Maryland Science Center (Baltimore, MD)

When our outdoor plans on Labor Day Monday had to be changed because of yet another rainy forecast, we decided to head to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore to visit the Maryland Science Center.  It had been awhile since we'd last gone, and the kids were eager to check out their favorite exhibits from before and explore some new ones as well.  Because the Science Center is a an ASTC Passport participant, they offer a reciprocal admission program with other Science Center and museum memberships from around the country.  Thanks to this program, the kids' cousins from Delaware were able to join us for free!

My sister and I, along with the five cousins, spent more than 5 hours at the Science Center checking out all the exhibits and watching the demonstrations.  Our kids range in age from 6 to 9 years old and they all loved it.  While younger kids might be a little too small for some of the exhibits, toddlers and preschoolers would love the large Children's Room, the dinosaur exhibits and many of the other exhibits. Older children would be able to understand even more of the science principles that are at work in the displays and demonstrations.

Checking out some of the many exhibits

Learning about tornadoes

Discovering about pullies.

Optical illusions can make you silly!

Uncovering a dinosaur fossil

Lying on a bed of nails (the kids LOVED this!)

Another hit ~ sounds of the human body

They could have stayed at the water play area for HOURS!

Doing some experiments of their own in the Wet Lab

Learning new facts at various demonstrations

Learning about static electricity

An experiment about air pressure

Finding out about color perception

The Baltimore Inner Harbor area 

also has lots of shops and restaurants, 

the National Aquarium, the Orioles and Ravens' Stadiums, 

Fort McHenry and lots more, 

making it a fun weekend destination for families.

Easy Peach Cobbler

Fresh, local peaches are now in season here.  It was a gorgeous day outside on Friday so we headed out to a local orchard for some peach picking.  The kids had fun and we ended up with a half bushel of yummy peaches.  

Picking a perfect peach

That's a lot of peaches!

As soon as we got the peaches home, the kids started begging me to make their peaches into a peach pie.  Unfortunately, I'm not much of a baker and I know a homemade pie crust is way outside my skill set, so I set off to find an alternative that was more do-able for me.  I found THIS recipe on the Food Network site for an Easy Peach Cobbler ~ what a hit!!  It wasn't hard to make and we all thought it was delicious.

Right out of the oven

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch  of salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups peeled, pitted and thinly sliced fresh peaches (5 to 6 medium peaches)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Several dashes of ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Pour the melted butter into a 13" x 9" baking dish

3.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup of sugar,  baking powder, and salt and mix well. Stir in the milk, mixing until just combined. Pour the batter over the butter but do not stir them together.

4.  In a small saucepan, combine the peaches, lemon juice, and remaining cup of sugar and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Pour the peaches over the batter without stirring them together. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired ( I used a little bit of cinnamon).

5.  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden-brown. Serve warm or cold.  (We loved it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!!)

We have a ton of peaches left, so we'll probably make this recipe again soon and try out a few other peach dishes too.

Sharing the peachy goodness at:



C.R.A.F.T. 
Running with Glitter 
Under the Table and Dreaming 
I heart Naptime 
Craft-O-Maniac 
Homemaker on a Dime 
 Making the World Cuter
Skip to My Lou 
The Girl Creative 
Sugar Bee Crafts 
Sugar and Dots 
Gluesticks
Somewhat Simple 
Tatertots and Jello 
 Be Different, Act Normal

Wheaton Regional Park (Wheaton, MD)

Here's another fun outing for those local to Maryland or planning a trip to the Washington, DC region...

Wheaton Regional Park, located in the suburbs of Washington DC, has a few different areas.  I already shared about the fun we had at seeing the Butterflies at Brookside Gardens, but wanted to also share the fun we had in the Shorefield area of the park.  You can either walk from one area to the other (it's a fairly long walk, but pretty) or go back out the main roads and enter through another entrance.

I'd heard other people talk about the fun miniature train and carousel, but we didn't have a chance to see them on our other visits to Brookside Gardens.  I'm so glad we ventured over to that area on our latest visit.

The kids LOVED the miniature train ride.  Tickets were just $1.75 a piece and it was a fairly long ride through the woods.  We were even lucky enough to see a few deer while on our ride.  (NOTE: the train does not operate if the tracks are wet at all, so check their Facebook page before you go if there's been any rain recently)

Waiting to leave the station

Heading through the open field

Then going through the woods

The carousel was a hit too (and also $1.75 a ticket).  It was built in 1915 and spent many years on the National Mall in DC.

There's also a stocked pond at the park.  My son declared that he definitely wants to come back and go fishing after we saw lots of little fish swimming around.

We were really lucky to see this beautiful buck just off the path we were walking along.

They are replacing the older playground at the park with a brand new Adventure Playground.  It was still under construction (slated to reopen this Fall 2011), but looks incredible so far.  We'll definitely be making a trip down in a few months to test out those huge slides!!

Between our time at Brookside Gardens and then the Train and Carousel area of the park, we spent almost 5 hours enjoying a nice, Summer day!

Butterflies at Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, MD)

For the past few years, the kids and I have made the short trek to Wheaton, MD (a suburb of Washington, DC) to visit Brookside Gardens.  The outdoor gardens are beautiful (and FREE!) with paths, fountains, gazebos, ponds and tons of great spots to snap a few photos.  There's a nature center, gift shop and cute children's garden with a little treehouse.  

However, the main reason we go back each year is to see the Wings of Fancy exhibit.  Hundreds (maybe even thousands) of butterflies fly freely inside an indoor conservatory.  The large room is filled with several trees and bushes and lots of colorful flowers.  There are many species of butterflies that will flutter all around you as they move from flower to flower.  Volunteers are on hand to point out facts about the butterflies and answer any questions.

I probably took 50 photos ~ there were tons of pretty butterflies!

There is a small fee ($6 for adults, $4 for kids 3 and older), but we think it's totally worth it for the neat experience.  Plus, you can reenter more than once on the same day.  We often check out the butterflies, wander around the gardens, then go back to see the butterflies again.  Strollers aren't allowed inside the exhibit, but it's not that big so it's easy to carry your little one or let them walk.  Also, when the temperatures outside are too high, the exhibit will close early ( We found that out the hard way last summer).  If you check their Facebook page, they will announce any changes.

If you're local, or planning a visit to the Washington DC area, I think it's definitely worth a visit!  If you're not local, see if there might be something similar nearby ~ it really is a cool experience.

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip:

Getting up close!

You were allowed to touch the butterflies at the volunteer's stand.

A butterfly landed on her dress!

They had some magnifying glasses for a better look.

The Children's Garden

A Gnome's Home!

In the treehouse

On a butterfly bench

A few shots of my cute kids!

(I really want to learn how to use my new camera 

so I can get the lighting and focus better) 

And, finally, some more butterflies!

The one on the bottom right was one of my favorite shots.

Brookside Gardens is part of the larger Wheaton Regional Park.  In the past, we just focused on the Butterfly Exhibit and surrounding gardens.  This year, we explored more of the Regional Park and discovered an awesome train and carousel.  Check out my post HERE for the fun we had there!

Sherwood Gardens (Baltimore, MD)

Happy Easter, Everyone!

Not only did the kids get a huge kick out of their Easter Scavenger Hunt this morning and not only was it a gorgeous 85 degrees here in Maryland today, but Easter coincided perfectly with the tulips being in full bloom at Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore!  So, after church, while the kids were still dressed in their Easter best, we went to walk through the gardens and snap a few pictures!

If you're lucky enough to be local or if you're ever in Baltimore in late April / early May, it's definitely worth a stop.  You can even combine a stroll through the gardens with other stops.   They're very close to the Johns Hopkins University campus and the Baltimore Museum of Art and less than 20 minutes from the Maryland Zoo and the downtown Inner Harbor attractions.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Over 80,000 bulbs are planted each year.

They weren't fighting and I got it on camera!

Guess whose  favorite color is yellow?

Like twins, but just sisters ~ they call themselves "twisters"!

Not even posed!  He actually enjoyed himself at the gardens (after some initial grouchiness!)

Tulips of every color!

My beautiful oldest daughter!

Doesn't he look so handsome?

My little princess!