Good morning and happy Thursday! This week, our Weekend Family Fun for May 14-17 is divided into three categories—Any Day Fun, events scheduled for specific days and activities just for grownups.
Gov. Larry Hogan announced the lifting of the stay-at-home order starting Friday at 5 p.m. Some stores, salons and other business will be open with restrictions. Check the websites of your favorite businesses. Pack a mask, stay safe and enjoy your weekend, parents!
Any Day Fun
Color the Ocean
Have you watched the National Aquarium’s live cams recently? Kids can check out the Blacktip Reef or Pacific Coral Reef and learn about the myriad of life forms there. There is also a host of downloadable art so children can color the ocean. aqua.org
Story and Crafts
Did you know if you call Baltimore County Public Library’s Storyline, a librarian will read a book to your child? That seems like a fun mini break for kids. Every week there are six stories, all perfect for kids ages 3 to 10. Get that number programed into your phone, ASAP!
Baltimore County Public Library also hosts preschool story time on Fridays at 10 a.m. registration is required and can be done right here. Enoch Pratt Free Library hosts craft time on Fridays at 4 p.m. Find out more here. Check out both library systems’ full calendars of fun stuff for teens and adults as well.
More Stories
Penguin Kids offers live story times every weekday at 11:15 a.m. on Facebook and Instagram. Random House Kids has readings from its authors at its Instagram (@randomhousekids). Kids even can learn to draw a unicorn with illustrator Brigette Barrager. Another Instagram to follow? MacMillan Kids Books (@macmillankidsbooks), which has instructions for a water protector activity kit, lots of giveaways and MacKids Streaming Schoolhouse, with a lineup of author-led classes for next week.
Egg Watch Cam
Scuttle and Buttercup, The Maryland Zoo’s two trumpeter swans, are nesting and the eggs are due to hatch in mid-May. That’s any day now! Watch all the action right here right here.
Saturday
Farmers Markets
Two farmers markets are open today. The first, held at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on Key Highway, runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The second is at Cross Street Market in Federal Hill and is open 9 a.m. to noon. Visit websites for both markets to find out what they will offer and how they will practice social distancing. thebmi.org; crosstreetfarmersmarket.com
Family Story: Jumping into the Records
Reginald F. Lewis Museums hosts a virtual genealogy workshop for those who want to dig into their family history. Genealogy expert Lyndra Marshall discusses the ways to research vital records and use them to piece together a family’s story. Members $5, nonmembers $8. 10-11:30 a.m. lewismuseum.org
Live Reptile Q&A
Got a kid who likes critters? The Natural History Society of Maryland will host a Zoom Q&A with reptile expert Tom Scollins. Learn about alligators, snakes, lizards and more. Noon to 1 p.m. Find the Natural History Society on Facebook or check out the group’s website. marylandnature.org
Kerplunk LIVE!
Every Saturday, Creative Alliance hosts a free art workshop for kids through Facebook Live. This week is the first of a two-part workshop. Kids will make a superhero action figure out of recyclables that they will also paper maché and decorate. Holy art class, Batman! This promises to be a lot of fun. 11 a.m.-noon. creativealliance.org
Sunday
Free Family Sundays at Home
You can’t go to the Baltimore Museum of Art, but you can still create and be inspired. The BMA has taken their popular free Sunday art workshops and made them virtual. Visit here to sign up for new art projects emailed to families every Friday. Recent projects have included a rain stick, watercolors made from coffee and a soap carving. artbma.org
And now … the Grownups’ Corner
It’s like the kiddie table, but older and cooler. Here’s where we have curated a few things just for the moms and dads—because we all need something to make it feel like a weekend.
On Thursday, Beth-Ann Wilson hosts a cocktail workshop through Zoom and in partnership with the Creative Alliance. Learn how to make a Tequila Ronnie from Snake Hill Tavern’s signature cocktail menu. 6:30 p.m. $10. creativealliance.org
We’ve all gotten the memo about meditating. Sure, it’s wonderful. But we need something new here, something else that lets us zone out. That something is an adult coloring book from Baltimore’s TBC. This is the advertising firm’s way of saluting nurses and other frontline workers.
While you’re coloring, you can sip a new beer from UNION Craft Brewing. Somebody to Lean On is a Double India Pale Ale and 100 percent of its proceeds go to the Baltimore Restaurant Relief Fund. Relax and be helpful at the same time—we like it! unioncraftbrewing.com
Don’t forget, audiences can visit SNF Parkway Theater’s site and purchase $12 virtual tickets for any film of their choice. And the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra launched BSO OffStage, where musicians give performances and host podcasts from home.
