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[quote=Anonymous]They’re not going to want to spend hours looking at anything.  However, here are some things you might try:

Rocks:
Take them to a stream or lake.  Show them how to skip rocks.  Let them pick out pretty rocks and show them how the colors brighten when wet.

Get a rock tumbler and start tumbling rocks at home.  Some of them (like the one I had as a child) make a horrendous noise, but I saw one in a hobby store a few years back that was amazingly quiet.

Take them to a rock store/museum that sells rocks and let them pick out some they especially like.  Get them each a geode and show them what’s inside.  Show them porous lava and obsidian and talk about how they both come from a volcano.  Show them petrified wood and point out the layers that were rings in the trees.

Take them through a stroll of the Smithsonian’s gem collection.  Don’t get bogged down in the technical aspects.  It’s more about pretty rocks than the technical aspects.

Take them to one of the cavern systems.  Luray Caverns has a lovely garden maze and other attractions beside the cavern itself.  The tour might be a little long.  There are other caverns in the area open to tourists, as well. 
https://luraycaverns.com/

I’ve never been, but I’ve heard you can hunt for fossils at Calvert Cliffs.
https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/southern/calvertcliffs.aspx

Radio:
Get walky-talkies

If you’re knowledgeable enough, take a radio apart and show them how the innards work together (I wouldn’t have a clue).

I haven’t been, but there’s The National Capital Radio and Television Museum in Bowie.  I think(?) they may have old radio and TV programs you can experience on period equipment. 
https://ncrtv.org/

Maybe tell them about the old CB culture.  You can teach them some lingo.

Color - This is a natural for kids

Get paints (finger, tempera, water color, etc.) and let them mix colors.  If you’re brave enough you can use food coloring (careful it stains) and help them mix up colors for frosting for cake/cupcakes/cookies. You can dye eggs.  Make tie-dyed tshirts.

Get a prism and show them how it splits light into colors.  Show them how water from a sprinkler can do the same thing.  Talk about rainbows.  You can get sone colored overlays and show them how it filters out colors.  Maybe show them how they can be used to hide secret codes or how they were used for old 3D movies.

You can show them the black and blue/white and gold dress and ask them what color they think it is.  Talk about color perception.  If your family is like mine, asking whether turquoise is blue or green might start a hot debate.  You can explore other optical illusions. 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rpHUBUMWjAU

Did you know that the concept of “blue” is relatively new?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D1-WuBbVe2E&pp=ygUSY29sb3IgYmx1ZSBoaXN0b3J5

Blue animals aren’t really blue
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3g246c6Bv58&pp=ygUMYmx1ZSBhbmltYWxz

You could also do prints with solar paper and make jewelry with UV-color changing beads.

Stargazing:
Go to Air and Space to look around (but don’t dwell).  Walk the solar system out on the mall.

Try astronaut ice cream.

Go to a planetarium.

Consider putting stars on their bedroom ceilings (if they want).

Watch sci-fi space/alien shows to spark their imagination.

Drive out into the country, away from all light pollution to really see the stars. If you gave a telescope and/or can identify some constellations, it’s even better, but not necessary to make an impact.

Here are some NASA resources you might find helpful:
https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-kids-club/

Cloud/weather patterns:

Get a tornado tube.

Lava lamps or Galileo thermometers can illustrate heat rising and cool falling.

Explore old folk wisdom and why it worked - ex. “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning, red sky at night, sailor’s delight.”
https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/meteorology-climatology/item/is-the-old-adage-red-sky-at-night-sailors-delight-red-sky-in-morning-sailors-warning-true-or-is-it-just-an-old-wives-tale/

NOAA has some resources you might want to try:

https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/special-topics/hands-on-science-activities

https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/education-at-home

https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/weather-atmosphere

Talk about storm safety.  You can read Ben and Me to touch on Franklin’s experiment with lightning. 
https://www.weather.gov/owlie/safety_kt
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_and_Me_(book)

National Geographic has these weather resources for kids:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/science/topic/weather

The National Weather Service also has educational resources:
https://www.weather.gov/education/

Painting portraits - Portraits might be a stretch, but art can be fun for kids.  You just have to accept that rather than formal portraits, they might prefer more abstract art.

I think most major art museums offer some type of activities for kids and/or special events for kids.  Check their websites or ask at the reception desk when you arrive.
https://www.nga.gov/learn/families.html
https://npg.si.edu/families
https://americanart.si.edu/visit/family-activities

Here are some resources from the Smithsonian to be used at home:
https://americanart.si.edu/education/learn-from-home

Here are some home resources from the Walters:
https://thewalters.org/experience/programs/families/projects/

Baltimore has a fabulous art festival in the summer called Artscape.  It was disrupted by COVID, but it looks like it’s back on this year.
https://www.artscape.org/

For GIS - (I have a hopeless sense of direction)

Maybe you could teach them how to determine direction - use a compass, sun rises in the east, the north star, moss?

How about tales of buried treasure and then sending them on a treasure hunt you designed and mapped. Maybe they could even have you follow their map to find something they hid.

I haven’t done it, but I think Geocaching is like a treasure hunt on a large scale.  Here are many links about it, you may find them helpful.
https://www.hoagiesgifted.org/geocaching.htm

In general:

Focus more on fun than learning.  If they’re having fun, they’ll learn, but if they’re not, they’ll lose interest. Keep things short and don’t get bogged down.  If they’re getting bored you probably want to wrap up soon and move on to something else.  You can expose them to a lot of your interests, but if you want them to be interested, too, you have to do it at their level and pace.

Hoagies has great enrichment links for all ages and subjects.
https://www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm

Magic School Bus has great episodes on many of these topics.

YouTube is a fabulous resource.  You can find engaging videos on any topic you want and some are by experts in their fields.  For example, Neil deGrasse Tyson has a channel called StarTalk. While most of the longer videos might be a little dry for your kids, the shorts might be of interest. (Just provide some guidelines/supervision because there’s also a lot of junk on YouTube.)
https://m.youtube.com/@StarTalk

Most museums have activities for kids, always seek them out.  The MD Science Center in Baltimore is fantastic. It may not focus specifically on some of your topics, but it’s great for stimulating curiosity.

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