PENITENTIARY

By David S. & Alex M.

On October 14, the 6th grade went to the Eastern State Penitentiary with Mrs. Pransky, Miss Stern, and Miss Sandberg. We went to see the art exhibits about prisons for Miss Stern and to study the archaeology of the site for Mrs. Pransky. We had a great time. From seeing the building, we were able to learn many different facts about the penitentiary itself and the prisoners. It also helped us understand how people thought and acted in the past. We saw many cells and learned how the jail worked. This jail was built in1829 for the purpose of improving prisoners through solitary confinement. Over the years, it became a congregant jail (not solitary confinement) because of the mass of people who were sent there. We heard about many escape attempts, but out of all the escapes only one person successfully got away. We saw the cell of Al Capone in addition to the jail's synagogue. Towards the end of our visit, in the gift shop, we met the woman who played Professor Sprout in Harry Potter. Her name is Miriam Margolyes, and she also acted in James and the Giant Peach, and Cats and Dogs. She was at the Penitentiary making a documentary about Charles Dickens who had once visited there. In the end we all had a blast and thought it was a great field trip.