Family Fun
Updated May 16, 2010
Swan Boats now open at Public Garden to Sept 19
The Swan Boats of Boston were established in 1877. They are a family owned and operated business with a unique tradition and special place in the history and beauty of the City of Boston.Located in the magnificent Public Garden, a ride on a Swan Boat lasts about 15 minutes and provides you with a peaceful and picturesque voyage on the waters of the lagoon.There are no other Swan Boats of this kind in anywhere in the world.The Swan Boats are open seven days per week, weather permitting. We cannot operate on rainy, windy, or extremely hot days.
Tickets are purchased at the Swan Boat dock. No advanced reservations are required.
The Swan Boats driver paddles passengers around the Public Garden Lagoon for a 15 minute peaceful cruise.
Animals (except Seeing eye dogs) are not permitted.
The Swan Boats are wheelchair (non-motorized) accessible.
Hours & Fares:
Spring (April to June 20) 10 am to 4 pm
Summer (June 21 to Labor Day) 10 am to 5 pm
Fall (After Labor Day) 12 pm to 4 pm Weekdays
10 am to 4 pm Weekends
Adults $2.75
Children $1.50 (age 2 to 15 years)
Seniors $2.00
New Mammal Center now open at NE Aquarium!!
There is always something new to see at the New England Aquarium. The New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center is now open to the public. Come see the Northern fur seals in their new exhibit space with an amazing view of Boston Harbor.
Experience the Marine Mammal Center's engaging programs and new, interactive exhibit space. Draw connections between marine mammals and humans and learn about the challenges marine mammals face in our oceans today.
Franklin Park Zoo
The zoo's 75 acres include the Bongo Congo, 3.5 acres of free-range space where you're bound to see zebras, ibex, ostriches, and other species of wildlife in a natural habitat. The two newest exhibits are the Australian Outback Trail, where you'll see kangaroos and wallabies having a great time with their Aussie companions -- emus and cockatoos, and there's the new Butterfly Landing habitat where you're in for more colorful fluttering friends. "Giraffe Savannah," one of the latest exhibits, features Masai giraffes. There's also a new "Farmyard" exhibit at the Children's Zoo. There's still more wildlife to explore with the Make Way for Mexican Gray Wolves, exhibit, which features rattlesnakes, chuckwallas, green jays and other interesting creatures. The African Tropical Forest is a must-visit and is home to more than 3000 plants and 500 animals.
Franklin Park Zoo Admission: $14.00 for adults; $11.00 for seniors (62+); $8.00 for children (2-12); Children under 2 are free. Admission to FPZ is ½ off the regular price on the first Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Check out their Web site for more information.
Franklin Park Zoo
1 Franklin Park, Dorchester
(617) 442-2002
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Explore 12,000 specimens drawn from Harvard’s vast research collections at the University's most visited museum -- dinosaurs, meteorites, gemstones, and hundreds of animals around the globe. Get close to the world’s only mounted Kronosaurus, a 42 ft-long marine reptile; one of the first Triceratops ever discovered; a 1,642 lb. amethyst geode; whale skeletons. Don’t miss the world famous exhibit of 3,000 ‘Glass Flowers’, amazingly realistic models of plants, fruits and flowers created by father-son glass artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka from 1886-1936. You won’t believe they’re not real.
Hours: Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Admission: $9.00; seniors and students $7.00; $6.00 ages 3-18; under 3 free.
Free for Massachusetts residents only: Wednesdays. 3-5 p.m.(September thru May) and Sunday mornings year round, 9 a.m.-noon. Ticket includes admission to the adjacent Peabody Museum -- archaeology and cultures of six continents
The museum is on the Harvard University campus, just a short, 7-10 minute walk through historic Harvard Yard from the Harvard Square MBTA Red Line ‘T’ station.
For more information: www.hmnh.harvard.edu.
Museum of Science
Ongoing:
Catch Bugs
Journey
to a world where raindrops fall like cannonballs and danger lurks around
every corner. Bugs! brings you down to size to follow the
lives of a butterfly and a praying mantis in the lush Borneo rainforest.
Think you know some big eaters? Before transforming into a butterfly,
our star caterpillar munches through enough citrus leaves in a few
weeks to increase its weight 100 times over! A mini-mantis hatched
with 200 brothers and sisters quickly becomes a lethal hunter-even
as it struggles to evade predators larger than itself. Perspective-bending
presentations of Bugs! are now running regularly in the 3-D
Digital Cinema.
3-D Digital Cinema
The museum's latest venue is now open in Wright Theater! Thanks
to a newly installed digital projection system, the Museum now offers
film presentations in 3-D. Using polarized light rather than traditional
red/blue lens filters, the high-definition system offers Museum audiences
dramatically crisp images and an exciting new presentation format to
experience in the Exhibit Halls.
20-minute presentations of the debut film, Bugs!, are now showing regularly
on the new high-definition system.
Butterfly Garden
Do
you cower when a bee buzzes nearby...cringe at the sight of a beetle...recoil
when a housefly lands on the kitchen table? But when a bright yellow
butterfly meanders past you in the park, does your face light up with
appreciation and wonder? Flitting among flowers like airborne jewels,
butterflies have long captivated human beings. Exquisitely patterned,
richly colored, and delicately formed, they are yours to enjoy at an
exciting new exhibit at the museum.
Also at the Science Museum:
The Computing Revolution
How do new technologies affect our world? Can we predict their impact? Featuring
artifacts, interactive exhibits, and compelling human stories, this new permanent
exhibit re-creates milestones of computing, using past examples to ask questions
that are relevant today.
The Charles Hayden Planetarium is featuring the high-tech, celestial adventure "Skyfire: Wonder of the Atmosphere," a multi media presentation of tornadoes, lightning, thunder and more. It's a wonderful tour of weather featuring all the elements. Shown at various times during the day through mid-April.
"Human Body Connection"
This popular exhibit is now on the second floor of the Green Wing and contains
exhibits on anatomy, physiology and health. There are a variety of activities
including building models, using a microscope, and conducting small experiments.
There is also a chick hatchery, where live chicks hatch from actual eggs.
It's no coincidence that the hatchery is located across from the exhibit
on birth.
Natural Mysteries Exhibit:
Making use of some 6000 artifacts from the Museum's extensive natural history
collections, this exhibit draws you into a series of unique environments
filled with physical clues. Venture into a desert, a historic schoolhouse
or a tropical beach. You'll find that scientific classification skills are
the key to solving some intriguing puzzles.
The Virtual Fish Tank, which has been installed near the Wave Tank now at the Science Museum. This new exhibit immerses visitors in a1700 square-foot virtual undersea world where they create and interact with their own virtual fish to discover new insights into how complex living systems work.
"The
Light House: Beaming, Bouncing and Bending Light"
This
most recent permanent exhibit sheds light on optics, color and
the nature of light. A shimmering light house greets the visitor
as he explores a series of fascinating mirror effects. There are
18 hands-on activities, including optical pin ball, prisms, and
how color is made.
"Messages" lets you discover why communication is central to everyday life. There are a number of interactive exhibits, including "Meaning with Music," where you can select a music soundtrack to go with silent video footage. In "Language To Go," visitors pretend to take food orders from people around the U.S. representing different kinds of regional speech. For example, is a hoagie the same as a sub or a hero sandwich?
"Science in The Park" puts a new twist on playing in the park by offering interactive science experiences. Activities on a seesaw and swing prompt us to wonder what forces are at work while we play. Children at all levels will enjoy the different ways to explore the pushes and pulls that set things in motion. It's fun and of course educational at the same time. Mom and Dad will enjoy getting involved as well.
The museum is also the home of the Charles Hayden Planetarium, a high-tech celestial adventure and the most technologically advanced planetarium in New England. Now through mid -April: "Skyfire: Wonders of the Atmosphere." There are also laser shows at various times, so check the schedule on their Web site.
Museum of Science, Boston
(617) 723-2500
Museum of Science Omni Theatre
Now showing:
-
Adrenaline Rush
This film takes audiences on a breathtaking journey from extraordinary heights, featuring spectacular footage of extreme skydiving while delving into both the biology of risktaking and the physics that make human flight possible.Skydiving teams bring audiences along on a secure yet death-defying ride, initiating their jumps from speeding aircraft miles above the immensity of Florida's Keys and California's Mojave Desert. The film also introduces audiences to the awesome sport of BASE jumping, with teams of jumpers leaping off spectacular cliffs and mountains, culminating in 4500-foot dives off the magnificent Fjords of Norway.
More than a thrilling visual experience, the film educates audiences on the psychological and physiological forces that are at play in extreme risktaking and on the physics involved in skydiving, BASE jumping, parachuting, and their related activities.
Also Playing:
- The Greatest Places - Through June 11
- Antarctica
- Dinosaurs Alive! - Through June 10
- Arabia
Museum of Science
(617) 723-2500
The Children's Museum
The newly-renovated Children's Museum is now open!
One of Boston's most pupular museums is this highly-acclaimed children's oasis with four floors of interactive exhibits for all ages. One of their newest interactive exhibits is "Boston Black...A City Connects," an interactive exhibit about the diversity of Boston. Here you can get involved in Boston's vibrant communities by decorating a float at the Carnival Garage, share in a celebration of Caribbean culture, shop at the Colmado Store, style hair at African Queen Beauty salon, and dance at a Cape Verdean cafe.
Children's Museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays, except school vacation days and holidays. Special admission prices on Fridays 5 -9 p.m.-- all visitors $1. Other times, tickets are: $6 kids and seniors, others, $7. For the latest on the many varied activities available, check out their Web site or call the "What's Up Line" at (617) 426-8855.
For those traveling to and from Logan Airport in Boston, check out the museum's airport satellite in the C terminal at Logan Airport. The Kidport Exhibit has climbing structures related to airport themes and will wile away the waiting time between planes.
The Children's Museum
300 Congress Street
(617) 426-6500
New England Aquarium
"Stars of the Sea"
Children and adults alike will enjoy the penguins at the Aquarium! The exhibit 3 different species of penguins, with over 60 of the charming creatures in a 150,000-gallon tank. Visit the Penguin Pages on their Web site for lots of great information about penguins, both at the Aquarium and around the world, and find out how you too can learn to walk like a penguin!
The Aquarium is one of the city's most popular attractions, and the bustling Boston Waterfront location is a treat for young and old. The Aquarium is open Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday, Sunday, and holidays 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Admission is $12, Juniors 3-11 $6, Children under 3, free, and Seniors $10.
Aquarium's IMAX Theatre
The giant screen - 65 feet high by 85 feet wide - is taller than a six story building! The slight curvature of the screen extends to the edge of your peripheral vision.
Now Playing:
- Avatar: The IMAX 3D Experience
- The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D
- Hubble 3D
- Under the Sea 3D
For complete information on the Aquarium exhibits, visit their Web site.
New England Aquarium
Central Wharf
(617) 973-5200
Brookline's Museum of Transportation reopens popular Children's Room
Family fun awaits in the newly-refurbished children's room in conjunction with a new exhibit, "Kids On The Move," that shows children's vehicles and wheeled toys from Victorian Days to the present. Features include antique sleds, sleighs, bicycles from the "Penny farthing" to scooters, and soapbox derby creations. Some 200 wheeled toys from all over the world are on display. The children's room offers climb-on cars, and new pedal cars as well. the museum is situated at beautiful Larz Anderson Park, where there are always additional outdoor activities every Sunday. They are located at 15 Newton St., and you can get more information by calling (617) 522-6547.
Le Grand David spectacular magic show back in Beverly
It's worth the trip to the North Shore for this Sunday afternoon diversion that will astound you with its professionalism. It's one of the area's best family events, with illusion and hocus pocus that will keep your mesmerized. They take over the Cabot Street Cinema Theatre, 286 Cabot Street in Beverly, every Sunday for a 3 p.m. performance. For more information: (978) 927-3677.