It's been a while since I came to the Howard country fair. I made time to come today. The events…read moreare the fair were fun and worth coming for that. My favorite event today was the tractor race. What I dislike is the food prices. The food stands were charging so much money for low quality food.

It's Gem Show time. The Howard County Fairground hosts one of the smaller size gem show several…read moretimes a year, in comparison to the Gem & Jewelry shows in Chantilly and Timonium. The reason I prefer to come to this one is because there are more miners at this show instead of jewelers. The fairground indoor space is limited with restrooms both inside and outside. And 1 food stand open most of the time that sells burgers and hotdogs, very limited options and not the best of deal for $8 . Parking has always been an issue for this fairground hence the grass area are normally open to parking options. However, after the rain it always creates a very nasty situation. Definitely fun to visit during events, just be aware of the conditions.

Summary: while Doodlehatch is definitely not short of character, there are some key points that…read moremake it hard to love. A question I had prior to visiting Doodlehatch was "what is it?" The best answer I can think of is that it's an interactive art museum. There are tons of random sections throughout: a space area, a unicorn area, a tea party area, a giant bed, etc. Most are designed to be "interactive," but I don't know how much care + maintenance is going on. Parts of the exhibit don't feel sturdy and a lot of it doesn't feel clean. There are a lot of areas that have fabric that retain moisture/dirt like the giant bed (plush), bean bag chairs, and hammocks. Coming off a fresh pandemic, it didn't give the best feeling to "interact" with something like that. Conclusion: I think the concept is cute and the art is unique. The exhibit itself makes for a cute little outing. I'm just a bit more wishful as far as care/maintenance goes. I wouldn't describe myself as a germaphobe, but even so I didn't feel great about it.

Overall: Okay place to spend an hour or two with young kids, but it is very dirty and most exhibits…read morefeel like safety hazards and are close to breaking. They have multi-stall gendered restrooms. We went right when they opened on a Saturday morning and had the place pretty much to ourselves. We used a Groupon deal. My son just turned 3. His favorite exhibits were the mail station, the space station, and the room with the ukuleles and guitars. The mail station was really cute. It had instructions to write a letter to your younger self and you could put it in the mail box and organize the mail by year you wanted to send it back to. It really didn't look like this place had a cleaning regimen. I can't imagine who thought it was a good idea to put that many (very used) plush toys in a place where this many children visit. You sign a waiver saying you're liable for anything your kid breaks, but so much of this place is about to break and I'd be worried about my kid being hurt as much as I'd be worried about parts of these installments breaking.

If you like a variety of board games, card games, and Warhammer, this is the place. Also dice,…read morepaints, and miniatures, among other things. There's a bit of Pathfinder, and a wee smidge of shelf space for WotC/D&D. I suspect they're moving away from the latter. No surprise. if you're in the area and was looking for someplace to DM a game or two, this would be a great locale to frequent.

Such a cool novelty shop with great vibes! They've got an awesome selection that makes browsing fun…read morewhether you're into games, collectibles, or just looking for something unique. I also really love that the shop is veteran owned, makes me appreciate supporting it even more. Definitely worth checking out!

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.

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.

This was one of my favorite experiences I've had in a long time. Highly recommend, for adults, kids…read more7+, teens, young adults... everyone! First and foremost, the staff here is so lovely. They totally made the experience wonderful. Thank you Gina. Both ladies were knowledgeable, patient, kind and super awesome. The activites available here: Soap making Scrub making Slime making Treat making Resin Art Painting Candle making And so much more... There's also put put golf area, an arcade game, and live animals to pet. Everything is reasonably priced and the entrance fee is fair. If you go to the Be with me playseum next door, you get entrance to playseum upstairs free. And the playseum upstairs was open an hour longer than the be with me playseum which allowed us to do both till close. Please just take a look at the esthetics of this place. Its gorgeous and serene and relaxing. Look at how gorgeous our DIY crafts were. (Pix attached). Im in love with my crimson son and pearl flower soap! Obsessed. Its perfect. We did the fluffy slime for the kids, and make your own scrub and soap for adults. It was so much fun! There are so many options- smells, colors, add ins, molds.... you will definitely find something you like. We can wait to come back here to make some candles and resin art. They are also opening a location in Annapolis that will cooking activities! How fun, can't wait.

Been coming here since the month they opened and I love this place. The magic crowd is pretty chill…read moreand friendly, the store is clean, and the staff is very friendly. Would super recommend!

This was so much fun! My partner and I came for date night. We chose our projects before arriving…read more Once we got there, I understood WHY it was important to make those options ahead of time. They create templates and cut the wood specifically for the project you chose. It's located in a sort of strip mall, so there's plenty of parking. When we entered, we were quickly greeted, signed in, and directed to our table. Before I forget, this is a BYOB establishment. We brought a bottle of wine and glasses. What we didn't know was that you can also bring food. Had we known, we would have brought snacks. Good to know for next time. You might feel overwhelmed when you first arrive, as my partner did, but you'll get help along the way. I chose a clock as my project, and she chose a tray. You'll start with sanding, then distressing the wood (take your time with that part, I wish I'd have done more of that), then staining, then it's time for the template. That part can take some time, depending on the project you chose. Once the template is laid out, you start painting. So many decisions to be made!! It's a great date night event or with a group! Good times. We'll definitely be back. The entire staff was very helpful, especially Lupe!

Wow, I had a great time here! When my sister and mom suggested it I was very skeptical- I feel like…read moreI've done all the "painting" classes and I didn't want to do another one. I was wrong! This was great! The first step happens when you book- you choose your design online. They have hundreds of different choices, from signs to crates to clocks. You can pick from seasonal designs, designs for certain rooms, or designs based on a saying or hobby. Even with my small apartment I could find something that would fit my home well. When you get to Board and Brush, they check you in and have your project set up. You can distress the wood before you pick a stain and, if you want, a painting technique. They explain the options really well and have tons of examples with each different color. After you prepare the wood, you apply the vinyl stencil they have custom cut for you. This step can be tricky, but they have plenty of staff to help. Then you select colors and paint. Again, you need to use a specific technique but they're ready to help you. You remove the stencil and you have a beautiful piece! The process was easy to complete. At our session, we had tons of different people from a child under 10 to a senior citizen over 80. It was a fun environment and I felt like we had plenty of time to work on our projects. In the end, almost every piece was stunning and ready to go up on a wall. This specific location was especially helpful. They helped us add people to our booking after it was full, change our design choice, and gave color selection tips during the session. I would love to come back and make more, and this would be great to do with a bunch of friends.