Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens

WHEN: May 2 - September 20, 2009

You can actually hear the gasps as people walk through the conservatory doors at Brookside Gardens. Hundreds of butterflies cover every surface and float by the crowd. My kids were amazed and couldn't stop pulling me in different directions to see their favorites. But honestly, I found myself oooing and ahhhing too.

The butterflies and moths on display here are all farm raised, and brought in as chrysalises and cocoons. They are tended in a climate controlled case until they hatch, and then they live out their days sampling the flowers and fruit in the conservatory. Not a bad life. There is a "no touching" rule here, because it can harm the butterflies, but apparently no one told the butterflies. They routinely land on people and will hang out for a while on a lucky shoulder or head. My younger daughter was rather upset that none of them would land on her, but when I picked her up and held her higher, a few kind butterflies obliged.

There is a touch and feel station set up where a volunteer will answer questions and kids can touch a few dead specimens. Thank goodness for patient volunteers because, as usual, my son found about a million things to ask.

Meanwhile, my older two (my daughter brought a friend) were busy naming every last butterfly they saw. You can probably guess, we were there for a long time.

After we are checked for stray butterflies, we headed out the door for a lovely stroll through the gardens. A perfect end to the day.

[Note: Bring some extra water; the greenhouses are warm and humid. This exhibit runs every year during the warm season. It may occasionally close during extreme heat advisories. Please call the butterfly hotline for up-to-date details.

"Butterfly Hotline": 301-962-1453

Brookside Gardens - Wings of Fancy Exhibit
South Conservatory
1500 Glenallan Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902

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CALS Miniature Train Rides

I'm pretty sure the guys over at Leakin Park that run the miniature trains are just over-sized kids that never quite grew up, but they sure look like they are having fun. CALS (Chesapeake and Allegheny Live Steam) is a group of train buffs that builds, maintains, and operates mostly coal burning live steam locomotives. Obsessive, yes, but in a really good way, and they offer free train rides on the second Sunday of each month from April to November. 

We picked a beautiful day to ride, so the line was long, but manageable. Twenty minutes later, we were seated on our train and headed down the track at 6 miles per hour. Everything is "to scale" so in real size, we were zooming along at 48 miles per hour. See how easily I'm fooled. We glided along the track and circled the park. The tracksite covers an impressive 10+ acres and has over 3-miles of track, all of which has been built by members and financed without city, state or federal money. Donations are welcomed.

[Thanks, Tim and Brian!]

410-448-0730

CALS Live Steam Preservation Society at Leakin Park
4921 Windsor Mill Rd.
Baltimore, MD 21207

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Thomas Dixon Aircraft Observation Area

One of the things I love about having this blog is the readers' suggestions I get. Recently, a couple of people have emailed me about the Thomas Dixon Aircraft Observation Area. I never would have found out about this place, so thanks Shaina and Mary!

Planes, planes and more planes zooming over our heads. Now maybe I wouldn't be so thrilled if my house were located directly under the flight path, but wow is it fun to watch those airplanes come in for landing. I never realized how close together the landings are. Maybe because on the rare occasion we travel by air, there is always more waiting than flying.

After watching the planes for a while we wandered over to the tot lot for a little climbing and general silliness. There is also a 12.5 mile trail that circles the airport.

Thomas Dixon Aircraft Observation Area
MD-176 & Jeffery Ave (closest intersection)
Glen Burnie, MD 21061

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Welcoming Fall at North Run Farm

A trip to the pumpkin patch is one of those required Fall rituals when you have kids, and I, for one, wouldn't miss it. Never mind that half the time we leave cold, muddy and sometimes crying. Or that I will be the one to lug all the pumpkins back to the car. There is something about a trip to the farm that makes Fall official.

Our trip to North Run Farm was organized by our preschool, so it was nice to just tag along and not have to be in charge. North Run has a small zoo of farm animals to meet, hay bale mazes in two different sizes so that even the youngest ones get a turn, a giant corn teepee, and hay rides out to the pumpkin patch. But their corn maze is their pièce de résistance. This year it is a double maze, skillfully carved into a donkey and elephant. Past mazes, from a giant crab to The Wizard of Oz 's Scarecrow, are pictured here.

For now, the corn maze is a little too challenging for our group and we just take a mini-tour of it. For older kids, it's a must.

410-241-3392

North Run Farm
1703 Greenspring Valley Road
Stevenson, MD 21153

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The Conservatory and Botanic Gardens at Druid Hill

The Conservatory at Druid Hill Park is one of those buildings I've passed by so many times, and I've always wanted to peek inside because it has that whole mysterious Victorian thing going on. I guess I just wasn't sure if we were allowed. It turns out that not only are we allowed, but we are also encouraged to wander through the gardens and enjoy the space. As a gardener we passed pointed out, "that's what it's here for." And, it's free (a $2 donation is encouraged).

It was designed by architect George Frederick, and built for the city of Baltimore in 1888.  Now the main structure, the beautiful Palm House is, "one of the few remaining Victorian conservatories left in the world."

We entered the North Pavilion and made our way through amazing greenhouses. The Mediterranean House and the Tropical house are lush and wonderful, but it was the Desert House that my kids enjoyed the most. A room full of cacti might seem a bit challenging with preschoolers but I was hoping that with all of their new-found maturity, my 4-year-olds could leave here puncture wound free, and surprise, surprise, they did!

I'm keeping this place in mind to visit again in the winter when I need a mini-tropical infusion. Events coming up here include:

The Chrysanthemum Display: November 8 - November 30 ,2008

The Holiday Display: December 13, 2008 - January 4, 2008

410-396-0180

Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens
3100 Swan Drive in Druid Hill Park
Baltimore, MD 21217

[Directions from their website]

Sculpture Garden at Green Spring Station

Sometimes we just find a happy spot to spend a few moments and it makes my day. The small sculpture garden tucked around the side of Green Spring Station is one of those spots. I can't quite figure out the story behind why it's here. There's obviously no financial gain to be had by the owners of the shopping mall. That leaves just one explanation. Love. And you gotta love that.

Personally, I think the bull (top) is fantastic and if anyone knows the artist, please, please, tell me.

Green Spring Station
10751 Falls Road
Lutherville, MD 21093

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Gunpowder Falls State Park - Hammerman Area

I think there is some sort of conspiracy to hide this place. If you are like me, and just grab the closest thing to an address that you can find before you head out the door, you will be hopelessly lost. The only real address listed for Gunpowder Falls State Park is for the headquarters. Nice people. I met them. They looked at me with pity in their eyes while I explained that I was looking for a scrap tire park and then handed me a xeroxed map with a highlighter pointing me to the exact place I was supposed to be, or rather, the exact place where I was not.

See, it turns out that Gunpowder is actually 18,000 acres of park and is divided into five main areas. I debated giving up, but no, this has turned into a quest. So I strapped the kids back into the car and tried to find entertaining things to point out along the way to make the ride more fun. A huge mountain of flowers at a construction site. An inflatable dinosaur at a car dealership. Finally, we got there. The place was strangely deserted. Even the guard building was empty and there were directions there for me to place $3 mysteriously in an envelope and take a tag for my car. Honor system? Fine. I saw a sign pointing toward the various points of interest, but I wasn't completely paying attention, so I followed the road looking for something, anything.

And there it was. No, not the tire park. A beach. A real live beach.

1,500 feet of beach on the banks of Gunpowder River to be exact and for the time being, it was ours alone. In the summer, the area is lifeguarded and you can rent kayaks, surfboards and catamarans. The kids took off their shoes and played in the sand for a while before we headed to the picnic tables for lunch. We spent a fair amount of time shooing flies away from our picnic, but what is a picnic without a few pests, right?

Life was good, bellies were full and nap time was imminent. We got back in the car and continued along the road and then finally...

410-592-2897 headquarters

Gunpowder Falls State Park - Hammerman Area
7200 Grace's Quarters Road
Baltimore, MD 21220

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Irvine Nature Center

The Irvine Nature Center recently moved, after 33 years, to a new, amazing, green facility in Owings Mills, MD. We stopped by to visit during their Grand Opening and let me just cut to the chase and say that I am completely and entirely in love with this place. There are already paths through the woods where you can take a nice walk, and nature exhibits and nooks to read a book in the main building. The Calendar of Events looks like there will be plenty to do with little ones, from pre-schoolers on up.

While we were there, our kids explored the exhibits, and then we took a stroll through the woods, passing some caged owls and hawks along the way, to meet in the gazebo and listen to a talk about pollinators. A bit farther along the path we had a peek at the newly established beehive. I have to say, the speaker, Rick, was so knowledgeable and entertaining, that we left trying to figure out where the best spot would be for our very own beehive. So maybe I've gotten a little carried away, but you get the idea.

410-484-2413

Irvine Nature Center
11201 Garrison Forest Road
Owings Mills, MD 21117

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