Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center is a full day on its own. It’s three levels of clever, fun, interactive play that loads kids with an amazing amount of learning. They’ll dig for dinosaur bones, create their own hurricane, and try on spacesuits. One room tests the senses with games of optical illusions, lying on a bed of nails, and hearing the strange and sometimes gross sounds of digestion. (It’s a big winner with boys!) For older kids, there’s a working lab where they can perform pre-designed experiments like extracting DNA from plant cells and seeing how common household cleaners kill bacteria. Touch screens let you design a car of the future, trying options to make it more energy-efficient.
The new Kids Room, specifically designed for 0-5, is a sensory learning experience with lots of buttons to push, knobs to turn, and stuff to handle. They can messages via pneumatic tubes, crawl into an ‘underwater’ cave, and send boats down a river in the water display.
Basic admission to the Science Center is $18.95 adults; $15.95 kids 3-12. The full package, which includes IMAX, planetarium show, and presentation on the Demo stage is $22.95;$19.95.There is a café for food, but if you bring your own, there’s a Brown Bag zone near the security desk on the first level . www.mdsci.org
If the weather is good, visit the carousel next to the Science Center by Rash Field. Built in 1906, it’s ‘inhabited’ by horses, unicorn, rabbits, and other animals waiting to be ridden. $3.
Click next to learn about the Maryland Zoo
