A 45-minute drive from D.C. on a good day, Ellicott Mills Children's Museum is the area's newest…read morechildren's museum. Open from 1-5p p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, here's what you should know: 1) Admission: It's free. However, considering giving a donation to keep the history alive. 2) Space: Located inside a historic Quaker one-room schoolhouse, the museum is literally three rooms- a classroom, a general store and a "great room." Through exhibits and an alphabet scavenger hunt in the general store, visitors learn about 19th century life in a mill town. 3) Staff: Most are volunteers and friendly. 4) Parking: They have parking at the court parking lot or on the street. There is a restroom on site.

Such a cute little museum! I would 100% go back here. My kids loved it and the people who work here…read moreare so incredibly nice! They are very knowledgeable about the history of the building and give you tours. There are aspects that are interactive and my kids learned so much.

I cannot believe I've never been to Port Discovery before! We were invited by a friend who has a…read moremembership with guest passes and had the best time! Parking was super easy as there is a public garage just a 2 minute walk from the main entrance. It was easy to know where to go because of the crowd walking towards the museum. We just followed everyone and getting in was easy. They give you a wrist band to wear. (I do think they might want to consider having parents write their phone number on their child's wrist band just because the museum is so large!) If you have belongings, there are lockers to place your stuff in. It is located in their cafe which has tables, loads vending machines and microwaves as well. There is hand sanitizer stations scattered around. If you have small children, there is an in closed area for babies. The exhibitions, activities and engagement opportunities are endless. My child had such a good time. We barely scratched the surface and will need to go back to see more!

The activities seem good…read more Here's the beef: we tried to enter using an AARP coupon and were told by front desk that they are not honoring any entertainment coupons. They further informed us that "this happens all the time". I'm not sure if this is some coordinated bait and switch or if the front and back offices don't talk to eachother? but buyer beware. Also expensive for value, parking is also expensive

Such a cute, well thought out and CLEAN play space for my littles. We came here on a Friday night…read moreand loved all the high quality imaginative toys and play space. Will be back!

What a cute play space for kids. My older kids (11 and up) played well here as well so it is a…read morespace that is versatile for all ages. The play space is in the back and the party area is in the front. My kids loved setting up a "sandwich" store and playing pretend selling and running a shop.

My inner 12 year old enjoyed visiting the museum. It is located in the Ronald Reagan Building…read more Metro is close by. The museum has a few play/learning areas outside of the building. It is one of the few museums that charges a fee (just like The Bible Museum, Spy Museum & Museum of Illusions). All are worth a visit for different reasons. There are interactive exhibits and fun displays.

Luckily the two times we have visited we haven't had to pay for tickets (free museum days). I'm…read morebaffled as to how this can be the children's museum of DC!! For starters this place is so unkept, it's so incredibly dirty and the bathrooms are gross. I truly wonder if they ever clean this place? We visited 2 years ago and again this weekend, and I can tell they haven't updated a single thing. Including the nasty pom poms that have clearly seen better days and cost 2 cents a piece. This is the weirdest children's museum I have ever been to. Not even sure what the target age group is. They have like half of an exhibition appropriate for each different age group. The exhibitions are not cool, barely entertaining, half of them are broke or barely work, they are all dirty as can be. And the museum overall is tiny! I feel bad for the people that pay to visit this place. This was definitely the last time we visited, even with free tickets. Every single Smithsonian museum is 100000x better than this, and they are all free. So save your time and money and visit any of them, I'm sure your kids will be more entertained there and at least they won't catch a nasty virus from playing in this dirty place.

Play Street Museum is a franchise that specializes in kids' play areas that encourages imaginative…read moreplay and fun settings. The one in Severna Park is one of my favorites to take the kiddos because it has a great mix of interactive toys and buildings. Just to name a few: - an area for crafts - one of those motorized air funnels that you can put a scarf in - ice cream store - grocery store - doctor's office - vets office - a recycling truck with slots to sort different recyclables - a play house with kitchen stuff - pretend firetruck and firehouse with hose and slide You can also opt into extra add ons that allow you to participate in crafts you can take home (think DIY activities like slime). I like that there's only a finite number of spaces for time slots so it never gets too crowded. You should check their website before going just in case they're sold out (I believe they do allow walk ins though). They also have punch cards for a slightly discounted rate. It's usually around $18 for a single visit, but comes out to like $15 a visit with a punch card at the time of this post. I would totally recommend for little ones, but they may start to get bored for any ages 5 or older.

We had an amazing time at Play Street Museum for our triple play date! We reserved our spot online…read morethe night before for a 10:30 AM to 12 PM session. When we arrived, we were greeted with an easy check-in process. If you haven't signed the waiver online, you can quickly scan and sign it on-site. The staff was friendly and explained how everything worked. The space itself is fantastic! It's an open playground where kids can freely explore and play to their hearts' content. There are fun zones for every interest--a craft area near the cubbies, a science section by the check-in counter, and a little shop filled with books and small activities at the entrance. There's even a food token system: you drop the token off when you leave, and each kid gets a free snack, which is such a thoughtful touch. The restrooms are conveniently located at the back near the slide area, so everything you need is nearby. Overall, this is a well-organized, kid-friendly spot that offers so much for little ones to enjoy. We'll definitely be back!

A local hidden gem I discovered this fall while looking for new hikes…read more There's tons of parking and trails leading through a hilly forested landscape reminiscent of nearby Patapsco Valley State Park (but with fewer people). It's adjacent to utility easements and other greenspaces, making for a decent-sized area to explore. Note the trails do pass through a couple of residential areas, so not exactly "wild" but plenty natural. There's some gorgeous specimens of large trees along the way, reminding us what this area used to look like. Museum and exhibits are dedicated to a Maryland freedman of historic and national reputation, from a time when non-whites rarely had the chance to thrive much less excel. It's the sort of history we're not usually taught in school, so worth checking out. Note the grounds are open dawn-to-dusk, but the gates are locked at dusk (no motion sensor to get your car out). If you're out for a sunset hike, consider parking elsewhere and hiking in via the Trolley Trail instead.

I visited Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum last weekend, when I was exploring Old…read moreEllicott City with my husband and his family who were in town visiting. It's a museum decided to Benjamin Banneker and, as I didn't know anything about him before I visited, I really enjoyed our visit to the museum. Benjamin Banneker was a naturalist, mathematician, astronomer, and almanac author. He was born in Baltimore County to a free African-American mother and a father who had been formerly enslaved. The museum is small but has information about his life and times. Exiting the back of the museum, you can walk to a reconstructed cabin that estimates how Banneker lived on these acres of land he owned until his death in 1806. I learned a lot from this little museum, and the employee working at the museum when we visited was very kind and helpful. He shared a lot of information with us about the museum and about Banneker. If you haven't been before or if you don't know anything about Benjamin Banneker, this little museum is definitely worth a visit!

This location was so accommodating and made everything easy and fun. There were tons of activities…read moreto enjoy, and my child had a great time exploring all of them. The whole experience was positive, and I would definitely go back again.

We visited on a Tuesday afternoon. I actually ended up getting a Groupon deal which was really…read moregreat so I saved some money. We were there for a two hour play block. There was lots of rooms and things to do. They also had cars you could ride on. My 4 and 1 year old had a good time. There definitely was a lot of various ages of kids visiting. I do think it's good for younger ages but you do have to have a watchful eye on younger kids due to kids ridging those cars everywhere throughout the place and can get wild. They had tons of workers cleaning up while we were there as well.

Very nice little but packed museum in Lutherville! I loved learning about the history of fire…read morerescue and all the tools, gadgets and trucks they used to use. The museum also gave insight into how the fire men used to live at the stations. Very interesting stuff. They also give you a free poster! Recommend!

WOW What an experience this has to be one of the best fire apparatus collections I've been to. You…read morecan tell they take great pride in the museum!!!

I came back to host a birthday party. For any parent, looking for a party venue for their child I…read morehighly recommend this place. I booked the option two party about three months in advance. What's great is that you just select a theme from the pictures they have they send you a digital invite to send out and as you get close to the party date, they'll confirm the theme and give you an idea of what the schedule is. That's it that's literally all you have to do. Honestly, if you were to just walk in the door without anything in hand other than a child, your 90 minute birthday party would go off without a hitch. They had the cupcakes, the utensils, the balloons, the beautiful room set up and they had the goodie bags. Honestly, a lot of the parents gave us a compliment on organizing the party and how much fun they had and I felt weird taking any credit for it. We had an assigned party planner that was very invested in making sure everything was running on time and that the room was set up perfectly to our needs. And at the end of the party, they packed everything up for you. What's wild is they actually packed everything back in the original containers organized and ready to go. And then these poor people had to re-organize all the toys that our party had demolished and dragged a different corners of the room all within 30 minutes. I hate planning, and hosting events gives me a lot of anxiety, so to have a party go off successfully with my minimal involvement is amazing.

I'm at a stage in my life where I'm going to kids birthday parties every other weekend. Out of all…read morethe places I've been to, I think Play Street is probably ranked first. First of all, the concept of a pretend Main Street USA with shops with all kinds of props and working cash registers with play money inside is brilliant. I remember playing pretend shop keeper with my brother and cousins as kids and we would have loved this place. Secondly, the place is very well maintained and has plenty of space for the more active kids to just run around from shop to shop. My wife loved it so much she booked one of their other locations for our son's birthday which is many months away.

Great spot for a free indoor adventure…read more Right in the heart of OEC this museum is a great spot for a quick dose of history. The displays are great and who can beat the model train garden! You can also get inside a train car and experience what it was like to ride the oldest continuously running rail line.

Want a nice distraction from reality, one that is free? Then make yourself a detour and come to…read morethis nice little museum in historic Ellicot City. I had no idea that this museum existed until I was already in town. I parked my car near the top of town in one of the many free parking lots and started down the hill. I figured if I started at the bottom and made my way up, it would feel less of a tiring task heading back up. By heading to the bottom of the hill I found this gem. Like I said at the beginning, this is a free museum to attend (donations are welcome to help maintain the place). When you visit, you are transported back in time to when the railroads ruled the country. What you will come to find out is that this is the oldest railroad station still standing in the nation (that is how they bill it). When you start to traverse the museum you learn more and more about the history of this particular train station. You learn that it was first used with horse and carriage, then converted into a freight train station, and finally to a freight/passenger station before it was essentially decommissioned. Making your way through the museum you discover that you can see the working parts of it all. You go through the room that was the living quarters of the man that ran the station. You make your way upstairs and through the areas that was basically the central nervous system of the building. You pass by the ticket booth which tells you that back then there was separate entrances for men and women. Showing you that back then the railroad was a male dominated industry. You even get a glimpse of some very old graffiti. Make your way through what was the freight house and continue out into where they used to work on the trains. Once you are finished inside you can head outside onto what was once the passenger platform. Hang a right and head past the turntable to the external exhibit spaces. In what I am guessing is another freight house you will find a model of the railroad of the immediate and nearby area. Take a seat in here and you can watch a short documentary detailing the railroad in the area. After, or even before, the show, you can interact with the railroad model. Push a button and you will see how the railroad worked. Look closely and you will see the detail of each area. All the intricate little pieces of this model comes to life. Once you have fulfilled your inner child, you can then head outside once again and see the last piece of this museum. A caboose. You get to actually climb up into the caboose and see how one was used. Take a seat and take it in. You can take as much time as you want here, or run through it and get it completely out the way quickly. I'm sure you could even revisit this place and discover something new you overlooked on your prior visit.