Can you believe Spring Break is around the corner? For many families everywhere, Spring Break means coming up with activities to keep the children entertained. If you are within driving distance of Maryland and you aren’t sure what to do with your children during the long break, you’re in the right place. Featured on Theresa’s Reviews are some top, family-friendly attractions in Baltimore.
Spring Break Family Fun In Baltimore
Since I moved to Maryland a few years ago, I have explored several fun places – Ocean City, Howard County, and more – but Baltimore has the amenities that only a major city can offer. Whether you live in Baltimore or are just visiting, you can find plenty to do with your family. In the next month, I plan to visit many attractions in Baltimore and to share my ideas for Spring Break family fun in this guide.
Maryland Science Center At Baltimore’s Inner Harbor
For an educational and entertaining Spring Break family fun experience, the Baltimore Science Center offers fun for the whole family. With interactive exhibits, children actively learn and explore at their own pace. Whether you are playing tug of war or lifting your child into the air with a pulley, the games are hands on, exciting, and include the whole family. With gigantic replicas, learning about the state crustacean and dinosaurs will captivate children as well as adults.
Since the building has three floors, you can make your way through the building in a couple of hours, but you can find plenty to do if you stay longer. If you have young children, the kids’ area is the perfect place to spend the afternoon. Children will love playing in the water and exploring in a safe environment.
Since this was our first time to visit, I was glad to discover that my whole family had a wonderful time. Check out more footage of our visit to the Maryland Science Center at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor by clicking here.
Children of all ages discover how exciting science can be at the Baltimore Science Center.
Little Italy
After spending the morning at the Science Center, you can walk past the beautiful Inner Harbor to get to Little Italy. Nestled away only a block from the touristy attractions of the Inner Harbor, Little Italy is a neighborhood where you can find beautiful street lights, St. Leo the Roman Catholic Church, and a Bocci court. You can see more by clicking here.
One highlight of our visit was dining at Da Mimmo’s Restaurant. Not only does the restaurant have classic Italian food, but you can also get plenty of the state specialty, crab. I tried several appetizers and sampled the whole family’s entrees. My personal favorites were the cannolis and the Eggplant Soufflé. If you want to try Italian food in Little Italy or have a special occasion to celebrate, this is a great choice. Read more in the Theresa’s Reviews DaMimmo Restaurant Review.
Little Italy offers more than just delicious food! With a bocci court, a beautiful Catholic church, and nice streets to walk down, this neighborhood shows a side of Baltimore that the family will enjoy.
The National Aquarium In Baltimore
When you visit the Baltimore Aquarium, you can easily spend the whole day there. Since we used to have a family membership and have visited several times, we spent only the afternoon there. It’s hard not to love the Aquarium more each time you visit! With five levels and a 4-D immersion theater, the Aquarium is an ideal spot for Spring Break family fun.
Whether you want to see sharks, dolphins, or turtles, the aquarium has many interesting exhibits. Children love getting up close to the sea animals. My favorite is the tropical rain forest room where if you look close enough, you can spot a sloth and a tamarin. The snakes and the jellyfish were especially interesting to see in person.
As a side note, you can get your parking validated there. I would recommend visiting early in the morning to avoid crowds. Check out more about our time at the Baltimore Aquarium by clicking here.
At the Baltimore Aquarium, you can see many incredible sea creatures.
2017 Light City
Last year was Baltimore’s inaugural Light City. This free festival runs from March 31 to April 9th. You can see the entire city come to life with beautiful lights. Some highlights include the 1.5 mile BGE Light Art Walk along Inner Harbor and a mini Light City for little ones. With the “Brilliant Baltimore” initiative, 62 of Baltimore’s most iconic downtown buildings and attractions will be illuminated. Since this event is so visual, children will love seeing the fun lights with you. If you are staying at a hotel in the city, this is a great way to end the evening.
For Spring Break family fun, check out 2017 Light City. Photo credit Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
The Baltimore Museum of Art
With free admission and a collection that includes Henri Matisse, Man Ray, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso, the Baltimore Museum of Art shows such breathtaking artwork that both children and their parents will be happy to visit. For an enjoyable activity with your children, take them to the Family Sunday art workshops. Every Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00, you can try out a new craft. With guidance from a professional artist, children can discover how good they are at being artists too!
My daughters loved visiting for a book-making workshop. When we went, we spent half an hour making the craft, and we found seating, even though it was a popular place. Children of all ages can get a lot from the experience. From my younger daughter to the pre-teens who were there making art too, everyone enjoyed the workshop.
At the Free Family Sunday at the Baltimore Museum of Art, children enjoy making a new craft each week with the guidance of an art expert!
Medieval Times
At Medieval Times, your family will enjoy the excitement of journeying back in time to view knights, princesses, kings, and more. From eating with your hands to watching knights joust, the experience is unlike anything else. From April 11th to April 13th, guests will receive a free Jr. Knight’s Training and free activity book for each child. The special event is first come first serve. Rates for tickets over spring break are $37.95 for adults and $29.95 for students and children if you use the code SPR3729.
While enjoying your spring break, visit Medieval Times for a fun performance.
The Maryland Zoo In Baltimore
At the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, children will enjoy seeing over 200 species. You can check out fun daily events that include the morning penguin feeding, pelican feeding, and more. Some upcoming special events include Craft Safari, Bunny BonanZoo, Breakfast with Bunny, and Stroller Safari. Children can also splash in the water at the Children’s Zoo and get up-close with giraffes, goats, and more! Read more in Incredible Animal Encounters At The Maryland Zoo In Baltimore.
The Maryland Zoo has many fascinating exhibits that will intrigue adults and children.
Historic Ships In Baltimore
If your children are interested in history, stepping aboard four Historic Ships on the Baltimore Harbor is an incredible experience. You can walk through the sleeping quarters, dining area, and more to see how the Navy workmen lived.
Historic Ships in Baltimore
Since I focused on learning about WWII when I majored in history, I was especially interested in the USCGC Taney, which was at Pearl Harbor. You can also see the USS Tork, Lightship 116 Chesapeake, and the USS Constellation. My daughter’s favorite was the submarine. She was also excited to participate in a recreation of using a canon on the Lightship 116 Chesapeake. Whether you want to visit for a day or sign your children up for an overnight program, there is a lot to learn on these ships!
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From participating in historical re-enactments to seeing a ship that was at Pearl Harbor, the Historic Ships in Baltimore provides a kid-friendly way to learn history.
What are your tips for Spring Break family fun? Share some ideas in the comments!
Disclosure
I received a free item, but it in no way influenced my opinion.
We’ve been to Baltimore a few times and really liked it. The Inner Harbor is awesome and the aquarium there is so much fun.
What great ideas, Baltimore has been on my must visit list for a while, I’ve got to get out there!
Ever since either was young the science center has been my favorite place ever! Such a great place for kids! Also as a Md girl myself, Im just in love with Baltimore!
I have not explored Maryland yet but live fairly close to check it out. Thanks for providing some ideas.
This looks like such an adorable little town! I love visiting places like this.
The Science Center sounds like a really great day trip for kids! I’ve never been to Baltimore, but if I ever plan a trip there I will re-visit this post, great ideas.
Here is my Baltimore post http://www.mommatogo.com/48-hours-in-baltimore-maryland/
We were thinking maybe D.C. For spring break
Sounds like you had a fun time! I’m hoping to visit DC soon too.
I’m from the DMV but I live in FL now. I love Baltimore. I bet spring break there would be so fun for kids.
Great ideas! I especially think that the aquarium is perfect!
I have been wanting to visit Baltimore. Love this guide.
I’ve gone to Baltimore once but didn’t visit any of these places… On my next trip 🙂
I’ve never been to Baltimore but it looks beautiful! Looks like you had lots of fun!
I love Baltimore! I love visiting the aquarium, I love being by the bay! I’m hoping to get down to check out Light City this year too!
I love visiting science centers! I think it’s the first thing I first when I go to a new place! Then the aquarium! The light show though sounds so interesting! I love when cities do fun things with lights! I’ll have to keep that time in mind for when I get a chance to go to Baltimore!
I have a friend in Baltimore and they absolutely love it! They have two small children and area always sharing photos of fun stuff they are dong around town.
What a fun spring break. I would love to visit Baltimore one day. xx
I love Baltimore. I have only been there once but it was a fabulous trip.
I’ve never been to Baltimore but it sounds like a lot of fun. I love the itinerary. We have a little one that would definitely enjoy the science centre and the aquarium.
You can never go wrong with dining in Little Italy. Yum and double yum! And how much fun is that science center? I bet the activities there could entertain kids for hours and hours!
I would be all over Little Italy! We don’t have that in Seattle and I think my family would just eat tons and tons of yummy food!
These all look like fun! Your post brings to mind a few things I can do with my kids here in Salt Lake. I wish we had something like that light show though, it looks really cool.
Wow, these all look like fun places to visit for families with kids in Baltimore. I’m not sure if we will ever be that far north, but if so I want to check them out!
Looks like you had a wonderful time! The lights must have been absolutely magical, can tell just from the pictures! x
Thank you for that quick tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. There is so much to do, I live in NYC and I think the trip down is only a few hours so we might get there.
We aren’t that far from Baltimore so I’d love to make another weekend trip there. The aquarium looks awesome and who doesn’t love Italian food!?
how fun! Baltimore is quite a ways away from me, but If i am ever in the area I will know what to do.
We loved the inner harbor but haven’t been back in many years. I hope to see some of the places you mentioned if we go back- especially Little Italy!
It looks like there is so much fun stuff to do. I have never been to that area but I would love to visit. We love aquariums.
I’ve never been to Baltimore before but it’s not that far from me so I have to check it out!
I haven’t been to Baltimore in a few years but I’m constantly reminded of what a great city it is!
I would love to take my son to an aquarium! He would fall in love with all the creatures!
What a fun spring break activity – we love making memories with our kids for spring break!
Never been to Baltimore, but will definitely love checking out the Aquarium with the kids if we ever find ourselves there. And Little Italy for sure because we looove food! 🙂
We love Aquariaums! I need to add this one to our list of ones to visit.
I have never been to Baltimore but it looks like fun to explore. I would definitely go to the aquarium! I love them 🙂
We live a few hours from Baltimore. I have been a few times with my husband while he was stationed there but we never got to do any of these fun things!!
I love Baltimore, what an incredible city. We seek out aquariums where ever we go, our favorite place to explore in every town.
I live super close to Baltimore! I live in Reston Virginia. These places sound awesome!! I’m going to put the light show on my list of date places to go!
There looks like there is lots of fun things to do in Baltimore. Hope you have a great spring break!
We so want to visit Baltimore – it’s on our list, so we’ll file these tips away!
I bet Baltimore would be a great place to visit! I would love to check it out with the whole family.
I dont have kids but many of my friends kids are gearing of for Spring Break. I will be honest I never thought of Baltimore for being a spring break type of place but this is a great resource for locals.
I didn’t realize that Baltimore had so many fun things to see and experience. My Sister in Law has a house there so we will definitely be checking some of these out.
I would like to explore Baltimore more than just passing through it in a car. I wouldn’t mind checking out restaurants in Little Italy.
Baltimore is such a beautiful area. I would love to take my family and see the sights for ourselves
Baltimore sounds like a wonderful place to visit! For Spring break we are heading to St. Louis this year to visit my dad but he use to work in Baltimore and he always told me about it! He loves it here! I’ll have to check these out if we are ever in the area!
I would love to visit Baltimore someday! Little Italy looks like so much fun!
There is clearly so much to do! We took the kids to DC for the holiday trip, maybe Baltimore should be next!
These all look like super fun activities! I think my little one would love the aquarium!
The aquarium and science museum look awesome! I love finding great things like this in new cities!
Light City looks amazing. We are heading to Virginina in a few weeks and I would love to make a stop in Baltimore to see this. Thanks for sharing these great attractions!
I’ve never been to Baltimore. These are excellent ideas. I’ll check them out when I get the chance to go there 🙂
I remember going to the aquarium when I was a kid. I’d love to see those lights!
Neat I’ve never been to Baltimore before! The Light City looks like a fin experience – reminds me of the Vivid Light Festival in Sydney, Australia.
SO many fun things to do in the city! I went for the first time last year and had such a great time before we headed over to D.C. Thanks for sharing!
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I hope to visit Maryland soon!! I have two friends that live there, one of them is having a baby soon, so I definitely need a trip there soon. Looks like there’s a lot of fun to get into there too. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
-Dean
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