Coast Guard Station/Philadelphia Fireboat Station Lesson

Trip to US Coast Guard Station/Philadelphia Fireboat Station on the Delaware in downtown Philly
Another fabulous trip! The students started out on the bus noticing the difference between the rural landscape they had seen the previous week and the urban landscape they were seeing on this trip. We saw lots of industrial buildings, rowhouses, traffic, and other urban features along the highway. I noted out to them that once again we were traveling along a "River Road"-this time it was the Delaware Expressway-also known as I-95. They were surprised to see little glimpses of the Delaware River as we rode along the highway. I reminded them that it was the SAME river, and they absorbed the contrasting features. This set us up for the visit to the US Coast Guard Station/Phila Fireboat visit.
As soon as we arrived, the students noted the difference between the calm boarding of the boat up in Bucks County and the hectic entrance to the Coast Guard Station. There were men in uniform all around, we were told no photos were allowed, and the adults had to produce photo ID to get in. We proceeded to the rear of the building where the fireboat was located, and boarded the boat. Marie's description of this part of the trip is quite exact! The pilot let us into the control part of the boat in small groups and explained the double steering feature, the many buttons, and the water control systems. The kids were interested in the two big steering wheels but not much else! They were more interested in shooting the water out of the firehouses, which again Marie explained beautifully!
This trip really gave us the background knowledge we needed for the lessons on the difference between rural, suburban, and urban communities. This lesson comes up soon and I will be able to refer them back to what they noticed on the trip! The lesson involves reading an excerpt from EDHELPER, and focusing on main idea/details as they read.
We then boarded the bus for the Penn's Landing part of the trip. The point of this part was to give the students an incredible view of an incredible bridge (Ben Franklin) and to have them understand that the City of Philadelphia recognizes the historical importance of this port/landing area. We looked at all of the landmarks that were placed there for tourists- the Wm. Penn Timeline; the diagram of all the types of ships that had traveled through the port; and the scale model of the Delaware carved on the concrete. Marie describes this part nicely!
This part of the trip gives the students background knowledge that we will explore later in terms of Continuity and Change, as the port still has some features that were there long ago, and other features that have changed.