All three kids happen to have February birthdays so we planned on celebrating together. When I asked my sister and brother-in-law for gift ideas, they said “we would prefer to give the kids experience gifts”.  I immediately thought sure… we can do that! There are tons of wonderful kid friendly places in Baltimore. But, after I thought about it more I was concerned that most of the places were geared toward kids over age 4, and I was hoping to find an experiential place where Kade could partake in the fun too.

For years I have seen the colorful letters that displayed Port Discovery along the Power Plant Live building next to the 83 corridor. But the only thing I knew about it was that it was a place for children. After asking a few Mommy friends about PD I decided to check them out.

Turns out Port Discovery was exactly what I was looking for! It provides interactive play and hands-on learning for ages a few months old to teens. Additionally, I thought Port Discovery was somewhat of a “chain” establishment, like ESPN Zone or Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.  Come to find out it’s unique to Baltimore! I appreciate that they take a lot of pride being a one-of-a-kind Baltimore Children’s Museum who partners with businesses active in the local community like M and T Bank, and  Royal Farms to enhance their exhibits.

 

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Port Discovery has three floors of interactive learning and experience exhibits with the coolest three story urban treehouse jungle gym all connected in the middle of each floor.  Kade was too small to play in this area but it was a hit for his older cousins!

On the first floor there was a mock Royal Farms gas station/convenience store where kids could simulate filling up a car with gas, grocery shopping and learn about the food groups. There is an area for kids to play soccer, a music room and a craft area where, on the day we went, kids were making jelly fish. When Kade wasn’t tooling around on his own two feet, we had is Veer Cruiser at the ready! {side note: There is plenty of room to bring a wagon or stroller for your little ones or to use for holding all your personal items.  And there are plenty of reserved “stroller parking” areas designated for your use.}

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On the second floor there was Tots Trail and the Water Zone! The Tots Trails is where the infants and toddlers can explore, play and learn in a special environment created just for them. We spent a little bit of time here and it was perfect for the young ones but Kade was persistent on wanting to be with his cousins.

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Most of our visit we spent on the third floor in the new immersive Native Voices exhibit, featuring New England Tribes and their customs. Kade and I read a few books on Native American culture, learned about their pottery, tried to fire up a lobster dinner, make jewelry and learn a new game. Well Kade sort of invented his own game. It was called pick up the apples and throw them off the table so Mom had to run around picking them up! There was also Tiny’s Diner where kids could work/cook in a realistic 50’s kitchen, serve food and even play music on the vintage juke box!

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We had a lovely afternoon at Port Discovery and look forward to returning.  Turns out a few of our friends have yearly memberships and we’re already planning a trip back with a few other families!

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Thanks to Port Discovery and their national sponsors for creating such a wonderful experience for Baltimore.

M&T Bank // Boston Children’s Museum // National Endowment for Humanities