Right here on your right, you’ll spot a big, bold building that might look like it could still smell faintly of flounder. That’s because this was once Baltimore’s Fish Market-it pretty much supplied the city’s crab feasts for decades. Now, since 1998, it houses Port Discovery, where the only thing fishy is how much fun kids manage to have.
So, picture this: kids dashing through a three-story maze, parents trying to keep up, and somewhere in there, enough interactive exhibits to entertain a city block. Port Discovery isn’t your average “wait-your-turn” museum. This place practically demands climbing, splashing, problem-solving, and, at least for the grown-ups, the occasional deep breath.
Back in the '90s, moving the children’s museum from the outskirts into downtown wasn’t just about real estate-it was an attempt to bring the magic right to the city’s heart. The fundraising? A cool $35 million, which would be about sixty million bucks today-not bad for a place with a ball pit.
The museum isn’t just about play; it’s been nationally recognized for supporting kids of all abilities and for being one of America’s healthiest places to spend an afternoon-nice to know you can burn a few calories just trying to keep up with a six-year-old.
If you’re counting, more than 2.5 million folks have walked through these doors to discover the SkyClimber, Art Showcase, a kid-sized Royal Farms shop, and, true Baltimore style, a ‘Wonders of Water’ zone. And, in true 21st-century fashion, during the pandemic, this place doubled as a kids’ vaccine clinic. From fish to fort-building to fighting off germs…this spot has seen it all. Not bad for a building that once smelled like oysters, huh?
