Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in baltimore, MD

Must-See Event: The Kinetic Sculpture Race

April 27, 2009

The Kinetic Sculpture Race, one of my favorite annual events (now in its 11th year!), is coming up this Saturday, May 2.  And though I will try to describe the race with the rich, evocative detail it deserves, I will fail, because words cannot possibly do justice to what unfolds, come rain or shine, every first Saturday of May in Baltimore.

If you've ever wondered about the mobility of a massive, pink, fluffy poodle, or about the buoyancy of a "boat" constructed of otters, then this, my friend, is the event for you.  Sponsored by the American Visionary Art Museum, the Kinetic Sculpture Race is a showcase of some of the best-looking--and most durable--human-powered sculptures on the East Coast . . . or anywhere.  It's also an open-air people-watching extravaganza, complete with costumed spectators and copious cheering.  If your kid digs costumes, now's the time to break out the capes, boas, masks and cowboy hats, as costume-wearing is highly encouraged and very much part of the overall scene.  Rubber chickens also figure prominently, as do paper smiles-on-sticks.  Silliness and oversized animals abound.
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Books on Wheels

by Laura Stallard Petza

December 04, 2008

This post is dedicated to the transportation nuts, to the kids who, like my son, are so obsessed with trains and cars that they mumble about them in their sleep. There are a lot of great car and train books out there--I should know; we own most of them--but I've narrowed down five of our all-time favorites. Trains: A Pop-Up Railroad Book by Robert Crowther (illustrator) Our copy,  Read more...