By KATIE STOCKSTILL
Morning Sun Staff Writer
Students at George Nettels had a packed schedule Wednesday morning as they toured the Northeastern United States.
The fourth grade students in Mandy Arck's class traveled the region in an imaginary train complete with seven stops that highlighted the area.
"We are doing this to learn the symbols and historical sights of the region," Arck said. "This is part of our social studies unit, and we're studying U.S. geography."
On each of the stops, a group of students gave a short presentation to explain the region and the highlights of the region.
A lighthouse in Maine was the students first stop, followed by Plymouth Rock and a family restaurant in Rhode Island.
While in Rhode Island, the students learned a little about how crabs were caught and prepared.
The students in charge of presenting the restaurant stop took time to explain what a crab cage was and how fisherman determined what crabs to keep and what crabs to discard.
Following the restaurant was a trip to the Hershey factory in Hershey, Pa. for a little dessert.
At the factory, two more of Arck's students acted as tour guides. The class had the opportunity to wrap pieces of chocolate in tin foil in the Hershey Kiss wrapping race.
"You just got a little taste of what it's like before we had machines," said Chad Baker, student. "That was an example of an assembly line."
Then it was on to the Liberty Bell and the age-old story of the crack in the bell.
After each group of students presented their tour stop, the class received a souvenir of their stop and watched a short clip about the location.
Each location also served as a mini history lesson, Arck said, and a glimpse into a world outside of Pittsburg.
The remaining part of the students' Northeastern tour included the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania, the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Broadway stage, also in New York.
Arck said his was the first year for her students to embark on a train ride, which she hoped would provide a fun and unique way for her student to learn a little history and culture.