cells in solitary confinement. An interesting fact is that the prisoners used Morse Code to communicate and create break-out plans, because they weren’t allowed to talk to each other. We had a great tour guide, who helped us through the Penitentiary. Instead of just listing and explaining facts like any other guide, she elaborated in an interesting fashion. She led us throughout the Penitentiary, letting us go into the different cells and explore them. She also told us the different qualities of the cells (size, shape and structure). We learned some interesting facts about the cell blocks, that are rows containing about 30 cells. The trip was not only interesting and fun, but there was also a lot of information to be learned. All in all, the trip to the Penitentiary was great. |
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