The Baltimore Museum of Industry

We'd heard great things, over the years, of the Baltimore Museum of Industry, and we figured we should probably make use of these great facilities while we are still able to. Can we say, "field trip"?

It's a well-appointed joint, with all sorts of interesting displays. The grocers, cannery, workshop, apothecary, printers, tailors and more are all represented in different rooms with all the assorted items associated with the trade. Different printing presses, medicinal jars and workshop tools are all on display. 

 For those who don't know much of Baltimore's history, it's instructive; for those born and bred here, it's a celebration of local ingenuity and progress. It was incredible to see how many industrial processes got there start here in Baltimore!

The only downer was how little there "progress" there was toward making the museum "child-friendly". Most rooms had a little green box with a couple of booklets, puzzles or some Duplo inside, but that's all there was for the kids to engage with. My kids were so much more interested in the displays, which were all set up as if the workers stepped out for lunch but would resume work shortly - meaning, there were tools and cans and jars and just stuff left out for authenticity. What kid, well-behaved or no, would rather look at a picture than touch the real thing? Not mine, that's for sure.

So, while I would definitely recommend paying a visit the sometime, it might be worth waiting until your kids are in the preteen years - or so young that they're still confined to a stroller.  Maybe by the time they're old enough, the museum curators will have made some more child-friendly adjustments.