FAMILY TIME

Let’s face it, between school, sports, and seemingly endless extracurricular activities, family time is hard to come by in our highly structured, fast-paced world.

While we may not have all the answers for getting your little ones to turn their glazed eyes away from a screen in favor of some good old-fashioned family bonding time, we do have some suggestions for experiencing a new kind of landscape. The fun kind. The outdoors kind. The kind that will have your family making memories to last a lifetime in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.

RAINY DAY & INDOOR FUN

Nothing says adventure like a shot from a nerf-tipped arrow. No, we’re serious! DodgeBow in Hanover is an exhilarating game that brings together two beloved games, dodgeball and archery. If you can dodge a ball, you can dodge an arrow! Break up into teams or gang up on dear old dad. No matter the combination, you’ll have a blast.

Looking for action minus the face-to-face combat? Try an Escape Room adventure! Match your family’s wit and intelligence against the clock to escape the room on time. With a wide spectrum of easy-to-expert Escape Room options throughout the county, you’ll easily find the fit that’s right for you.

BWI/ARUNDEL MILLS ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT

Next-level fun abounds in and around the BWI/Arundel Mills Entertainment District. Located just minutes from Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Arundel Mills Mall is Maryland’s largest outlet and value retail shopping, dining, and entertainment destination. It also happens to be the home of a castle where armored knights compete at the pleasure of their queen at Medieval Times and Tournament. It’s a journey back in time that kindles the imagination of the young and young at heart. Best of all, everybody gets to eat with their hands—since dining utensils are banned in the mythical kingdom.

Our farm is more than growing plants and animals. It’s about community and connecting that community with any aspect of farming that speaks to them. Whether it’s therapy with a mule, stretching in goat yoga or purchasing our produce everyone is welcome to enjoy and grow with us.

GERARDO MARTINEZ, Owner, Wild Kid Acres

An epic gaming adventure awaits at Dave & Buster’s where family members can bowl, play billiards, or strategize to outsmart a video game. Parents will welcome the happy hour specials, military discounts, kid-friendly menus, and the opportunity to watch their favorite sports on the big screen while the kids play. What’s next? A movie at Arundel Mills’ Cinemark Egyptian 24 Theaters.

In Their Footsteps

In Annapolis and Anne Arundel County it’s easy to lace family time with learning every step of the way. Annapolis is often called “a museum without walls,” and strolling the city’s 18th-century brick-lined streets is the best way to take it all in. Our companion article, 33 Sights to See (on page 33 of this guide), includes an informative list of must-see sites that played a significant role in Annapolis’ and our nation’s history.

The Annapolis: An American Story exhibition at the Museum of Historic Annapolis recounts more than 400 years of Annapolis history, beginning with the Indigenous and Native peoples who worked the land and harvested the Bay and continuing through the years of slavery, emancipation, the Civil Rights Movement, to present-day struggles for equality and justice. The exhibition introduces visitors to additional learning experiences that await them at the Annapolis Maritime Museum, Banneker-Douglass Museum, U.S. Naval Academy, Maryland State House, William Paca House and Garden, Hammond-Harwood House, and more. A Discover Annapolis Trolley tour, African American History & Heritage Walking Tour and a Colonial History Walking Tour led by guides in colonial attire are among the specialty tours that provide insights into the city’s storied past.

If African American history is high on your list, be sure to visit the Banneker-Douglass Museum. Located in downtown Annapolis, the museum is dedicated to preserving Maryland’s African American and Black heritage. Housed in the first African Methodist Episcopal Church of Annapolis, the museum serves as the state’s official repository for African American material culture.

Stop by the 26 West Street Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Visitors Center for more information about tours and transportation during your visit. Our volunteer information specialists will help you craft an itinerary that most suits your interests.

Farms

Wild Kid Acres in Edgewater could be the most intriguing farm/petting zoo you’ll ever encounter. Rescued chickens, turkeys, goats, horses, pigs, cows, and alpacas roam freely on this quaint fiveacre farm. Mental, emotional, and physical health are at the forefront of every activity at the working farm. Goat Yoga and Pilates in the Pasture are among the activities you and your kids can enjoy. No visit is complete without a photo of Tina, their Highland cow.

Focused on growing food and medicine using the principles of permaculture and regenerative agriculture, Honey’s Harvest Farm in Lothian produces and sells honey, elderberry syrup, eggs, and organically grown vegetables and herbs. Their products are available on site at their First Sunday Farmer’s Markets. They also offer appointment-only educational experiences and tours, seasonal workshops, classes, and farm-totable catered meals.

Open Spaces

Just south of Annapolis lies a stretch of rolling farmland that is steeped in history and inextricably linked to the Chesapeake Bay. Here, the pace of life moves with the rhythm of the tides, and the villages of Galesville, Lothian, Deale, and Shady Side provide picture perfect opportunities for exploring Anne Arundel County’s more than 500 miles of shoreline. South County invites families to slow down, breath the fresh air, and take in Mother Nature at her best with opportunities for birding, biking, hiking, and beach-going. You’ll also enjoy delicious kid-friendly waterside dining. Insider’s Tip–Beverly Triton Nature Park is a favorite for dog parents, too!

With all that disconnects us, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County invites families to connect over new adventures and experiences. When you glimpse a blue heron lifting out of the marsh in the distance as you enjoy Chesapeake Bay breezes and feasting on steamed crabs with the ones you hold dear, your spirit stills, and all of you can agree, it’s been a great day!