Group Educational ProgramsHome School Groups Schedule Your Visit To arrange a group visit, please call 410-326-2042 ext. 41 or email Melissa McCormick.
All program times and dates are dependant upon the availability of staff and facility.
Upon your arrival, you will be charged $2 per child to 12 years and $4 for children 13 and above as well as for adults.
We would like to offer you the following programs.
Maritime History: Featuring tours of the Maritime History Hall, the Drum Point Lighthouse and the Small Craft Shed.
Estuarine Biology: This includes a trip through the Estuarium, Marsh Walk and the Touch Tank in the Discovery Room.
Fossils of Calvert Cliffs: After learning about fossils, children will have an opportunity to dig in a fossil matrix and keep their fossils.
Important Information
Arrive at the museum at least 15 minutes prior to your scheduled visit.
This program is 90 minutes in length and can be geared for children in first grade through 12th grade.
The minimum number for a visit is 10 and the maximum is 40 persons for a program. This number includes all adults and students.
We request that you bring no one younger than five years of age on your program. If you must bring younger siblings, then please arrange for an adult to accompany them through the museum on their own. TOP
Programs How to schedule a field trip.
You must call to reserve a field trip. Contact Melissa McCormick at 410-326-2042 ext. 41 or by email
What are my field trip options for visiting CMM?
Option 1: Museum Visit-Self Guided Discover the museum at your own pace with a self-guided experience. Contact the Group Services Coordinator two weeks in advance of your planned visit. You must have at least ten paying persons to request a Group Rate. (ages 5 and up) Children must be divided into groups of no more than 10 with a chaperone aged 18 and older. One and a half hours is recommended to visit the museum’s 8 exhibit halls.
Group rates are $2 for ages 5 through 12 and $4 or ages 13 and older.
Option 2: Museum Visit-Guided Programs
Discover the museum with an interpreter leading your group. Call for program fees.
Fees are waived for Calvert County municipal and Calvert County non-profit groups.
Admission fees can be paid by check, cash or credit card.
Upon your arrival, a $2 admission fee per child up to 12 years, and a $4 admission fee per adult will be collected. This rate applies to pre-school groups as well. This rate applies to one chaperone for every ten students or two chaperones per subgroup. For preschool we allow one chaperone for every 5 children or 4 per subgroup.
Prior to your arrival, students and chaperones should be divided into equal groups of no more than 20 per subgroup. We reserve the right to allow or not to allow extra persons to follow along with the program.
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled visit. Late arrival may result in cancellation of a portion of the program.
There are no provisions for groups to eat inside the museum. Non-covered and covered picnic tables may be available outside. Groups may need to eat on their bus or in their vehicles during inclement weather. Eating is not allowed on any other part of the museum groups.
A Note to the Group Leader:
If there are any questions about your confirmation, please call immediately. Please check all times, numbers and programs on your form. It is very important that you notify me if you change the number of persons on your confirmation. No sub-group is to exceed 20 persons, this includes adults and children. Remember, we cannot add a sub-group to any visit one the confirmation is sent out. Please arrive 15 minutes early and have your children in their sub groups. If your program is in the Oyster House, you will need to provide your own transportation to get there. Headphones, game boys, food, drink, smoking and gum chewing are not allowed within the exhibit areas. Thank you for choosing the Calvert Marine Museum and we hope you have an educational experience with us.
Souvenirs You may arrange to visit the museum store as an additional activity with your program. You may also order $2 “Goodie Bags” from the store. These bags can be ordered by calling the store at 410-326-2750. If you plan on visiting the store on a self- guided basis, please restrict you number of children to 10 at a time with a chaperone. How to arrange a visit: You must call the Group Services Coordinator to arrange a self-guided or guided visit Have several dates available as your preferred date may be full. Your tentative telephone reservation will be held for two weeks. When your reservation form and nonrefundable fee(s) are received, a confirmation of your planned visit will be sent to you.
Choosing your programs:
The Discovery Room Operate a lighthouse, go for a sail or watch Sea Stars and find a fossil. Climb inside our lighthouse and save a ship from running ashore. Learn the parts of a sailboat and experience the many parts to use but don’t forget your lifejacket. Look and see what is swimming in our Discovery Tank. You can also “stroll” the beach and find a fossil.
Fossils of Calvert Cliffs Ten million years ago southern Maryland was a watery world inhabited by whales, snails crocodiles and giant sharks. Discover how the famous Calvert Cliffs were formed, examine teeth, jaws, shells, skulls, and other specimens from the paleontology collections. Learn how scientists collect these specimens and how they use them as clues in their study of the past.
Estuary Patuxent Come on a naturalist’s journey up the Patuxent River, from the Chesapeake Bay to the tidal freshwater reaches of the River. Fourteen aquariums ranging up to 3500 gallons bring you face to face with some of the Bay region’s most famous residents, helping to make the unique importance of the fragile resource real and immediate for all visitors alike.
Skates and Rays Learn the secrets of the “Mermaid’s Purse”. Come see first hand skates and rays swimming in our 1500 gallon tank. Get up close and personal with skate eggs and see the development from egg casing to swimming adolescent. Learn the differences between skates and rays, close cousins to sharks. You will be amused and amazed.
 Marsh Walk This outdoor exhibit is a living study of the plant and animal communities that inhabit saltwater, freshwater, and upland marshes. Watching for crabs, fish, and water birds, smelling bay leaves and petting cattails, help visitors understand the importance and distinctive beauty of the wetlands.
Maritime Patuxent Explore over 400 years of life on the Patuxent River. Native Americans, colonists, boat builders, watermen, soldiers and sailors, tourists and scientists have called this region home, and used the waters around the museum for food, profit, transportation, recreation, and research. Discover the artifacts of life on the River, and the people and events that brought the past into the present.
Drum Point Lighthouse Built in 1883, this beacon guided sailors into the Patuxent River for 79 years. In 1975 the entire structure was moved by water to the museum grounds. The building is furnished to help visitors relive the days when the lighthouse keeper and his family called the picturesque cottage home. Accessibility to the lighthouse interior is limited; however, video tape discussing the lighthouse is available.
Small Craft Shed The museum’s collection of traditional Chesapeake Bay wooden vessels includes log canoes, workboats, and skiffs used for crabbing, clamming, oystering, sailing, rowing and hunting. Learn how native materials, and traditional designs and skills have served the needs of waterman in the region for centuries.
J.C. Lore Oyster House Located on Solomons Island proper, on-half mile from the main museum complex, you can enter the once flourishing world of commercial fisheries. In this historic building a video introduces each step of the oyster harvest, from tongs to can, and a rich array of objects brings the local seafood economy to life. CLOSED FOR '09 SEASON. You will be required to travel by your own vehicle to this location. This exhibit is open May through October and is counted as two programs. TOP
Distance Learning Programs If you can't come to the museum, we can come to you through our Distance Learning Programs. We are very excited to offer these programs to people in our region, across the country and around the globe. Currently we are offering: Fossils: Our Clues to the Prehistoric Past Megalodon was the largest marine predator that ever lived! Students learn about this incredible shark, and what their fossilized teeth tell us about the Miocene world they lived in 7-20 million years ago. For more information go to http://www.cilc.org/search/content-provider-program.aspx?id=1928 Estuary: Life on the Edge Students will explore the diversity of an estuary, the importance of the water cycle adn the food web, while taking an up close look at some of the animals that live in these amazing ecosystems. For more information go to http://www.cilc.org/search/content-provider-program.aspx?id=1935 Captain John Smith Discovers the Treasures of the Chesapeake-Mapping the Bay In 1608, sailing in an open shallop with 13 sailors, John Smith explored the uncharted waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Students read excerpts from Smith's journal and learn to translate his remarkable map that led hundreds to the new world to seek their fortune. For more information go to http://www.cilc.org/search/content-provider-program.aspx?id=1927 Captain John Smith Discovers the Treasures of the Chesapeake-Natural Resources This program focuses on Captain John Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake Bay in the 1600s. Students will identify the natural resources of the Bay region by examining the paintings of John White and viewing Native American and colonial artifacts. They will learn how the natural resources of this region affected the lives of both the Native peoples there and the English explorers who came there. For more information go to: http://www.cilc.org/search/content-provider-program.aspx?id=1936
Scout Programs Facilitated Badge Workshops The Education Department is offering programs on Sundays for Girl Scout troops to work on Brownie Try-Its, Junior Badges and Cadette Interest Projects. Facilitated by museum educators, these programs include materials, and general museum admission. Space is limited to 20 including adults in each workshop and there is a minimum of 10 (no siblings please.) Brownie Try-It Workshops $10 per child, one adult admitted free with 5 children, remaining $4. Fee includes materials, educator, and general museum admission. Two programs are available per day from 10:00 a.m. to noon and from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Saturday, December 19, 2009 Movers Saturday, January 9, 2010 Animals Saturday, February 13, 2010 Movers Sunday, March 7, 2010 Earth is Our Home Saturday, March 13, 2010 Lighthouse Sunday, April 11, 2010 Eco-Explorer
Junior Badges Workshops $10 per child and one adult admitted free with 5 children, remaining adults are $4. Fee includes materials, educator, and general museum admission. Two programs are available per day from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 2:00-4:30 p.m. Sunday, November 22, 2009 Lighthouse FULL Sunday, January 3, 2010 Envrironmental Health Sunday, January 31, 2010 Visual Arts Sunday, February 7, 2010 Rocks Rock Sunday, February 28, 2010 Earth Connections Sunday, March 28, 2010 Lighthouse FULL Cadet Interest Projects $15 per child and one adult admitted free, remaining $4. Fee includes materials, educator and general museum admission. Program is from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday, January 10, 2010 Museum Discovery FULL Sunday, April 18, 2010 Lighthouse Badge provided for additional fee with Lighthouse Program. Please call 410-326-2042 ext. 41 for registration. For information on Overnights, please see link below. More Information at Overnight Adventures TOP |