Bottom Line: Blink and you might miss this little yellow gem of historic Ellicott City. Although…read moreit's small in stature, this historic building is worth a closer look. If you've ever seen the little yellow building at the intersection of Church Rd. and Main Street in historic Ellicott City, that is the Firehouse Museum. Although it's a small spot, it can leave a big impression. The 126 year old fire station is generally only open on the weekends from April through December. However, it tends to be also be open for special events like Midnight Madness in December and you can schedule private tours. The museum is staffed by volunteers and has old fire fighting equipment and a collection of toy firetrucks. The volunteers are awesome and sometimes even hand out plastic fire hats for the kiddos. Personally, I like thinking about what it would have been like to be a firefighter at this station in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Situated on a hill, fire fighters rolled the heavy equipment out of the house and downhill to bravely fight fires in the community. There is a very small, humble jar for donations on the way (which you'll only see if you are looking for it) and I bet the firehouse will appreciate a small donation to keep this historic landmark open.

This is an interesting little site that's only open on weekend afternoons during the Summer and…read moreearly Fall. Most people would miss it, especially since it's not conveniently located right on Main Street. If you do get a chance, though, it's free and worth at least one visit. The museum details firefighter history, especially that of Ellicott City. You'll see some cases with old equipment, historical artifacts, various photographs and clippings, a case of firefighter-related toys, and some information on firefighting techniques through the years. The building is only one room and its small, but the information is still interesting. I give the place four stars for two reasons. The single staff member was very nice and informative. Also, my 5-yo son was fascinated just with looking at everything. I'm not saying this is on the level of a full historic site, but it's a quaint attraction and worth the stop. So, give historic Ellicott City some love and learn a bit about the old firehouse and firefighting.

A bit of a hike from DC, this cozy free museum is a must for history and technology buffs…read more Located, appropriately enough, right next to the heavily secured National Security Agency. Plan on taking an hour, maybe an hour and a half, to leisurely examine the exhibits. Docents are available to answer your questions. I found the exhibits amazing. Walking away from visiting NCM, I have to marvel at how smart and clever humans are. Encryption started way back. The Egyptians were known to encrypt messages. Thomas Jefferson encrypted his sensitive letters. Napoleon was a big fan of encryption. The mechanical encryption devices on display, from World War I on, are fascinating to see with all their bells and whistles.

Brought a group of High School students here for a field trip. The museum is free so you can't beat…read morethe price. We had a guided tour. It was very interesting to see all of the history and learn about the science behind all of the exhibits. Some have a little interactive portion as well. The tour lasted about a hour. After it was done the students looked around on their own for a few. Not a bad way to spend a day away from school while still learning something.

Update your website! We drove there based on the website saying it is open 1-5 PM Sat and Sunday…read more It was closed at 3PM on Sunday!

This museum exceeded all my expectations! I felt immersed from the moment I walked through the…read moreentry and was greeted by the sky-high ceilings of the First Presbyterian Church that was built in 1894. Mary greeted me right away, is very informative and a wonderful woman to talk to! The artifacts are well preserved and really painted a picture of what life was like in that time period. If you love history (especially American history) I highly recommend this quaint spot!

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.

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 place outside of Baltimore offers a small museum, a reconstructed hut, and a set of gardens…read morearound it, and some trails. It is free to enter and there is plenty of parking. I got a quick intro with some interesting information related to the history of the famous person who lived here. The place offers a window into American colonial history, as well as an education on the pastoral lifestyle that was the norm at the time. The museum is just a couple of rooms and won't take a long time to get through. I did not have time to stay for the trails. It wasn't the most lively or deep historical site that I've ever been to, but there was enough in terms of aesthetics and in terms of information to be worth checking out.

A fun place to being the little ones and relive the magic of train sets. Take a list of things to…read morefind. The kids will love it!!

A fantastic free resource for children and adults. It's fascinating to see all the detail put into…read morethese setups. They also have little Lego lands too. Worth the trip if looking for something inexpensive to do with children,

I made a pit stop here on a Saturday while riding my bike on the Baltimore Washington International…read moreAirport trail loop. This turned out to be a nice respite. I took most of the tour (missed the beginning), and enjoyed it more than I expected. The house has an unusual collection of artifacts from the 1800's and early 1900's and is well-worth a stop if you're a history buff in the area. Memorable items include: a fantastic antique doll collection, a few antique swords and guns, antique furniture, several antique quilts, a handful of dresses in unusually good condition from the 1800's, a sizeable collection of toy soldiers (perhaps from sometime in 1910-1935?), and antique kitchenware. Because of the relatively large number of antiques, I actually found this tour just as interesting as the tour of Mount Vernon. There are stairs, so disabled people may find a visit challenging. In addition, there are many delicate items, so families should make sure their kids are old enough to avoid running around and not touch anything unless invited.

Two floors of teeth, dentist tools, interactive exhibits, and a lot of history. This museum is more…read morethan meets the eye, and you are sure to learn a ton. There is so much to learn about the mouth. Did you know stem cells are being used to grow teeth, and a hearing device is under development that would go inside a hard of hearing person mouth? Now you do, but you don't really know until you visit. I don't know if I would visit again, But am glad I was there it's one of those places that is a must see and worth your while.

Dimly lit museum that is two floors. If you are in dentistry or have interest in dentistry, you…read morewill enjoy seeing some of the equipment that was once used. They have a small children's corner with different exhibits to interact with. You will be able to walk through time and see where and how dentistry started. Make sure to read up on the importance of saliva and knowing your ph and types of bacteria. Saliva plays such an important role that many de tal offices never discuss. I enjoyed seeing how far we have come, and also look forward to continuing to expand in dental education. Enjoy!