Baltimore Kids
Activities like Museums and Parks
RESOURCES:
§
Rodgers Forge Neighborhood listserv has a great, exhaustive list: http://www.rodgersforge.org/kids.html
§
Maryland Family
Magazine Best of 2009 Activities
List. Howard County
is at the top; scroll about halfway down for Baltimore County:
http://www.marylandfamilymagazine.com/2009/12/31/family-favorites-2009/
ACTIVITIES:
Infant, Toddler, Kids (walking and beyond) Activities
§
Maryland Science Center Better than
Port Discovery for littlest kids–
great water table, kids
room, infant room with breastfeeding chair, etc. http://www.mdsci.org
§
Baltimore Zoo (Maryland Zoo) – Great
from about 12 months. Family membership is ~$100/year and pays for itself
pretty quickly. Downside – animals are put away at 4pm, closes 430pm. http://www.marylandzoo.org
§
Baltimore Aquarium – One of the
best aquariums in the nation… Best to go on a Sunday morning, 9am – no wait,
not crowded. Membership allows entry when you arrive; non-members must
get a timed ticket that can require a long wait. Disadvantage: No
strollers, so you can rent a kid backpack or make them walk. http://www.aqua.org
§
Port Discovery - Kids room is limited, water table is
comparable to Science
Center, but there is a
lot less for a 2 year old to do in general than MSC http://www.portdiscovery.org
§
B&O Railroad Museum – Great
museum with train roundhouse, train ride, etc. Steam Days in Spring/Fall
with a kiddie miniature train ride, outdoor activities, etc. From Feb to Nov, they
have a 40 minute train ride that goes out and back on the hour. Thomas
the Tank Engine comes to visit a couple of times per year, and each holiday
season they have a model train exhibit that rotates each week (Legos, HO, etc.)
http://www.borail.org
§
Walters Art Museum – Great
collection, Saturday art projects for kids in the basement as well as a dress-up area and puppet
theater. Kids
can also check out art kits at the art cart when they walk in, and do
designated art projects throughout the museum, like recreating various
paintings. Free admission. http://www.thewalters.org
§
Baltimore Museum of Art – Free
admission. Gertrude’s has a nice brunch on weekends) http://artbma.org
§
American Visionary Arts
Museum – Great
collection of art by ‘non-artists’ for older kids. http://www.avam.org
§
BWI Airport Observation
Deck – Fantastic place to take the kids
for hours of plane watching (they take off and land every few minutes), a cross
section, tail, and engine of a 737, and tons of playground like equipment to
roam on. It will cost you a parking fee, but nothing else. http://www.examiner.com/x-15678-Baltimore-StayatHome-Moms-Examiner~y2009m7d10-BWI
§
Storyville @ The Rosedale
Public Library and Woodlawn Public Library – It’s like a mini-Port
Discovery, and it is completely free! Check out books, roam through the
pretend grocery store, castles, etc. There's one on both the east and
west sides now since opening in Woodlawn in March 2010 http://www.bcplstoryville.org/storyville_about.html
§
Arundel Mills Mall – I almost
hate to put this on here, but it is a possible cold winter or rainy day
activity. Between the Lego Store, Dave and Busters’, Disney Store and a
few good restaurants (we like Chevy’s Fresh Mex), it was interesting, if as a
change of pace. http://www.simon.com/mall/?id=1230
§
Leakin Park Ride On Train – Run by the Chesapeake and Allegheny
Steam Preservation Society - http://calslivesteam.org/
this is a great train exhibit with a train kids (and adults) can ride on! 2nd Sunday of the month from
11a-3p.
Great Outdoor Playgrounds
§
Rodgers Forge Tot Lot – (Located near York Rd. and Bellona Ave.) Amazing tot lot with
lots of regular playground equipment in addition to donated tricycles, kiddie
trikes, playhouses, huge sandbox, and more. Usually packed with kids. http://www.rodgersforge.org/kids.html
§
Linkwood Park Playground/Tot Lot – (Coldspring near Charles St. across
from Loyola dorms and Bolton Street Synagogue). Located in the Linkwood
neighborhood down the street from Miss Shirley’s and other restaurants on Coldspring Ave.
Nice swings, large playset.
§
Meadowood Park – Great park with 1 mile walking path and lots of
playground equipment for small kids
and older kids http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/recreation/countyparks/regionalparks/meadowood.html
§
Annie’s Playground – (Located in Harford
County, Belair, MD).
Beautiful, extensive playground built in memory of a child who was struck and
killed by a drunk driver :< . http://www.anniesplayground.net/playground.htm
§
Patapsco State Park Tire Playground (Catonsville, MD)
– Great playground with buried tires all over!
http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Land/RecyclingandOperationsprogram/ScrapTire/Pages/programs/landprograms/recycling/scraptire/tp_baltimore.aspx
§
Leakin Park – Great playground in Baltimore, with ride on train the 2nd
Sunday of each month (see above) http://friendsofgwynnsfallsleakinpark.org/index.php
Great Indoor Playgrounds
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Towsontowne Center Play area – Nice
rainy day play area. Low key meals in the food court.
§
IKEA – Yes, it’s a store, but the kid
play area (with ball pit for kids
over 36” tall) is amazing, as is the toy section up on the second floor. Kids can play in either for
hours, and you can finish it off with a meal at the IKEA cafeteria that is ~$20
for a family of four. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/baltimore
§
Kiddie Crusoe in Timonium is a combination bounce zone and indoor playground. We went once
last winter and the kids loved it.
I think it was $12 to drop in. http://kiddiecrusoe.com/
§
See indoor gyms on Rodgers
Forge site link. Places like Pump It Up, JumpZone, etc. http://www.rodgersforge.org/kids.html
Great Nature Centers/Botanic Gardens/Parks/etc.
§
Irvine Nature Center – Great
place with extensive nature exhibit, trails, etc. and a nice Pumpkinfest in
fall around Halloween. http://www.explorenature.org/
§
Oregon Ridge Nature Center – Great nature center in Hunt Valley
MD with an extensive park, walking grounds, music stage, music events, and
other activities.
http://www.oregonridge.org
§
Ladew Topiary Gardens – Very cool 20+ acre gardens about 45 minutes
away. http://www.ladewgardens.com/
§
Meadowood Park – Great park with 1 mile walking path and lots of
playground equipment for small kids
and older kids http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/recreation/countyparks/regionalparks/meadowood.html
§
Sherwood Gardens – Beautiful tulips each spring in the Guilford neighborhood.
Lovely! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilford,_Baltimore#Sherwood_Gardens
§
Cylburn Arboretum – Located right near Sinai Hospital
off Northern Parkway.
http://www.cylburnassociation.org/
§
Mt. Washington Arboretum –1 min.
from Mt. Washington Village,
Whole Foods. http://www.miniarboretum.org/
§
Fort McHenry – Great National site right on the Baltimore Harbor. http://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm
§
Federal Hill Park – Located at
the entry to Federal Hill near the Inner
Harbor.
§
Centennial Park – Located in Columbia, has a beautiful lake, trail, paddle
boats for rent, and a children’s playground. http://www.columbiamaryland.com/cenlake.htm
Great Nature Trails (many to list, here are a few)
§
NCR Trail – Great walking trail you can access in Hunt Valley.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/greenways/ncrt_trail.html
Great
Art Projects/Places
·
Pottery Places -
there are many options, including Amazin' Glaze In Mt. Washington
and Hot Pots in Timonium. Sign up for their mailers
and they send out coupons all the time.
·
Walters Art Museum – Great collection, Saturday art projects for kids in the basement as well as a dress-up area
and puppet theater. Kids can also
check out art kits at the art cart when they walk in, and do designated art
projects throughout the museum, like recreating various paintings. Free
admission. http://www.thewalters.org
Bookstores and Story times
§
Baltimore
County Library – Story Time at Towson, Rosedale Branch. Check their Calendar @ http://www.bcpl.info
§
Storyville is
an interactive early literacy learning center designed specifically for
children ages birth to five and their caregivers. Located at Rosedale
Branch of BCP Library. http://www.bcplstoryville.org/storyville_home.html
§
Enoch Pratt Free Library –
Story times at Govans, Roland Park Branch. Check Calendar @ http://www.epfl.net
Theatres, Movies, etc.
§
Free Movies – Happen in Federal Hill, Fells Point, Charles
Village, and Little Italy during the summer months – Google it. You just
need a blanket or a folding chair to catch a free film after dusk.
§
Red Branch Theater – Great kids’ theater performances in
Columbia, MD.
http://www.redbranchtheatre.com/
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Beltway Movies 6 off Belair Rd in Batlimore – Great
theater, $3 movies! http://baltimore.mrmovietimes.com/movie-theaters/Beltway-Movies-6.html
Great Places to Visit that are a short (no more than
2-3 hour) drive
§
Dutch Wonderland – Kid
friendly literally from when kids
start walking. Our son loved it at 15 months! Went on 10+
rides! Very nice place located an hour north of Baltimore. http:///www.dutchwonderland.com
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Sesame Place (Philadelphia) – Nice if your kids are addicted to Sesame Street.
http://www.sesameplace.com
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Please Touch Children’s Museum Philadelphia – Great kids museum. http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/
§
Hershey Park – Great amusement park in
Hershey PA. Hershey’s Chocolate World and ZooAmerica Wildlife
Park are also
there. http://www.hersheypark.com
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Gettysburg
§
Washington DC – Great selection of museums for
all ages. The Smithsonian has the Air and Space Museum
and Natural History that are particularly interesting for younger kids. http://www.smithsonian.org
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National Building Museum
in Washington DC
– Possibly one of our favorite museum going days ever was at the Family
Festival at the National
Building Museum.
It is a really great place – they had a
Lego exhibit of 10 of the tallest buildings in the world – truly awesome, and
on Family Festival day they have an overwhelming # of kid friendly activities,
cool giveaways, and more. http://www.nbm.org/
Great site!
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