Housing more than 16,000 creatures, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, also known as the Baltimore Aquarium, exhibits a variety of species in their naturalistic habitats. You'll find animals such as stingrays, sharks, sea turtles, bullfrogs, phytoplankton, monkeys, sloths, iguanas, and puffins. The list is perpetual so you have to check the exhibits out for yourself. You can also catch an up-close view of dolphins as they leap and tumble with the Baltimore Aquarium trainers in the live-action Dolphin Show.Select the tour title for details
Spend a few hours touring the University of Maryland Baltimore campus and learn how the University of Maryland School of Medicine began in 1807 and has been continually operating over the past 200 years.Our day will conclude with a behind the scenes tour of the M&T Bank Stadium - Home of the Baltimore Ravens.Select the tour title for details
Guides in colonial attire will take you on a tour of the historic area of Annapolis. Your tour will include the exhibit of Maryland’s historic State House, the country’s oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use. A short distance from the State House, you will pass by St. John’s College. One of its early graduates was Francis Scott Key. Continuing through the historic area, you will pass many 18th and 19th century mansions. In the shadow of these beautiful buildings, your guide will share with you some history of the famous statesmen that built these magnificent structures. Select the tour title for details
Our tour begins in an amphibious vehicle touring through historic Baltimore and into the Inner Harbor. Yes, we will go into the water in the same vehicle! Our next stop will be the B&O Railroad Museum where you’ll experience the history of railroading exploring the oldest, most historic and most comprehensive American railroad collections in the world. Our last stop will be Ft. McHenry where you will take a self-guided tour and explore the many exhibits. Select the tour title for details
Leaving from the hotel, this walking/running route takes visitors off the beaten path and deep into Baltimore's history. Visit little known but fascinating sites in the nearby neighborhoods of Little Italy, Jonestown and downtown. Stop to read about the sites or admire the historic sites as you jog on by.Select the title for details
Entertainment Program Details...
Crab Feast Dinner Cruise on the Inner Harbor
The Lady Baltimore is a favorite spot at the Inner Harbor for dining and dancing while cruising through the Patapsco. Your evening begins with boarding at 6:30pm. Have your photo taken when you board and take it home as a souvenir at the end of the evening. After departure at 7pm, the buffet opens and you’re invited to enjoy a delicious dinner while cruising down the river. During dinner our DJ’s will give a narration of the sites along the harbor. Things will liven up about 45 minutes into the cruise with a dance floor and music on each deck. You’ll board at the famous Inner Harbor and cruise past sights of interest such as World Trade Center, Baltimore, the National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, USS Constellation, Fort McHenry and much more! We’ll cruise under the Key Bridge, past Fort Carroll and then turn around for the trip back to the beautiful Inner Harbor.
Crab Feast Menu
Salad
Traditional Caesar Salad
Soup
Maryland Crab Soup
Maryland Steamed Crabs
Buffet
Alaskan Baked Salmon
Baked in a butter herb sauce
Fried Chicken
Baked Ziti
Corn on the Cob
Hush Puppies
Steamed Vegetable Medley
Accompaniments
Freshly Baked Rolls with Sweet Cream Butter
Dessert
Watermelon or Cake
Beverages
Open bar serving Beer, Wine, Soda, etc.
**Menus selections are subject to change**
Awards Banquet
5:45-6:45pm - Reception
6:45-7:45pm - Awards Presentation
7:45pm-12am - Dinner/Dancing
The Tuesday evening Awards Banquet will be held in the Harborside Ballroom at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. We'll begin with a reception in the Harborside foyer and move into the ballroom for an evening of awards and entertainment. Dance the night away to the Fabulous Hubcaps.
Tour Details...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Baltimore Aquarium Adventure
Housing more than 16,000 creatures, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, also known as the Baltimore Aquarium, exhibits a variety of species in their naturalistic habitats. You'll find animals such as stingrays, sharks, sea turtles, bullfrogs, phytoplankton, monkeys, sloths, iguanas, and puffins. The list is perpetual so you have to check the exhibits out for yourself. You can also catch an up-close view of dolphins as they leap and tumble with the Baltimore Aquarium trainers in the live-action Dolphin Show.
You will be free to explore the aquarium on you own at your leisure. Tickets will be good for admission all day. In addition to admission to the aquarium and exhibits, your ticket also includes admission to the 4D Immersion Theater and Play! The Dolphin Show.
After your adventure at the aquarium, enjoy lunch at one of the many restaurants in the Inner Harbor.
Experience 4D Immersion Theater
The Aquarium's new Immersion Theater will bring you closer to the sights, sounds, and smells of the action. The theater will b equipped with 4D capabilities, which combine the high-definition drama of a 3D film with special sensory effects such as mist and wind. Most films are transformed into 20-minute or less experiences and will virtually bring on-screen images to life with added effects such as: water mist, wind, a neck air blast, snow, bubbles, steam, leg ticklers, scents, enhanced floor lighting, and seat vibrations!
Please note: The 4D Immersion Theater contains theatrical lighting including strobe lights. Please use discretion if you have medical conditions related to your back.
Play! The Dolphin Show
What kind of games do you play with a 300-pound three-year old? PLAY!, the dolphin show at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, answers that question while bringing visitors into the dolphins’ world of learning, interaction and activity. Learn about dolphins and their environment, participate in a wild game of catch and may even get soaked by a fluke fling! With a fast-paced tempo and increased level of interaction between audience, trainers and dolphins, this show is active and participatory.
Why PLAY? Like many animals – and humans – young dolphins play to develop the skills to become successful adults. And throughout adulthood, play helps them explore their environment, search for food, attract mates, raise babies and avoid predators. At the Aquarium, the playful leaping, splashing and tumbling dolphins develop their skills, build their relationships with trainers and just have fun. PLAY! explores this dolphin world and reminds us of the importance of play in our lives.
Tour of University of Maryland Baltimore and the M&T Bank Stadium - Home of the Baltimore Ravens
Please note: This tour is limited to 50 participants
University of Maryland Baltimore campus and learn how the University of Maryland School of Medicine began in Davidge Hall in 1807 and has been continually operating over the past 200 years. Discover the significance that Westminster Hall , and one of its main characters (Frank the Body Snatcher), played in the early years of the UM School of Medicine existence. Tour the University of Maryland’s new Dental School facility – a futuristic 21st century state of the art research, teaching, and clinical facility. Hear about the future of dentistry and how they are training our next generation of dentists. Our day will conclude with a tour of the M&T Bank Stadium - Home of the Baltimore Ravens. Experience a behind the scenes tour and see how a major stadium operates and the facilities challenges they face when producing sporting events the size and magnitude produced by a major NFL team. So please join us for an afternoon that takes us back to the past, looks at the future and throws in a little football to boot!!!
Tour Schedule:
11:30am – Depart from the Marriott
12pm – University of Maryland Tour (Davidge Hall, Westminster Hall, and the School of Dentistry)
2:45pm – Depart University of Maryland for M&T Bank Stadium
3pm – M&T Stadium Tour
4pm – Depart for the Marriott
4:30pm – Arrive at the Marriott
Note: A light snack will be provided during the tour.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Three Centuries Walking Tour
Please note: This tour is limited to 50 participants
Guides in colonial attire will take you on a tour of the historic area of Annapolis. Your tour will include the exhibit of Maryland’s historic State House, the country’s oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use. A short distance from the State House, you will pass by St. John’s College. One of its early graduates was Francis Scott Key. Continuing through the historic area, you will pass many 18th and 19th century mansions. In the shadow of these beautiful buildings, your guide will share with you some history of the famous statesmen that built these magnificent structures.
Founded in 1845, the United States Naval Academy is home to 4,000 of our country’s future naval leaders. As you tour this beautiful campus (The Yard), you will experience the sense of military tradition and heritage everywhere. Your visit will include the interiors of the Naval Academy Chapel, the Crypt of John Paul Jones, and Bancroft Hall Dormitory.* The tour will conclude in the City Dock area where you will have the opportunity to browse the many shops, have lunch, or enjoy the nautical view.
*(Tours of interiors are subject to availability and may be closed without notice.)
Tour Schedule:
8:30am – Depart from the Marriott
9:30am – Annapolis Walking Tour
11:30am - 2:30pm – Free time to explore shops & have lunch on your own**
2:30pm – Depart for the Marriott
3:30pm – Arrive at the Marriott
**There are many restaurants and shops in the City Dock area and along Main St.
Please note:
- You will need to bring photo identification with you. Everyone 16 years of age and older will need to present photo identification when entering the U.S. Naval Academy.
- We suggest you dress comfortably and appropriately for the weather.Tours take place rain or shine.
- Most of the tour will take place outside. However, any building(s) that you enter are handicapped accessible.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Ride the Ducks tour, B&O Railroad Museum, and Ft. McHenry
Please note: This tour is limited to 36 participants
Our tour begins in an amphibious vehicle touring through historic Baltimore and into the Inner Harbor. Yes, we will go into the water in the same vehicle! Our next stop will be the B&O Railroad Museum where you’ll experience the history of railroading exploring the oldest, most historic and most comprehensive American railroad collections in the world. Our last stop will be Ft. McHenry where you will take a self-guided tour and explore the many exhibits.
Tour Schedule:
8:30am – Ride the Ducks Tour*
10:30am – Tour B&O Railroad Museum
12:15pm – Lunch at the museum
1:15pm – Board Bus
1:30pm – Ft. McHenry (1:40pm – 16 min.
Introductory film entitled “The Defense of
Fort McHenry”, 2pm – self-guided tour)
3pm – Board the bus for the Marriott
3:30pm – Arrive at the Marriott
*tour departs from the Marriott
Ride the Ducks - Exploreby Land and Sea on Baltimore's only Duck Tour
Experience Baltimore sightseeing fun from a duck's eye view on Baltimore's only duck tour. Travel on land and water in one amazing vehicle. Tour historic Baltimore and SPLASH into the famous Inner Harbor, one of America's oldest seaports and Baltimore's Crown Jewel. Ride The Ducks is the fun thing to do in Baltimore and it's the best Baltimore sightseeing tour. Our captains are certified history buffs, each with a love of the city and its roots.
Let us show you the main Land a-quack-tions:
Edgar Allan Poe's Grave
Star-Spangled Banner Flag House
The Battle Monument
The Washington Monument
Little Italy
Fell's Point
And much more…
B&O Railroad Museum
Where America's most important, historic and comprehensive collection lives to tell the story of railroading every day. Forty acres of heritage and a world class collection await your discovery. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum possesses the oldest, most historic and most comprehensive American railroad collections in the world. Dating from the beginning of American railroading, the collection contains locomotives and rolling stock, historic buildings, and small objects that document the impact of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) on the growth and development of early railroading and cover almost every aspect of an industry that left a permanent mark on the folklore and culture of America.
The Museum’s locomotive and rolling stock collection contains many unique examples of historically significant pieces from the B&O and other Maryland railroads and includes the finest collection of 19th century steam locomotives. The Museum’s roster of locomotives and rolling stock represent the first, last, best or only of their kind in existence today.
Ft. McHenry – National Monument and Historical Shrine
Birthplace of the National Anthem
“O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,” a large red, white and blue banner? “Whose broad stripes and bright stars . . . were so gallantly streaming!” over the star-shaped Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, September 13-14, 1814. The valiant defense of the fort by 1,000 dedicated Americans inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Our tour begins at the Visitor Center with a short film entitled “The Defense of Fort McHenry”. After this 15 minute film, you will be free to tour the fort at your leisure (for approximately an hour). The Visitor Center includes the theater, exhibits, gift shop and restrooms. The Museums include the fort, barracks and related structures. The barracks contain several exhibits: The Enlistmen's Quarters; an Electronic Map; uniform and weapons displays; videos; Junior Officers' Quarters; powder magazine; Commanding Officer's Quarters; and the 1814 Guard House.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Morning Fun Run/Walk - journey into Baltimore’s past
Leaving from the hotel, this walking/running route takes visitors off the beaten path and deep into Baltimore's history. Visit little known but fascinating sites in the nearby neighborhoods of Little Italy, Jonestown and downtown. Discover the Flag House and Star-Spangled Banner Museum, the Carroll Mansion, the Jewish Museum of Maryland and the Reginald Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture to name a few. Stop to read about the sites or admire the historic sites as you jog on by. View a map of the 3.2 mile route(The hotel is located near the Baltimore Civil War Museum, Star Attraction #5, out of 20, on the map). Our Walk/Run route is part of the Heritage Walk, a walking trail through four fascinating centuries of American history. The route connects 20 historic sites and museums in a compact area that spans four city neighborhoods: the Inner Harbor, Little Italy, Historic Jonestown, and City Center.
Photos from all of the tour locations provided courtesy of the National Park Service, B&O Railroad Museum, Ride the Ducks, University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, and M&T Bank Stadium
Please note: The 4D Immersion Theater contains theatrical lighting including strobe lights. Please use discretion if you have medical conditions related to your back.
acters (Frank the Body Snatcher), played in the early years of the UM School of Medicine existence. Tour the University of Maryland’s new 
The Visitor Center includes the theater, exhibits, gift shop and restrooms. The Museums include the fort, barracks and related structures. The barracks contain several exhibits: The Enlistmen's Quarters; an Electronic Map; uniform and weapons displays; videos; Junior Officers' Quarters; powder magazine; Commanding Officer's Quarters; and the 1814 Guard House