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Norris Square

jstanton's picture

Going to Norris Gardens was a really get experience and a brilliant way to learn about a culture I was unfamilar with beside the textbook descriptions I learned in highschool. I really loved how we were about to explore the gardens, following young women who had both emotional and physical attachments to the garden in that they were Puerto Rican and familiar with this area in Philly and they helped grow and maintain the gardens. I loved how the gardens were interactive in that we could taste the fresh produce and go inside the replica houses that were full of antique artifacts either from Puerto Rico or countries in Western Africa that were part of the triangular trade.

It was also interesting to learn the the Norris center also provided many arts programs for youth in the area. In high school I know my school underfunded the arts department and in middle school we only had one painting class. So having programs like these and giving an outlet for students to express themselves is very helpful.