We concluded our exploration of Sacred Spaces with a an enjoyable visit to the Penn Museum. The museum has three floors of gallery space that feature materials from the ancient Mediterranean World, Egypt, the Near East, Mesopotamia, East Asia, and Mesoamerica. You can also find artifacts from the indigenous peoples of Africa and Native America. We went on a Riddles Scavenger Hunt and discovered some interesting things. For example, in the China Gallery we found a rare, smooth, perfectly round crystal sphere, and without a flaw — The Empress Dowager.
Some of the highlights from our week are as follows:
Shelby — I really enjoyed Sacred Spaces 2017 because it gave me the opportunity to explore different religions and places of worship in Philadelphia. Touring the city with my friends was so much fun, in addition to the service work at the homeless shelter and food bank.
Bella — Sacred Spaces has been an awesome experience exploring in Philly so far. My absolute favorite place we have visited was the Basilica. It was fascinating to learn even more about my religion and about the architecture of the gorgeous cathedral.
Albert — Sacred Spaces has been going real great for me. I enjoyed learning new things like when we learned about Richard Allen.
Calvin — Sacred Spaces was a very eye-opening experience that I will never forget. I enjoyed the dancing, laughter, the cultural diversity, and the various places of worship that we attended. My favorite experiences were going to the University of Pennsylvania, touring Mother-Bethel A.M.E Church, and learning about the history throughout Christ Church. Overall, I highly recommend this trip due to the teachers, the places of worship, and the many friendships you will make with your peers.
Elijah — This intensive learning proved to be more exciting and interesting than I initially anticipated. One of my favorite activities was visiting the magnificent Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. It was truly a beautiful place of worship.
William — Sacred Spaces was a great way to earn service hours and learn about different religious spaces.
Sophie — had a really nice experience being part of Sacred Spaces, learning about different cultures and religions. It was so much fun walking around the city with my friends and even getting service hours.
Zachary — My favorite part of intensive learning was visiting the Barnes foundation.
Anthony — I enjoyed Sacred Spaces because it was a good chance to experience different religions.
Taylor — I had a really fun time during sacred spaces. Going through Philly was a really enjoyable time.
Sydney — I enjoyed touring Philly and going into different sacred spaces. My favorite part was going to the Barnes foundation. I also enjoyed our treat, frozen yogurt.
Lizzie — Sacred Spaces was really fun this year. My favorite part was touring around the Basilica in Philadelphia.
Jack — Sacred Spaces has been such a joy! The best part was getting to fold cardboard boxes with Brian and spending quality time with my favorite person in the world, Señora Henneberry.
Kobe — Sacred Spaces was a very enlightening experience where I learned many different religions. My favorite part of the trip would be the Barnes Museum because I saw art from many famous artists including Van Gogh. Picasso. and Matisse.
Amanda — Sacred Spaces was such a wonderful new experience. My favorite part was visiting the two museums we we went to, the Barnes museum and the Penn museum. I also had fun being with my friends.
Devin — Sacred Spaces was a better experience the second time than the first partially because I had more friends with me this time, but mostly because there were a wider array of things we underwent through the duration of the week. My favorite part of the whole week was meeting Quan, a man who is a very cool person absent the fact he is living in a homeless shelter.
Brian — I have enjoyed this week much more than I was expecting when I had originally heard about it. I learned so much about various religions that I never knew about, from traditions in a local Mosque to the history of the Philadelphia Basilica.
Matt — Sacred Spaces was a great experience because we learned about many religious spaces, helped communities within Philadelphia, and got some service hours as well. My favorite part of this trip was visiting the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, walking around Philadelphia, and exploring University of Pennsylvania’s Campus.
John — Sacred Spaces was truly a lovely experience that I will never forget. I loved and enjoyed every moment of it. My personal favorite part was touring St. Peter’s Cathedral and Christ Church! I honestly can’t wait to do this again next year and I highly recommend this trip again with these lovely teachers!