Editor’s note: Many Boston museums are opening up to visitors with social distancing requirements in place. Check the ticketing policies before you visit as many required timed entry tickets. Follow county requirements for COVID-19 including wearing a face mask. Keep our community safe!
Being cooped up these last few months has us dreaming of leisurely days spent exploring our favorite Boston museums with the kids. Many of our favorite spots are opening back up with social distancing procedures in place. Get the scoop below and support your local family museum with a museum membership if you are able.
For 100 years, Boston Children's Museum has offered exhibits that focus on science, culture, environmental awareness, health & fitness, and the arts. They recently opened a brand-new PlaySpace for kids age three and under where little ones can engage with parents while developing important cognitive, physical, emotional and social skills. Older kids especially love the STEM activities and the three-story climbing structure.
There's so much to explore at the Gardner Museum both inside and out. There are activities for families to enjoy together and kid-friendly programs like Saturday Drop-in Art Activities in the Bertucci Education Studio. Spend some time exploring the gardens and fountains after enjoy the works of art. Kids are always free.
Just outside of Boston you'll find the kid-favorite Discovery Museum with open-ended play experiences like the Sound Gallery and Train Room. Kids especially love heading outside to Discovery Woods, an outdoor museum exhibit about nature play and choosing to take “just right” risks.
The historic Congress Street Fire Station is home to this museum that's the perfect spot for little ones who want to be fire fighters someday. Check out the fire fighting memorabilia including a number of fire engines. The museum is open on Saturdays and admission is on a donation basis.
Explorers of every age will love the hands-on Museum of Science where you can learn about dinosaurs, New England habitats and even nanotechnology. Investigate how our world works in the Science in the Park exhibit and see inside the human body in the Hall of Human Life.
Travel back in time to this era in American history when you visit the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. Historical interpreters, interactive exhibits, full-scale replica 18th century sailing vessels, historic artifacts and the film, “Let It Begin Here”, are just a taste of what you’ll experience during your visit.
COVID-19 Update: The museum is currently open for tours Thurs.-Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. View their safety guidelines here.
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Spend the day learning about birds, check out a 1,600-pound amethyst geode and find out the latest information about global warming at this awesome museum. Kids will especially love visiting the marine life exhibit, especially the Ocean Twilight Zone—a mini exhibithighlighting the discovery, importance and bizarre inhabitants of this fascinating place.