Kid-centric : Buzz

Education Week ranks Maryland's public schools the top in the nation, followed by Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Arizona. The publication looked at school finances, student achievement and success later in life, state assessments and school accountability.

U.S. News & World Report analyzed the results.

"Maryland tops the list, with generally good school finances, quality teachers, and students who leave high school ready for college," the magazine writes. You can read the rest of the story here.

Carnival Cruise Lines has launched a new ad campaign that touts the benefits of taking a vacation on sea versus one on land, writes the New York Times.

And its is concentrating these ads on 19 markets that have ports in or within driving distance of one of its ports, including Baltimore. That is according to Carnival Chief Marketing Officer James Berra, quoted in the Times article.

" 'Half of the United States is within a five-hour drive from one of our ports,' " Berra says in the story. " 'We’re de-emphasizing the Nebraskas and Wyomings of the world and putting more emphasis on places like D.C. and Baltimore.' "

You can read more about the ad campaign here.

It's easy when you live in a city to overlook what makes it a great place for tourists. With the long Labor Day weekend approaching, here're two lists of places to see and restaurants to eat in around Baltimore.

Here's an excerpt:

From the Washingtonian, "It's a city of interesting neighborhoods, and here are good ones to explore�whether you like history, antiques, science, or sports."

Read the entire article here.

From The Wall Street Journal, "What to do: Historically, tourists skipped over Baltimore for Washington, D.C., its neighbor less than an hour's drive south. But this harbor city on the Chesapeake Bay is worth a visit. Baltimore has been home to curmudgeons ranging from the acerbic journalist H.L. Mencken, who died in 1956, to filmmaker John Waters, who made "Hairspray." More recently, it gained prominence as the setting for the critically acclaimed HBO crime program "The Wire." While some Baltimore neighborhoods exemplify the blight portrayed in the television series, which ran from 2002 to 2008, other parts of the city are distinctly graceful, with historic brick and brownstone houses lending visual appeal."

Read the entire article here.

Baltimore's own Bengie's Drive-in will be featured in an upcoming episode of PBS' My Generation that will show the film Going Attractions about the slow demise of the drive-in theater.

Watch the preview:

Cartoonist and writer, Tom Chalkley, provided the sketch and oversight as more than 40 artists volunteered to paint the mural at Greenmount and 33rd street in the Waverly Village of Baltimore. Watch the mural come to life in the video.

Here's an excerpt

"Over two steamy summer months, dozens of volunteer artists helped paint a design by cartoonist and writer Tom Chalkley. Chalkley is a long-time friend and cartoonist-in-residence at Welcome To Baltimore, Hon!

The 485-square-foot mural depicts a "slightly idealized" vision of Waverly Village. It features a parade, the farmers' market, a circle of friends playing music, a mother reading to her two children at the library, community activists, and the new Waverly playground."

Read the entire article and see the video here

Forget the corny camp songs, At Opera Summer Camp gives Baltimore tweens a broader playbook taken from opera's masters.

Here's an excerpt:

"On a bright summer morning in Baltimore, camp is in full swing. A few dozen youngsters run through their daily exercises � vocal exercises, that is. Forget the bug spray and sleeping bags. At Opera Camp, the kids need only bring talent and a desire to sing.

Five days a week, from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., camp is held inside a sprawling concert hall. The four-week session aims to introduce the texting generation to opera. Students receive instruction in music, acting, dance, lighting, set design, and makeup and wigs. Thanks to private donors, everything from field trips to lunch is free."

Listen to the entire report here.

Baltimore County Schools students will soon have their game faces on -- their game developers' face, that is. Baltimore County Schools says it will add the new curriculum using serious games.

Here's an excerpt:

"Along with Learning Port strategies, the public school district has developed a program called L.i.V.E., or Learning in a Virtual Environment, which includes a "virtual high school" and a game development contest that will encourage students to create games based around topics related to science, technology, engineering, and math.

Baltimore, Maryland-area schools hope that the program will both generate interest in the sciences and prepare students for technical careers later in their lives."

Read the entire article here.

It only took Phileas Fogg 80 days to travel around the world in the Jules Vernes novel. A Maryland family -- mom, dad, two daughters and one son -- have returned from a seven-year voyage during which they circumnavigated the globe.

Here's an excerpt:

"After living the past seven years in this cabin the size of a hotel bathroom, the Crafton family seems in no hurry to clear out now. On a muggy, sun-drenched morning, all five of them -- knees just touching, lives completely entwined-- sit cheerfully in the sailboat that has been their home since they pulled away from this Severna Park dock in 2003.

Kalena, 18, who went through puberty and adolescence in this room, has her eyes fixed on a laptop slideshow of their travels that's playing on the galley table. For her, college awaits on land. Her mother, Kathleen, fingers a Melanesian carving she picked up in a trade during one of the family's countless island anchorages; the relaunch of her nursing career can wait until next week. Jena, 22, and Ben, 15, settle in for yet another telling of the family's greatest adventures (such as the three-day trek into the mountains of Papua New Guinea, or the village festival no white people had seen before)."

Read the entire article here.

It's hard to imagine, but there are actually people out there who haven't experienced Baltimore's wonders. This blogger finally made the trek and left planning to return.

Here's an excerpt of her travels:

"Baltimore has always been a dream destination for me, and this past weekend I finally made it there. It has a reputation as a quirky city, and it did not disappoint. Soon after we pulled into the downtown area, the streets were full of really strange characters, all dressed up in outrageous costumes. It took us a while but we finally figured it out�an anime convention was taking place that weekend.

We drove to Fells Point and one of the first things we spotted was this little beauty:

Read the entire post here.

Traveling to distant locations, either overseas or in the U.S.,  is always the best way to spend a summer vacation. But, if money is tight there are many places in Maryland worth a trip that won't break the bank.

Here's an exerpt:

"Stay: Harris Cove Cottages Bed N' Boat is a unique waterfront cottage village (five minutes from downtown) in the heart of a shallow and serene cove of Harris Creek. Explore 100 miles of Chesapeake Bay shoreline, take out a kayak or pedal boat (complimentary) or cook up some fresh crabs on the grill. Eight modern cottages sleep up to a family of four and have expansive waterfront views. Boat and motor rentals available. A two-night stay in a stateroom is..."

Read the entire article here.

Get your hiking boots on! Baltimore City has received $4 million from the Maryland State Deparment of Transportation to begin the fitth phase in the extension of the Jones Falls Trail, a hiking and biking trail snaking through through the city.

Here's an excerpt:

"The trail currently extends 4.25 miles from Penn Station to Clipper Mill and passes by a number of historic mills, the scenic overlook at Round Falls and the Baltimore Street Car Museum.

When completed, the trail will stretch 12 miles from the Inner Harbor to Lake Roland."

Read the entire article here.

Baltimore's public schools aren't the only schools teaching the city's young people about healthier eating. Charter schools like Baltimore Stadium School are also helping to spread the word.

Here's an excerpt:

"Although Michelle Obama and her Let's Move Campaign call for major top-down food policy reform, Dixon takes a different approach. While reforming food policy is of course a long-term goal, Food Is Elementary has a more immediate priority: educating kids about healthy eating by working within existing constraints and regulations. Major policy changes face a tremendous number of barriers: the federal reimbursement rate for the school lunch program, for example, has not increased since 1973. In contrast, Food Is Elementary's bottom-up strategy could lay the necessary groundwork for changes to take place and serve as a model for other nutrition programs with similar goals."

Read the entire article here.

Summer break has officially begun! That's great for the kids, but can be rough on parents eager to get their children out of the house to burn off some of that excess energy. Geocaching could be just the thing according to this the Examiner's Outdoor Recreation blogger.

Here's an excerpt:

"We, as a family, have recently discovered geocaching. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game, one where seekers equipped with GPS devices go out to locate hidden containers, called geocaches. Given the coordinates and a few clues found on-line at one of the geocache websites, you seek out hidden caches placed by other gamers."

Read the entire post here.

Cycling enthusiasts shed a tear when the Tour Du Pont bike race hit the brakes more than a decade ago. They'll be pedaling for joy soon, if state officials and the Tour Du Pont's former promoter manages to bring a new weeklong cycling event to Maryland.

Here's an excerpt:

"Fourteen years after the annual mid-Atlantic cycling race Tour Du Pont abruptly ended, state officials and cycling enthusiasts are trying to bring a race to Maryland in 2012 that could generate as much as $40 million in annual spending.

Tour de Maryland would be a seven-day cycling event covering roads in all five regions of the state � Southern, central and Western Maryland; the Eastern Shore and the capital region, according to Terry Hasseltine, the state's director of sports marketing who is trying to position the race as a mid-spring precursor to the Tour de France."

Read the entire article here.

He did it! Aaron Brooks, a 9-year-old from Hagerstown, MD. has set a new world record for bench pressing!

Here's an excerpt:

"Earlier today, Aaron Brooks of Hagerstown, Maryland, smashed the world record in the bench press for his age and weight.

The previous bench press record for eight and nine-year-olds in the 88 pound weight class was..."

Read the entire post here.