VRA 2020 Baltimore: Museums and Attractions

Have some free time during your conference stay? Besides the provided conference tours, there are many more museums, houses, historic sites, and parks to visit. Step out of the conference hotel right into the Baltimore Inner Harbor where you will find the National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, and the Historic Ships of Baltimore.

Nearby is the American Visionary Art Museum*, America’s national museum for self-taught art. Here you will find art galleries, an outdoor wildflower sculpture garden, and a fun museum store.

The Walters Art Museum is located in the historic Mt. Vernon Cultural District, just one mile north of the Inner Harbor. From ancient Egyptian mummy masks and medieval armor, to 19th-century French impressionism and turn-of-the-century art deco, the Walters presents exotic and significant works of art from around the world.

Farther afield are the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture*, highlighting the history and accomplishments of Maryland’s African American community, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Home to the world-renowned Cone Collection of unparalleled work by Matisse and Picasso, the BMA showcases a dazzling collection from ancient mosaics to contemporary art.

Looking for a smaller museum? Check out the following suggestions.

 The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is the nation’s first and most comprehensive wax museum of African American history and culture.Located on the site of the University of Maryland’s first “Dental Infirmary and Laboratory Building,” which was then part of the Dental Department in the School of Medicine in 1882, the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry boasts an extensive 40,000 object collection of dental instruments and equipment, pop culture and personal oral care items, artwork, and everything in between.The B&O Railroad Museum holds the most comprehensive collection of railroad artifacts in the Western hemisphere, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry celebrates Maryland’s industrial legacy and shows how innovation fuels ongoing progress.Opening day for Major League Baseball starts while the conference is in Baltimore. What could be more appropriate than a trip to the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum or Oriole Park at Camden Yards?If you have access to a car head out to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine and the towns of Ellicott City, Annapolis, or Washington D.C.For more information as well as additional venues to visit, see our Baltimore museums and attractions list.*Denotes discount with your conference badge! Also available at the Jewish Museum of Maryland and the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House. 

Contributed by:

Catherine Adams, Pennsylvania State University