Most Pennsylvania students remember field trips to historic Philadelphia -- after looking at some old cracked bell for a few minutes, the chaperone would take everyone for cheesesteaks and a gift shop trip.

This summer, Penn State will sponsor a teacher's workshop for the second time to change the way class trips are conducted at historic sites, especially in Philadelphia.

"A Rising People: Benjamin Franklin and the Americans" fuses educational lectures with tours of historical sites to invigorate teachers with new ways of incorporating the sites into historical curriculum, said George Boudreau, program director and Penn State Harrisburg professor of American studies.

"Kids go on field trips and just have no idea what they are looking at," Boudreau said. "We are trying to improve the way students learn about America."

He said the program existed in the past, but will be expanded this summer because of an additional $210,000 in grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The original grant, awarded two years ago, provided $70,000 for the program, Boudreau said. Last summer, the workshop included 25 teachers, all but two from Pennsylvania school districts.

"Teachers from the west coast were writing me, saying they wanted to come but could not afford the trip on their own," Boudreau said. "Unfortunately, we did not have enough funding to pay for their travel and lodging."

With the expanded grant, the program will support 120 teachers during a series of sessions this summer. Teachers from Alaska, Hawaii and California have applied for available travel stipends.

The workshops' home base is the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

History professor William Pencak, who gave one lecture about Benjamin Franklin and Pennsylvania politics at the workshop last summer, will now be speaking to teachers three times.

"It helps scholars establish a connection with teachers at the grade school and high-school level," he said. "The teachers are just filled with enthusiasm, so it's a wonderful thing."

Pencak said the workshop features a diverse group of lecturers, from museum curators to college professors.

"I came out of it last summer feeling so invigorated," Pencak said.

Boudreau said another facet of the program's expansion is a Web site, which is currently in its development stage.

Boudreau said Penn State has provided an advantageous network of resources for the workshop because he can call on professionals from 25 campuses to contribute.

"The University Park bookstore donated texts to distribute to participating teachers," he said. "I was shocked to learn that for some schools, those donations became the only available books on Franklin."

Steven Hevner, public information officer for Penn State-Harrisburg, said the grant was channeled through the Harrisburg branch. Hevner said the college's interest in high school education connects to its community service goals.

"It fits the outreach service mission of the university," he said.