The Baltimore Museum of Industry can be easy to overlook among the many other kid-friendly attractions in Baltimore, but it’s well worth a look.
My family and I (with children 10, 8.5, 6, and 1.5) visit a lot of museums and the Baltimore Museum of Industry stands out as being different in a great way. Instead of a bunch of exhibits behind ropes, this museum creates replicas of real life as it existed in the olden days and traces progress through the Industrial Revolution.
Families can explore what a traditional deli was like, walk into a pharmacy from 1910, a cannery, a print shop with a working Linotype machine, a 1929 garment factory, a machine shop, and other blasts from the past. There is also a huge room filled with planes, trains, and more with a view of Inner Harbor as well as an entire room filled with all types of cars from old food delivery trucks to electric cars.
Lest you think the museum is all about the past, an exhibit running through 2019, explores the making of video games. Video Game Wizards – Transforming Science and Art into games takes visitors through various steps of creating video games with kids able to see the result at the end.
Each room has a green box filled with toys and books related to the theme of the room. For example, kids can dress up in the garment factory, play with toy cars in the car room, or read a book while looking at boats in the Inner Harbor. Saturdays are a great day to visit with kids for their Weekend Workers program that features a different STEM activity each week. Preschoolers can attend a Tuesday morning Wee Workers program.
Adults are $12.00, children are $7.00, and children 6 and under are free. There is a parking lot with free parking. The museum is all on one floor and is stroller-friendly.
If you are looking for somewhere new to explore give the Baltimore Museum of Science and Industry a try!
