Big-ticket Maryland museums, science centers, zoos, and aquariums with homeschool days and free or discounted school-group rates — typically 30–50% off for kids, sometimes free.
Maryland's homeschool deals concentrate in Baltimore, where the big Inner Harbor institutions go remarkably far for homeschool families: the National Aquarium and the Maryland Zoo both offer free field trips to Maryland K-12 and homeschool groups from September through February, the B&O Railroad Museum gives Maryland homeschool groups free or reduced admission, and the Maryland Science Center and Port Discovery run their own discounted Homeschool Days ($10–$15). Beyond the city, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels and the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons welcome homeschoolers for $5–$6, with aviation, Civil War medicine, and colonial-history sites rounding out the state. On the lower Eastern Shore, the free Salisbury Zoo offers no-cost self-guided field trips with a downloadable educator packet, and Furnace Town's iron-furnace village near Snow Hill runs living-history school trips. Out west in the Alleghenies, the free Allegany Museum in Cumberland gives school groups free guided tours, with the Evergreen Heritage Center farm in Mount Savage nearby for hands-on STEM and nature field trips. In Hagerstown, Antietam National Battlefield admits home schools free with an academic fee waiver, alongside the free Washington County Museum of Fine Arts and the William Brish Planetarium's cheap public star shows.
Two routes recur. A handful of venues run drop-in Homeschool Days any family can register for — Port Discovery, the Maryland Science Center, CBMM, and the National Aquarium's themed days. The rest price by group field trip, where a homeschool co-op of 10–20 books a discounted (and, for Maryland residents, often free) school-group rate. Maryland's state-supported free field-trip programs at the Aquarium and Zoo are the standout deals — register early, complete the teacher orientation, and confirm dates, which fill fast from September through February.
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Published price on the venue's own homeschool page — most under $20 per child.
Offers
MD Field Trips + Half-Price Fridays
MD K-12 groups free Sept–Feb
Free (MD)
per kid
National Aquarium
Baltimore
Baltimore's Inner Harbor icon — a multi-story rainforest, Atlantic and Pacific habitats, sharks, and rays. Maryland K-12 school groups of 15 or more visit free September through February (a free teacher orientation is required), funded by the Maryland State Department of Education; homeschool co-ops should confirm they qualify. Any family can also visit on Half-Price Friday Nights.
Regular admission: ~$50 general admission — MD K-12 groups (15+) free Sept–Feb; $24.95 Half-Price Fridays
Note: The free September–February rate is the Maryland K-12 school-group field-trip program (15+ students, teacher orientation required) — the site names schools, not home schools, so co-ops should confirm eligibility when booking. Out-of-state groups or visits March–June run $27.95/student; general group admission (15+) is $31.95 youth / $39.95 adult. Half-Price Friday Nights are $24.95 per person, every Friday after 5 p.m. year-round.
Three floors of hands-on science on the Inner Harbor — a dinosaur hall, physics and space exhibits, a planetarium, and an IMAX dome. Homeschoolers get their own pricing: $10 for exhibits or $15 with a hands-on class, plus cheap planetarium and IMAX add-ons, well below the regular gate.
Regular admission: ~$30 gate — $10–$15 vs. ~$30 gate
A three-floor children's museum near the Inner Harbor built for hands-on play, ages 0–10. On monthly Homeschool Days, families explore the museum and join a themed workshop — chemistry, maps, puppetry, and more — for $15 a person, or $7.50 for members.
Regular admission: ~$19.95 gate — $7.50 for members
In Druid Hill Park, the Maryland Zoo's habitats run from an African watering hole to a penguin coast. Maryland homeschool groups book free field trips September through February — a deep cut off the ~$25 gate — with add-on ZOOlab classes and guided tours available.
Regular admission: ~$25 gate — Free vs. ~$25 gate (Sept–Feb)
The birthplace of American railroading, with a historic roundhouse full of locomotives. Maryland homeschool groups visit free or reduced for curated field-trip programs — Underground Railroad, railroad technology, Civil War, and more — and individual families can register for the museum's special Homeschool Days.
Regular admission: ~$24 gate — Free/reduced for MD groups
Solomons' marine museum pairs Miocene fossils, river otters, and an aquarium with the screwpile Drum Point Lighthouse. Homeschool groups visit with self-guided learning kits and scavenger hunts at the group rate (about $6 a child) or book a K-8 field-trip program — and a dedicated Homeschool Program launches in 2026.
Salisbury's free 12-acre zoo in City Park is an easy, no-cost field trip — bison, alpacas, spider monkeys, bald eagles, and Andean bears along shaded paths. Homeschool groups visit self-guided for free; request the downloadable educator packet (animal facts and habitat activities) at least 72 hours ahead, and register larger groups in advance.
The former Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art reopened downtown in November 2024 as the Museum of Eastern Shore Culture, broadening its mission to Delmarva heritage — championship Ward Brothers decoy carving, regional art, and Native American artifacts. Admission is free, and it makes a hands-on culture stop for co-ops.
Regular admission: Free ($5 suggested donation) — Always free; group & student tours by appointment
Note: Call 410-677-0232 about two weeks ahead to arrange a guided student or co-op tour of the collections.
A downtown Frederick museum on Civil War–era medicine and the birth of modern battlefield care. School and homeschool groups of 10 or more book guided youth tours tailored to elementary and middle-school students at a published $8 per student.
Regular admission: $9.50 adult / under 10 free — $8/student guided school tours; group leader & bus driver free
Note: Chaperones are 1 free per every 10 students, then $8 each; the group leader and bus driver are free. Reserve a guided school tour in advance.
Historic Annapolis runs guided student field trips through the elegant 1760s William Paca House and its two-acre colonial garden, using storytelling and hands-on activities to explore Maryland's role in early American history. Programs are open to homeschool groups, grades K-12, starting at $7 per student.
Regular admission: $12 adult / $7 youth gate — From $7/student; 1 free chaperone per 10 students
Note: Guided field trips run $7/student (45–60-min tour), $12/student (half day), or $18/student (full day, which includes the Paca Garden terrace for a sack lunch). One chaperone is free per 10 students; Title I schools may ask about discounted rates.
A restored 19th-century iron-furnace village in the Pocomoke Forest near Snow Hill (~25 minutes from Salisbury). School field trips are $6 per student and rotate through hands-on living-history stations — blacksmithing, weaving, the Nassawango Iron Furnace, and household living — from April through October.
Regular admission: $8 adults / $6 ages 5–15 — $6/student; teachers, bus driver & 2 chaperones per 10 free
Note: Student admission is $6; teachers, bus drivers, and up to two chaperones per 10 students are free, with additional chaperones $6 each. Reserve at programdirector@furnacetown.org.
Cumberland's regional history museum, in a restored 1930s courthouse, offers free guided school-group tours of its rail, canal, and industrial-heritage exhibits. Tours are tailored to a group's age and interests and can often be scheduled outside public hours.
Note: School group tours are free of charge (chaperones required); bus tours and other organized groups may be charged a fee. Request a tour through the museum's group-tour form.
The Civil War battlefield of the bloodiest single day in American history, about 15 miles south of Hagerstown in Sharpsburg. Education and academic groups — including home schools that meet Maryland requirements — can enter free with an approved academic fee waiver, versus the $10/person or $20/vehicle gate.
Regular admission: $10/person or $20/vehicle — Free for education groups & approved home-school waivers
Note: Apply for an academic fee waiver in advance; the fee-waiver page specifically names home schools. The 8.5-mile auto tour, visitor-center film, and Dunker Church make a full day.
A 64-seat digital planetarium run by Washington County Public Schools. Homeschool co-ops and outside groups can reserve a daytime private showing at just $2.50 per child, and anyone can attend the twice-monthly public full-dome shows.
Regular admission: $3.50 child / $5.05 adult public shows — $2.50/child daytime group rate ($45 minimum)
Note: Outside groups (including homeschool co-ops) reserve a daytime showing 2–3pm at $2.50 per child and $3 per adult, with a $45 minimum, cash or check only. Public shows run the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month ($3.50 child / $5.05 adult), September through June — reserve at wbp.booktix.com.
A free art museum in Hagerstown City Park with American and European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts. Admission is always free, and the education staff arrange guided tours and field trips for school and homeschool groups.
Regular admission: Free — Always free; guided school tours available
Note: Call ahead to book a guided group tour; the permanent collection and rotating exhibitions are free to visit any open day (Tue–Sun).
A hands-on STEAM museum — science, technology, aviation, and dinosaur exhibits — that relocated in 2025 to Highfield-Cascade. Homeschool co-ops and school groups book guided field trips at a flat group rate, and the center also runs a multi-week Friday homeschool class series.
Regular admission: Flat group field-trip rate — $125 up to 25 people (about $5 each at capacity)
Note: Group field-trip pricing is a flat tiered rate covering teachers, chaperones, and students: $125 for up to 25 people, $250 for 26–50, $375 for 51–75, and $500 for 76–100 — about $5 per person when a group is full. Field trips run Monday–Friday. The center also offers a multi-week Friday homeschool class series; call (301) 790-0076.
Big-ticket museums with a recurring free-admission day — open to everyone, no homeschool sign-up needed.
Year-round
10 museums
FREE
Admission days
Free-for-all guide
Free museum days across Maryland
Baltimore · Annapolis · St. Michaels · College Park · Greenbelt · Solomons
No group minimums and no booking forms — just show up on the right day. From free weeknights and weekend days to resident-free museums, these are the recurring free-admission days at Maryland’s major museums, each verified on the museum’s own site.
Why it’s here: the cheapest field trip there is — no per-kid ticket and no reservation.
These venues run homeschool programs but don't publish pricing online. Call before you go.
Offers
Homeschool Days
At least one Home-School Day each school year
Call
no public price
College Park Aviation Museum
College Park
On the grounds of the world's oldest continuously operating airport, this Smithsonian-affiliated museum hosts at least one Home-School Day each school year: a flight-themed day for all ages with art activities, science-of-flight demonstrations, a chance to meet a pilot, and guided tours of the museum and the airport's operations building. Homeschool co-ops of 10 or more can also book group tours. Pricing isn't posted online — contact the museum for dates and cost.
Regular admission: ~$5 general admission
How to reach them: The museum hosts at least one Home-School Day each school year — flight-themed activities for all ages — and also books group tours for homeschool co-ops of 10+. Neither lists a price online, so contact the museum to confirm dates and cost.
A 130-acre historic farm and outdoor-education campus in Mount Savage (~15 minutes from Cumberland) built on a “learning by doing” motto. Homeschool families and co-ops book hands-on field trips and workshops in STEM, nature study, conservation, and regional history.
Regular admission: Grounds via program/event only
How to reach them: The center runs hands-on field trips and workshops in STEM, nature study, conservation, and Appalachian history on a 130-acre historic farm; per-student pricing isn't posted online, so email foundation@evergreenheritagecenter.org or call 301-687-0664 to arrange a homeschool or co-op visit.
A rare collection of restored horse-drawn carriages — including Teddy Roosevelt's inaugural coach — at the Scenic Railroad's Frostburg terminus. Educators can book guided group tours with pre- and post-visit materials to extend the lesson.
Regular admission: Admission not posted online
How to reach them: Educators can schedule guided group tours of the horse-drawn carriage collection and receive pre- and post-visit educational materials; the per-student rate isn't posted online, so contact info@alleganymuseum.org or call 301-777-7200. Open seasonally, May–October.
On the St. Michaels waterfront, this 18-acre maritime campus has a climbable 1879 lighthouse, a working boatyard, and bay-ecology and oystering exhibits. It welcomes homeschool and school groups for field trips, and has run seasonal Homeschool Days with immersive tours and workshops in past years.
Regular admission: ~$20 adult gate
How to reach them: CBMM welcomes homeschool, school, and Scout groups for field trips on its 18-acre St. Michaels campus — contact registration@cbmm.org or 410-745-4974 to arrange a visit and confirm current pricing. The museum has also run seasonal Homeschool Days in past years (recently around $5 for an immersive tour, with $15 workshops), but current dates and prices aren't posted online, so ask when you book.