Calvert Marine Museum - Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

When I took my children and mother-in-law to the Calvert Marine Museum, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew the museum had a lighthouse and otters, and that its exhibits had a Chesapeake Bay theme, but that was all.

It turns out that the Calvert Marine Museum has something for nearly everyone. There's an area dedicated to Chesapeake Bay marine animals. You can watch rays glide gently around their tank. Wall displays explain the life cycles of skates and rays.

Another exhibit area focuses on the history of Chesapeake Bay watermen. For centuries, watermen have sailed the bay, fishing, crabbing and oystering. You can trace the development of the bay's fishing industry and see how the skipjack - a fishing boat customized for use on the bay - developed over time. Today, most working skipjacks are used for tourist cruises, but they played important role in the Chesapeake's maritime industries.

Young visitors will enjoy the Discovery Room. Here, children can try out some fisherman's tools and pretend they are watermen or activate the light in the (small) indoor lighthouse. The Discovery Room is geared toward children of preschool and kindergarten age.

Part of the Calvert Marine Museum is outdoors. My daughter loved the river otters, Bubbles and Squeak. I think she spent an hour watching them race each other back and forth. Like all otters, Bubbles and Squeak are charming and playful. I'm glad there's a bench near their enclosure. The otter display is next to the museum's Marsh Walk, a wooden walkway that takes you through a native marsh area.

Farther along the museum's boardwalk, you can see different types of boats that have sailed the Chesapeake Bay. Some are surprisingly small. The Chesapeake Bay is huge, and I struggled to imagine myself in one of the tiny canoes or sailboats on display.

For me, the highlight of the day was exploring the Drum Point lighthouse. This lighthouse has been moved inland to be part of the museum's exhibits; it's no longer a working lighthouse. We climbed steep stairs to get inside. After watching our guide, who wore a leg brace, struggle up the staircase, my mother-in-law opted to stay below. The children and I walked through the tiny lighthouse, marveling at the cramped living quarters. Lighthouse keepers and their families lived in their lighthouses year-round, keeping the light glowing 24/7 to warn ships' captains of dangerous waters.

If you'd like to see another authentic example of Maryland's maritime heritage, drive about one-half mile down Route 2 to the museum's J. C. Lore & Sons oyster house. This building housed an oyster processing business. In past decades, many of these processing facilities lined the roads of southern Maryland. Your museum ticket includes admission to the oyster house, which is open May through September on a limited schedule.

Calvert Marine Museum also owns another lighthouse, Cove Point, which is still operated by the Coast Guard. It's open for limited tours on summer weekdays and spring and fall weekends. If you'd like to see this lighthouse, you'll need to ask the museum staff for directions and purchase a separate ticket.

Calvert Marine Museum makes a great daytrip from Washington, DC. It would also be a good weekend destination, combined, perhaps, with Historic St. Mary's City or a day spent fishing and relaxing on Solomons Island.