Who is Eligible & How to Participate

  • Baltimore area children in fifth grade or younger with a valid Pratt library card can earn free admission for themselves and three others to Port Discovery Children’s Museum by participating in the Ticket to Discovery Book Club, a reading program in partnership with Enoch Pratt.
  • From May 1 through May 31, Baltimore City children in fifth grade or younger can visit any Enoch Pratt Free Library location and show their library card to get a free Ticket to Discovery bookmark, while supplies last.
  • Borrow, read, or listen to any five books that spark your curiosity and creativity this summer and record them on your Ticket to Discovery bookmark. You can also register and track your progress with Beanstack.
  • Once you’ve logged at least five books, reserve up to four free admission tickets to Port Discovery Children’s Museum.
  • Participating children have through August 31, 2024 to complete the program and visit Port Discovery.
  • Need ideas to get started?  You can pick up books in person, or browse eBooks in Enoch Pratt’s digital library. 

How To Reserve Your Tickets

  • IMPORTANT: All guests must reserve their visit date in advance online at https://tickets.portdiscovery.org/default.aspx. Capacity is limited, so tickets can sell out. Onsite and day-of tickets may be available but are not guaranteed. 
  • Once you’ve logged at least five books, you can reserve up to four free admission tickets to Port Discovery Children’s Museum. Participating children have through August 31, 2024 to complete the program and visit Port Discovery.
  • To reserve your admission spot, use the printed code on the bottom of your Ticket to Discovery bookmark when checking out. This code can only be used once to redeem up to four tickets for admission.

Other Restrictions & Information

Ticket to Discovery is for Baltimore-area children in fifth grade or younger. Bookmark has no cash value. Each completed bookmark grants admission to participating child and an adult caregiver to Port Discovery Children’s Museum. Tickets are good for general admission only during regular Museum hours. Children one and younger are admitted for free, but you must still reserve a ticket. Each completed bookmark is good for one-time use only, cannot be reproduced or exchanged and will not be replaced if lost.

Reading List

Recommended Books for Each Level

Read to Me
  • Play with Clay by Jenny Pinkerton
  • Peek-a-you! by Andrea Davis
  • Pinkney Hello World: Backyard Bugs by Jill McDonald
  • Play = Jugar by Elizabeth Verdick
  • 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle Blocks by Irene Dickson
  • Busy Babies by Amy Schwartz
  • Baby Builders by Elissa Haden Guest
  • Roas’s Big Boat Experiment by Jessica Spanyol
  • Press Here by Herve Tullet
Read Together
  • Sunrise Summer by Matthew Swanson
  • Boxitects by Kim Smith
  • My Magic Wand: Growing with the Seasons by Pat Mora
  • Boogie Boogie, Y’all by C.G. Esperanza
  • Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer
  • I Want a Boat! by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon
  • Come, Read With Me by Margriet Ruurs
  • Sunny Side Up by Jackie Davis
  • Noah’s Seal by Layn Marlow
  • The Whole Hole Story by Vivian McInerny
  • Min Makes a Machine by Emily Arnold McCulley
  • All Aboard! by Kelly Starling Lyons
  • I Hop by Joe Cepeda
  • ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat! by Raúl the Third
  • What’s In Your Pocket? Collecting Nature’s Treasures by Heather Montgomery
Read on my Own
  • Rescue on Turtle Beach by Jen Marlin
  • Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds
  • Viking Ships at Sunrise (Magic Treehouse) by Mary Pope Osborne
  • I Got Next by Daria Peoples-Riley
  • Only One by Deborah Hopkinson and Chuck Groenink
  • Poem in my Pocket by Chris Tougas
  • The Foodie Flamingo by Vanessa Howl and Pablo Pino
  • Dragon by Caroline Adderson and Alice Carter
  • Searching for Stinkodon by Megan McDonald
  • Fox & Rabbit, 2, Make Believe by Beth Ferry
  • Simon and Chester: super detectives! by Gale Atkinson
  • One Big Crafty Family by Martha Maker
  • The Firefly Fix by Tom Watson
  • If the World Were 100 People: A Visual Guide to Our Global Villiage by Jacqueline McCann
  • The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field by Scott Riley
Read for a Challenge
  • Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith
  • Titanic by Simon Adams
  • Cardboard Box Engineering: Cool, Inventive Projects for Tinkerers, Makers & Future Scientists by Jonathan Adolph
  • The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell
  • Yummy: A History of Desserts by Victoria Grace Elliott
  • Rocket to the Moon! by Don Brown
  • One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes
  • Rescue at Lake Wilde by Terry Lynn Johnson
  • Gold Rush Girl by Avi
  • The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths
  • Step Up to the Play, Maria Singh by Uma Krishnaswami
  • How to Win a Slime War by Mae Respicio
  • We Are a Family by James Lebron
  • The Derby Daredevils by Kit Rosewater
  • Turn the Tide by Elaine Imopoulos & Melati Wijsen