A Day Out with Thomas

For a train loving kid, a surprise trip to Baltimore for A Day Out With Thomas was the perfect gift.  Our ticket got us both into the B and O Railroad Museum and on the ride with Thomas. Set up around the museum were stations to play festival games, blow bubbles, a play ground, meet Sir Topham Hatt, lawn games, and of course a gift shop. On site were also several food trucks and a performer too. 

At the B and O Railroad Museum there are two rides, the Happy Trail and the Choo Choo Blueville. There is also usually a Kids Zone with toys, and on weekends they have story times and activities. On the first and third Thursday of the month from January to October they offer a toddler time with stories and train games. 

The museum itself was the largest train museum I've ever seen. The museum comprises the oldest and most comprehensive American railroad collection in the world. Its 40 acre campus has several sections and allows you to walk through all of the different types of train cars, plus see different types of trains from different eras. I actually learned a lot about the history of trains while walking around. It was on this campus that American railroading was born, and where in 1829 the first commercial long distance track was built. 

A Day Out With Thomas is a traveling exhibit that spends a few weekends at each location. After it finishes in Baltimore, it will head to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, then Cordele Georgia, and finally Ronks, Pennsylvania. 

Port Discovery: Baltimore Children's Museum

While in Baltimore, we knew we had to stop at Port Discovery. What I love about this museum is that they really do offer things for kids of all ages. (And adults; we saw some grown ups enjoying trying to crack the code in the Egyptian Exhibit while their kids played with grandma in the other room too!) 

The first thing you notice about Port Discovery is the massive four story climbing structure for ages 5-12. The first floor has an art workshop, a children's theater, a Royal Farms store and gas station, tanagram wall, one of the toddler play areas, and an indoor soccer stadium (where you can keep score on the score board). 

The second floor is Adventure Expeditions which is about ancient Egypt (so cool!), the second baby and toddler section, a weaving wall, wonder widgets (aka I love Lucy style shape sorting), and another netted climbing structure overlooking the first floor. 

The third floor has a sensory wall, an old school diner (where we actually found challah!), an awesome Wonders of Water section complete with a full body dryer, and an exhibit that we could tell they were working on, but I'm not sure what is coming or going. 

The next half floor up has The Port, where kids can pretend to be the captain of a ship or load cargo onto a crane and scan it at the security station. 

Another thing that I love about this museum is that your ticket gets you in for the whole day, and you can reenter. This is great for nappers or for grabbing lunch. Right outside the museum is their Power Plant Live with lots of restaurants with live music and lawn games. The museum also offers free lockers, and they have a break room for those who want a snack or packed their lunch. Lastly, they validate parking, so while it isn't free, you do pay about half the price rather than the full price. If you have a Children's Museum of Virginia membership you will receive 50% off ticket prices with the reciprocity program.