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.

Indian Echo Caverns (Hummelstown, PA)

This is the first of several posts on fun outings we've gone on this summer.  There will be a few more "travel" posts in the next couple days and then I'll be back to sharing some projects and crafts.

A few weeks ago, we planned an end-of-summer getaway to Hershey Park.  We weren't going to go into the amusement park until the evening, so I wanted to find a little something else to do in the area that the kids would enjoy.  I came across Indian Echo Caverns in my internet wanderings and the kids were excited to go into a real cave again (we went to Luray Caverns in Virginia a couple years ago and they LOVED it!)

While Indian Echo Caverns is not nearly as big as Luray, we still really enjoyed our underground adventure.  When you purchase your tickets, you're put into a group of about 20 people led by a tour guide.  The walking tours depart about every 10 minutes or so and last about 45 minutes.  The tour guide we had was very entertaining and pointed out a lot of interesting cave formations and facts about the cave.  The temperature inside the cave stays at 52 degrees year round, so I packed lightweight jackets for the kids.  Above-ground, there's a large gift shop, small playground and petting zoo, and a gem mining area.

Some of the cool cavern formations

Me and my cave explorers!

Panning for "gems"

While I don't think the caverns would be worth a special trip to the area, I think they're a really interesting place to spend an hour or so if you're planning a visit to Hershey/Harrisburg.

We're back!

My crew on the first day of school!

What a hectic end to our summer and start of the school year!  We typically spend the last week or so of summer getting in a bunch of last-minute outings and little trips before school starts and this year was no different.  

However, when Hurricane Irene hit our area the last weekend of August, our plans for the start of school got a little sidetracked.  We lost power late Saturday night and it didn't come back until the following Friday evening!  Then, we waited two more days for our phones and internet to be restored.  The widespread power outages caused the start of the school year to be delayed two days, so the kids spent two extra days home with no electricity, then went to school for three days while we still had no power at home.  I've started working at their school as a kindergarten assistant, so I've also been adjusting to a new schedule after years of being home full-time with the kids ( the adjustment became much easier after the electricity came back and I had a working coffee pot  and hairdryer!)

My oldest is a big third grader!

My little dude is now a second grader!

And my "baby" is now off to school as a new kindergartner!

So... I apologize for the lack of posting these past few weeks!  Over the next few days, I'll be sharing some of our recent outings and trips for any readers who are local or planning a trip to the mid-Atlantic states.  Then, I'll be back to posting and share some school ideas and fall crafts and activities!