The Maryland Science Center was a stark reminder to me that learning doesn’t have to be boring. Sitting on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, with worlds of wonder waiting to be discovered inside, this huge brick building houses many exhibits that stir the senses and educate you, all while still letting you have fun.

The Maryland Science Center is one of the most interactive and engaging science museum’s we’ve visited to date. It probably has to do with the fact that the museum’s roots date as far back as 1797, when the Maryland Academy of Sciences was first founded as an institution. With a primary goal of educating and interpreting the latest in scientific discoveries, they manage to do so, while also keeping its guests thoroughly engaged and having fun. The combination of interactive displays that are constantly being refreshed and updated along with a rotation of traveling displays plus an IMAX theater, ensures that each visit to the museum will result in a new and fun learning experience.  As if that wasn’t a good enough reason to visit, the museums friendly and engaging staff truly live up to the expectations set by Baltimore’s nickname, Charm City. Here are some of our favorite experiences from our day at the Maryland Science Center.

Dinosaur Mysteries

The Maryland Science Center has several fossil exhibits set up for viewing, that even include several full sized castings of complete dinosaurs. In this gallery you can do a lot more than just look at fossils though, you can play paleontologist and excavate for fossils, measure bones, and more.

Newton’s Alley

This area of the museum was one of Kenin’s favorites. The whole area features different ways to learn the principles of science while playing. This was one of the few areas where we saw just as many adults as children playing and having fun. Kenin is having the time of his life here playing with the pulleys and getting a workout at the same time.

Wet Lab

The Maryland Science Center’s wet lab took me right back to a high school chemistry lab. With several different lab tables featuring fun and easy experiments, you could easily bring out your inner scientist. I found myself in deep concentration as I attempted to extract DNA in this carefully planned experiment. Soon I will be able to create my own “kippies”!! That’s right! Kitten/Puppies will be the next new thing. :D Muhuhahahahahah! Okay, so maybe extracting a little DNA from wheat germ is a little ways off from making my own designer pets, but I have to start somewhere.

Planetarium

Planetariums are on of my favorite ways to learn about space. There is just something about being immersed in darkness and surround by stars and being transported through galaxies while sitting indoors in a nice comfy seat. Light pollution in cities make it so difficult to see what’s up there in our night sky and planetariums are a nice fix for me.

SpaceLink

Kenin likes to call me a “Space Cadet”. I can only assume that his reasoning for this term of affection is my absolute fascination with space. The Space Link exhibit featured lots of high-tech and “high touch” activities, that allowed us to learn the latest in space science while also easily imagining ourselves as pioneering astronauts.

Your Body: The Inside Story

We both found this section of the Science Center pretty informative. With a mix of displays that talked about important nutritional information mixed in with fun activities, like measuring our heart rates and memory capacity, it was a window into the complexity of our bodies. Anyone have some ranch dressing?

 

Follow the Blue Crab

This simple but effective section of the MSC, brought to light the impact of human interaction on the local waterways in Maryland, while also educating locals and out of owners on all the other great things that come from the Chesapeake Bay.

 

Fun, Fun, Fun!

You have to love any place where an employee will build an amazing castle out of paper cups just so you can let your inner child out to level the castle. I would like everyone to note the lack of remorse in the last scene of this series. :) I was nice enough to spend the next 10 minutes stacking all the cups that “Godzilla” knocked over.

The Maryland Science Center is easily an all day activity if you choose to partake in all the different interactive exhibits available including the Planetarium and IMAX theater.  It’s definitely worth the visit and is a great day of fun for both families, and adults with “inner children”. My favorite thing about this place however, turned out to be their employees. The Science Center has little groups of employees all over the building with different interactive games and enrichment opportunities. They all seem to love what they do and really take the time to talk to patrons and make them feel like a part of the Science Center. Kudos to all the employees that helped make us feel like little kids for a day! For more information on the Maryland Science Center including hours and directions take a look at their official website here.

We hope you enjoyed our post about the Maryland Science Center. For more things to do in the Baltimore area take a look at our Ramblin’ Baltimore Travel Guide and Trip Planner.

 

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