DEL.ICIO.USFROM ATLANTA TO ... BALTIMORE
Even youngest kids will be busy at Baltimore attractions
For the Journal-Constitution
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Baltimore — This city on Chesapeake Bay has water, animals and trains — all we needed to excite our young travelers on a recent visit.
We found five entertaining stops for my son, Ty, 2, and his friends, Garrett Brooks, 2, and Olivia Brooks, 1, during a trip both families took to the waterfront city. We got in and out of the attractions in less than two hours, fitting perfectly in between naps and meals.
B&O Railroad Museum
At the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Md., kids can pretend to be the engineer of their own train or see iron horses of old.
Lori Johnston / Special
Children seem to be drawn to elephants at the Baltimore Zoo, especially the youngest ones.
- Photos: Travel / International Galleries
- Latest deals!
- Back to: Travel | U.S. and international destinations
1. THE MARYLAND ZOO IN BALTIMORE
As soon as doors open at the zoo, the third oldest in the United States, we’ll head straight to the elephants to see Samson, who was born in March. Samson is typically out from 10 a.m. to noon, and from a viewing platform, the kids can watch the baby and his mother.
We travel along hilly pathways, seeing giraffes, lions, penguins, orangutans, jaguars, panthers, polar bears and other animals, and often run into friendly volunteers who offer insight into the animals. Our final stop is the Children’s Zoo, which winds through a bog, with activities such as hopping on faux lily pads.
A river otter exhibit follows, and the final destination is the giant tree slide, which you get to through a snake exhibit. It’s a tad too tall for our young group, but we stop to watch the older kids descending from the tree.
• Druid Hill Park. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily (closed January-February, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day). $11, Mondays-Fridays, $15, Saturdays-Sundays, ages 12-64; $10 Mondays-Fridays, $12 Saturdays-Sundays, ages 65 and up; $9 Mondays-Fridays, $11 Saturdays-Sundays, ages 2-11; free for children under 2 (online discounts available). 410-366-5466, www.marylandzoo.org.
2. NATIONAL AQUARIUM IN BALTIMORE
Descend into the semi-darkness at this harbor attraction and you’ll run into a tank of sharks, stingrays and sea turtles. The aquarium has five levels of amphibians, fish, mammals and reptiles.
We arrive on a weekday afternoon in time to see a volunteer group clad in wet suits and scuba equipment feed the fish. The dim lighting and mass of people sometimes make it hard for young kids to see everything, but we found a spot to stay a while to see the puffins flittering about in one exhibit. Another section of the aquarium features sea creatures from Australia.
The dolphin show isn’t as jazzed up as something you might see at Sea World, but seeks to educate as much as it entertains. That and a movie in the 4-D Immersion Theater tack $4 each onto the price of the admission.
• $21.95, adults; $20.95, ages 60 and up; $12.95, ages 3-11. 501 E. Pratt St. 410-576-3800, www.aqua.org.
3. PORT DISCOVERY CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
Just a few blocks from the aquarium is a four-floor indoor attraction created for ages 2 to 10.
The most time is spent in the new Wonders of Water exhibit that opened this year, which is the museum’s 10th anniversary. The kids splash their hands in water, squirt a spray gun to hit various musical instruments, stand in a bubble maker and adjust different-size PVC pipes to make water flow in different directions. Raincoats and shoes are provided, allowing the kids to get soaked without concern, and when you’re finished, a blower helps dry them off.
The treehouse, called KidWorks, can’t be missed either, spanning three floors, with the longest indoor slide in Maryland (at about 30 feet), a rope climb, a zip line and rock-climbing wall. Our young ones also liked playing in the life-size diner, with fake food, kitchen equipment, a cash register, 1950s-style booths and jukebox; and Sensation Station, a separate room with a mini slide, ball bounce and other toys for 4 and under.
A new interactive exhibit tied to the “Robots” movie will be open through Sept. 8.
• Summer hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, noon-5 p.m. Sundays (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day). $11.75, ages 2 and up, free under 2. 35 Market Place. 410-727-8120, www.portdiscovery.org.
4. BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD MUSEUM
The boys start chattering as we pull into the parking lot at this museum, which is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
Locomotives can be seen steps away from our van, just a few of more than 150 pieces of railroad equipment on display. Some are open for you to walk through. The collection includes the most powerful steam engine ever built, which weighs more than 600 tons.
Indoors, there are cases of model trains and hands-on activities such as a Thomas and Friends train table.
• 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays (closed major holidays). $14, adults; $12, ages 60 and up; $8, ages 2-12; free under 2. 901 W. Pratt St. 410-752-2490, www.borail.org. It also operates a small museum in America’s oldest surviving railroad station, in Ellicott City, Md. 410-461-1945, www.ecborail.org.
5. PLAYWISE KIDS
This area between Baltimore and Washington offers an alternative to jump and play spots. An afternoon outing to this indoor play place has the boys roaming the grocery store and kitchen, climbing on the firetruck and digging in the sandbox.
The place also has a life-size ambulance, plenty of dress-up clothes, a dollhouse, a room with musical instruments and a train table room, plus areas for older kids.
• 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays (closed July Fourth, Thanksgiving and Christmas). $9.95, ages 2-10; $6.95, ages 12-23 months; free, 11 months and younger; $4, ages 11 and up. 6570 Dobbin Road, Columbia. 410-772-1540, www.playwisekids.com.
IF YOU GO …
Getting there
Baltimore is about 700 miles from downtown Atlanta. If driving, take I-85 north to I-95 north to I-395 north and continue to downtown Baltimore. Expect to pay $175 or more round-trip by air from Atlanta to Baltimore.
Information
Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, 100 Light St., 12th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21230. 410-659-7300, www.baltimore.org.
Services »
