Port Discovery Children's Museum is a non-profit institution located in the historic Fish Market building in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland's Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The ...
. It is 80,000 square feet and has three floors of exhibits and programs designed to be interactive and educational. It receives more than 265,000 visitors annually. The museum's focus is on children ages birth through 10 and their caregivers.
The museum is served by the
Baltimore Metro Subway's Shot Tower
A shot tower is a tower designed for the production of small-diameter shot balls by free fall of molten lead, which is then caught in a water basin. The shot is primarily used for projectiles in shotguns, and for ballast, radiation shielding ...
/Market Place station.
History
The original Baltimore Children's Museum was a Baltimore City agency founded in 1976 and was originally housed in
The Cloisters
The Cloisters, also known as the Met Cloisters, is a museum in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City. The museum, situated in Fort Tryon Park, specializes in European medieval art ...
, a historic property located in Baltimore County. The property and structure were donated to the City and the Museum operated out of this location for nearly 20 years. In 1990, the Baltimore Children's Museum formed its own 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and merged with the Maryland Children's Museum. The merged entity's Board of Directors, along with Baltimore's Mayor Kurt Schmoke, decided to relocate the museum to downtown Baltimore to reach a broader audience. A 35-million dollar capital campaign, led by the Board of Directors, resulted in the renovation of Downtown's historic Fish Market building, which became the new home to Port Discovery Children's Museum in December 1998.
The building underwent major renovations in 2019. It added several new exhibits as well as a lunchroom and additional restrooms. The renovation cost $10.5 million.
In February 2022, the museum also functioned as a children's vaccine clinic for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Exhibits
* SkyClimber
* The Port
* Art Showcase - a rotating art exhibits
* BGE Studio Workshop
* PD Presents
* Tangram Wall
* Chessie's Grotto
* Kick It Up!
*
Royal Farms
Royal Farms is a privately owned chain of convenience stores headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The company operates more than 200 stores throughout Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia with plans to expand ...
Convenience Store and Fill’er Up Station
* Adventure Expeditions
* The Oasis
* Tot Trails
* Over/Under Weaving Wall
* Wonder Widgets
* The Overlook
* Previews, Pop-Ups & Prototypes
* Sensory Wall
* Tiny's Diner
* Wonders of Water (WoW!)
* Harvey M. Meyerhoff Gallery
Awards and accolades
Port Discovery has served over 2.5 million visitors and ranks among the top Children's Museums in the U.S. by
Parents Magazine
''Parents'' was an American monthly magazine founded in 1926 that featured scientific information on child development geared to help parents in raising their children. Subscribers were notified of the magazine’s dissolution via a postcard maili ...
(2015) and Forbes (2012).
In 2009, Port Discovery received the MetLife Foundation and
Association of Children's Museums Promising Practice Award for their partnership with PACT: Helping Children with Special Needs.
In January 2011, Port Discovery was designated as a “Good to Grow Museum” for promoting healthy living for families. They are one of six children's museums out of 350 nationally and internationally to receive this designation. This national recognition comes from the
Association of Children's Museums.
References
External links
*
Port Discovery Children's Museum Photo Gallery
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Inner Harbor, Baltimore
Museums in Baltimore
Children's museums in Maryland
1998 establishments in Maryland
Museums established in 1998