Maryland Science Center

Tom Vidnovic remembers it sounding pretty silly on a cold January day about three years ago, when a friend suggested they go traipsing through the woods to look for a plastic container someone had hidden. He probably thought it was even sillier when his friend insisted on bringing along a hand-held Global Positioning System navigational device to help in the search. Vidnovic ended up finding the container before his friend did - "beginner's luck," he insists - and hasn't stopped looking for similar containers since; so far, he's found a little more than 3,100 of them.

Baltimore's fleet of food trucks are rallying again this weekend. The series of weekly food truck rallies known as the Gathering will convene, for the first time, on the Sinai Hospital  campus. The trucks will gather from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday at the Michel Mirowski Medical Office Building, 5501 Greenspring Ave. The band Greasy Hands will perform. Expected to roll in are Gypsy Queen, The Sultan, Jolly Pig, Busia's Kitchen, Wheyich, South Carolina BBQ, Flavor Cupcakery, Miss Twist, Great Cookie, Hardy's BBQ, GrrChe, Kooper's Chowhound, Charm City Gourmet, and Iced Gems Baking.

Two Baltimore City high school students were awarded a $1,500 scholarship and paid summer internship at the Maryland Science Center as the recipients of the Maryland Science Center's Dr. H. Bentley Glass Scholarship, according to a release sent by the center.  Diamonique Clark, who attends Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Rita Gunter, a student at Western High School, were each named recipients of the scholarship that for nearly 50 years has...

Adam Riess, the Nobel Prize-winning astronomy professor at Johns Hopkins University, will discuss the expansion of the universe and its mysteries in an event at Bolton Street Synagogue on Sunday. Riess will present and lead a discussion titled "Exploding Stars, an Expanding Universe and Mysterious Dark Energy" at the Roland Park house of worship. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized him for his work in that area in 2011. He shared the $1.49 million prize with fellow American Saul Perlmutter and U.S.-Australian citizen Brian Schmidt "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe through observations of distant supernovae," according to the announcement.

The Eastern Shore town of Bellevue saw the heaviest rains in the U.S. during Superstorm Sandy, according to an official report on the storm the National Hurricane Center released Tuesday. The town, across the Tred Avon River from Oxford and just south of St. Michael's in Talbot County, recorded 12.83 inches of rain. Nearby Easton was not far behind with 12.55 inches. The bullseye of Sandy's deluge was on the middle Eastern Shore, though storm surge levels were higher to the northeast around New York.

How do you tie in your annual gala with a new exhibit about the Titanic? You make sure the whole thing is planned as an elegant evening with overtones of the luxury ocean liner. But you make sure the party ends on a buoyant note. It all made for a successful "Solstice 2001" for the Maryland Science Center. Some 600 guests were greeted with champagne and hors d'oeuvres, before getting a chance to peruse the center's new exhibit, "Titanic Science: The Real Artifacts. The True Stories." Then, it was down to dinner -- serenaded by a string trio -- under a tent swathed in sky-blue chiffon.

Children and adults can embark on an underwater journey into the world of sharks, no scuba gear required, at the Maryland Science Center's "Sharks! Fact and Fantasy" exhibit, open today until Sept. 7."People have so many misconceptions [about sharks] after the 'Jaws' movies," says Barbara Rolfes, director of special exhibits at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, where the traveling exhibit originated.After visiting the shark exhibit, she says, "they learn that sharks are a fascinating species and that there's something to know about them besides the size of their teeth."

From the first liberating flights of humans in gas-bag balloons to the fabulous perspectives of Earth as seen from the space shuttle, the IMAX Theatre at the Maryland Science Center has put together a terrific new weekend double feature.The "After Hours at IMAX" program that opened last night, with 7:30 p.m. showings on Fridays and Saturdays through mid-November, brings back "To Fly" and "Blue Planet."The ethereal "To Fly," last seen in Baltimore in 1987, seems as enchanting today as when it debuted in 1976 as the premiere film of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

Cub Scouts of Pack 834, sponsored by Thunderhill Elementary School, had a "scientific experience" at a recent overnight stay at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore.Under the guidance of Den Leader Wayne Brychem and Den Chief Daryl Lang, the boys participated in workshops on gravity, buoyancy and the rain forest, earning them a science patch.Parents Jean Leslie, Chris Ohanian, Pauline and Chuck Wieroth and Frank Scrivener enjoyed the trip as much as Welebos' Matt Bryden, Tim Horan, Sam Leslie, Michael Meehan, Alexis Ohanian, Philip Pinder, Adam Solomon, Alex Von Hagen-Jamar, Paul Burt, Eric Wieroth, Michael Scrivener, Ben Yharmacher and Jonathon Hall.

Okay. So you knew this year's "Solstice '02," Maryland Science Center's annual shindig, was going to be cool as soon as you got your invite. It was this little flip book that showed the sun setting and the moon rising among the stars as it introduced this year's party theme, "An Evening With the Stars," focusing on the center's current space-themed exhibits. As it turned out, the invitation was only the beginning of the fun, according to Solstice vice chair Frank Heintz. Frank says when the 450 gussied-up guests arrived at the Science Center for the gala, they got down to the work of playing.

The Eastern Shore town of Bellevue saw the heaviest rains in the U.S. during Superstorm Sandy, according to an official report on the storm the National Hurricane Center released Tuesday. The town, across the Tred Avon River from Oxford and just south of St. Michael's in Talbot County, recorded 12.83 inches of rain. Nearby Easton was not far behind with 12.55 inches. The bullseye of Sandy's deluge was on the middle Eastern Shore, though storm surge levels were higher to the northeast around New York.

Baltimore is home to some generous souls. There are those who give time, others who share their ideas and plenty of people willing to open their wallets. Over the years, a number of people have built reputations as philanthropists. Yet however publicly they give, their reasons for doing so are often strikingly personal. Here are a few of their stories: Edward St. John EdwardSt. John learned something about giving in college. When he was a senior, a freshman wanted his help campaigning to become class president.

Thousands of people streamed into Baltimore's Inner Harbor on New Year's Eve night to welcome 2013 with a bang of fireworks expected at midnight — a tradition for some and a new experience for others — as police scanned the crowds for threats. Steve and Lori Foster, along with their twin 12-year-old sons, Luke and Dylan, traveled from Newark, Del., for their first New Year's Eve in the city. "Somebody told us they have a really nice event down here, so we decided to come check it out," Steve said.

Three years after an Inner Harbor statue of William Donald Schaefer was unveiled, admirers of the city's first African-American mayor want to erect a statue of him nearby. A nonprofit foundation created to honor the late Clarence "Du" Burns, who succeeded Schaefer, is asking the city for permission to place an 8-foot-tall statue on the Inner Harbor's west shore, 800 feet south of the Schaefer statue. "What we want to do is tell Du's story, not just that he was the first African-American mayor of Baltimore but the role he played in the creation of the Inner Harbor" and other economic development initiatives, said Sean D. Burns, a local attorney who heads the Clarence "Du" Burns Memorial Fund Inc. "It's been a long time coming.

Two Baltimore City high school students were awarded a $1,500 scholarship and paid summer internship at the Maryland Science Center as the recipients of the Maryland Science Center's Dr. H. Bentley Glass Scholarship, according to a release sent by the center.  Diamonique Clark, who attends Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Rita Gunter, a student at Western High School, were each named recipients of the scholarship that for nearly 50 years has...

Exelon Corp. and Constellation have donated $1.8 million for a new energy exhibit at the Maryland Science Center , the first public display of their charitable commitment to the city and state since the merger between the energy giants closed in March, the companies announced Tuesday. In acquiring Constellation, Exelon promised to maintain the Baltimore company's annual charitable contribution of $7 million in Baltimore and Maryland for at least a decade. The financial commitment was part of a $1 billion package of concessions associated with regulatory approval from the Maryland Public Service Commission.

Three years after an Inner Harbor statue of William Donald Schaefer was unveiled, admirers of the city's first African-American mayor want to erect a statue of him nearby. A nonprofit foundation created to honor the late Clarence "Du" Burns, who succeeded Schaefer, is asking the city for permission to place an 8-foot-tall statue on the Inner Harbor's west shore, 800 feet south of the Schaefer statue. "What we want to do is tell Du's story, not just that he was the first African-American mayor of Baltimore but the role he played in the creation of the Inner Harbor" and other economic development initiatives, said Sean D. Burns, a local attorney who heads the Clarence "Du" Burns Memorial Fund Inc. "It's been a long time coming.

Shhhhhhhhhh, coaxes the teacher in her calming, whispery, indoor voice: Be sensible. "Who's sensible?" she continues, her eyes skipping from child to child sitting and squirming before her on a mat - each trying to out-sensible the next. "Kacey's sensible? Who else? Cameron?" Only the most sensible of children, it seems, will be allowed to venture from their classroom on the ground floor of the Maryland Science Center out into the world of buttons, gadgets and playful wonder existing just beyond.

When science center directors from around the country gather in Baltimore this month for their annual conference, they'll be able to see one of the largest scientific instruments ever made: a full-scale mock-up of the James Webb Space Telescope. Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor working to assemble the $8.7 billion Webb telescope, plans to erect a four-story-high replica of it as a free public attraction along the promenade outside the Maryland Science Center . Planned as a replacement for the 21-year-old Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb project has been described as the "space observatory of the next decade" - larger and far more powerful than the Hubble.

Sure, being responsible is no fun. Which is why going to the Maryland Science Center over the next few weeks should prove such a blast. Welcome to the "Summer of Irresponsible Science," an excuse for lots of grown men and women to do the kinds of things their science teachers always warned them against. Things melt, blow up, gush and flame. "This is an opportunity to do some of the kinds of things you always thought about doing, but maybe were afraid to do," said Chris Cropper, the science center's senior director of marketing.