Access Card Offer Details
Wonderfund Access Card Partner Boston Childrens Museum invites DCF Foster Families with a Wonderfund Access Card to purchase timed tickets online before arrival. Wonderfund Access Card holders with a valid photo ID pay $2.00 per person for admission. The discount applies for up to four people per card, per visit.
Arriving At The Museum
Please check your ticket! Visitors will only be admitted for the date and time selected at time of purchase. Entry lines have been reconfigured to allow distancing and contactless entry wherever possible. Details on your ticket will tell you where to proceed when you enter the Museum. Following CDC guidelines, all visitors age two and over are required to wear masks.
Why Is A Giant Milk Bottle Next To The Children’s Museum
Everyone wonders about the giant Hood milk bottle near the front of the museum on the Fort Point Channel.
Is it a piece of modern sculpture, making an ironic statement of some sort?
No . . . it’s actually a snack bar. An ice cream maker built it from wood next to his store in Taunton, Massachusetts in 1933, where it became one of the first fast-food drive-in restaurants in the United States.
In 1977, local dairy products company H.P. Hood and Sons bought the 40 foot structure and donated it to the Museum. Tradition continues, as ice cream and snacks are still sold there during the summer. Definitely worth a stop for the delicious ice cream.
In case you’re an architecture buff, the iconic milk bottle is an example of what’s officially called “Coney Island style.”
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More To Enjoy At The Children’s Museum
Lots more exhibits and activities throughout the Boston Children’s Museum, including special temporary exhibits, keep kids entertained and challenged.
In addition,“KidStage,” a performance area, features professional actors and museum staff performing short plays – audience participation encouraged! Kids love the mixture of singing, dancing, comedy, and music. Special performances also take place here.
As an adult, you’ll probably enjoy the spectacular views of the Downtown Boston skyline and surrounding waterfront from many spots in the museum. But the best sight will be of your children, playing happily and learning through play.
Boston Children’s Museum’s Magnificent New Playspace For Babies & Toddlers
Brand new space for little ones and their caregivers at BCM
The Boston Children’s Museum just upped it’s game with the exciting launch of it’s new playspace for young children ages 0-3 and their grown-ups. The space has been completely re-designed from it’s original pioneering vision, and brings to a new and even more robust life, to longtime advisor, Jeri Robinson‘s idea of a playspace exhibit for young children from the earliest days of BCM.
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What To Know About Visiting The Museum
We’re Playing Safely!
- The Museum will open with reduced capacity so you can enjoy a safe and fun visit with family and friends.
- We will be wearing masks and washing our hands. All visitors to the Museum age 2 and over will be required to wear a mask.
- Outside air will continually be recirculated into the building.
- Our already robust cleaning practices have been further enhanced. Cleaning will happen before, during, and after your visit.
- For details on our cleaning practices see our Museum Cleaning Procedures.
Online Ticketing and Timed VisitsExhibits and ProgramsRe-opening FAQsPatience and Respect
The Beginning Of An Idea
In 1909, a group of science teachers first introduced the idea for a childrens museum in Boston. In pursuit of this goal, they founded the Science Teachers Bureau. The Womens Education Association provided help in planning the institution, which opened four years later. The museums first location was in Pinebank Mansion in Olmsted Park situated along Jamaica Pond. It had two exhibits one was dedicated to birds and the other featured minerals and shells. Over the next few years, several other branches were opened across the city. They were usually located in schools so that children in other neighborhoods could have access to the museum. The institution opened a larger branch containing a bigger collection of exhibits and specimens in the Barnard Memorial Building in 1919. Although this branch closed seven years later, it demonstrated the need for more room.
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Weather Forecast For Boston Children’s Museum Boston Massachusetts
If you planning to travel to Boston Children’s Museum, Boston, Massachusetts, here is your 6-day travel weather forecast to make sure you have all the essentials needed during your stay.Start your day when the sunrises at 9:10 AM.The temperature feels like 70.95 with a humidity level of 54 so dress accordingly.Cloud coverage is 39 percent with visibility at 9.5 percent.Todays UV index is 10, dont forget the sunscreen if you need it!Todays winds are traveling west-southwest at a speed of 8 MPH. At the end of the day dont miss the sunset at 12:13 AM.
Hours Of Operation & Best Times To Visit
The Museum is open year-round except on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Typical hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. It closes early at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve and opens at noon on New Years Day. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Service animals are welcome. Larger crowds gather on weekdays during the school year. You can save money on admission by arriving an hour before closing time Saturday through Thursday as well as between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fridays.
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Move To Fort Point Channel
In 1979 Boston Children’s Museum moved into half of an empty wool warehouse on the Fort Point Channel in order to gain more space and become more accessible to people in Boston. The following year, Boston’s Japanese sister city Kyoto donated a Japanese silk merchant’s house to the museum. The house, known as Kyo-no-Machiya, is still one of the landmark exhibits at Boston Children’s Museum.
In 1986, Kenneth Brecher became the director of the museum. During his term, Kids Bridge, a groundbreaking exhibit on cultural diversity and racism, opened at the museum. The exhibit later moved to the Smithsonian Institution before embarking on a 3-year tour around the United States.
Lou Casagrande served as the museum’s president and CEO from 1994 to 2009. The museum opened several important exhibits during Casagrande’s term including Five Friends from Japan, access/Ability, and Boston Black: A City Connects. In 2004, The Children’s Museum of Boston officially became Boston Children’s Museum.
In 2013, Boston Children’s Museum was one of ten recipients of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The nation’s highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community, the National Medal celebrates institutions that make a difference for individuals, families, and communities.
Carole Charnow is the Museum’s president and chief executive officer.
More To See & Do Near The Children’s Museum
- South Boston Waterfront – Explore this trendy neighborhood where the museum is located
- Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum – Located at 306 Congress Street , this hands-on multimedia museum features costumed re-enactors and gives you an immersive experience in the exciting events leading up to the Colonists dumping British tea into Boston Harbor and starting the American Revolution. More information & tickets for the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
- Leader Bank Pavilion – Waterfront venue for some of Boston’s top summer concerts – schedule and ticket info
- Fort Point Open Studios – Great chance to see art by top Boston artists in their own studios
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About Boston Childrens Museum
Boston Childrens Museum is the second oldest, and one of the most influential childrens museums in the world. It was founded in 1913 by the Science Teachers’ Bureau, a group of visionary educators dedicated to providing new resources for both teachers and students, as a center for the exchange of materials and ideas to advance the teaching of science. For over 100 years it has been engaging children in joyful discovery experiences that instill an appreciation of our world, develop foundational skills, and spark a lifelong love of learning.
The Museums exhibits and programs emphasize hands-on engagement and learning through experience, employing play as a tool to spark the inherent creativity, curiosity, and imagination of children. Designed for children and families, Museum exhibits focus on science, culture, environmental awareness, health & fitness, and the arts. In addition to extensive child-centered exhibits, Museum educators develop numerous programs and activities that address literacy, performing arts, science and math, visual arts, cultures, and health and wellness. The Museum is also one of the few childrens museums in the world to maintain a collection. The Museums collections of Americana, Natural History, Global Culture, Native American, Dolls and Dollhouses, and Japanese artifacts encompass more than 50,000 items.
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is a historically accurate and interactive institution that chronicles the events leading up to this momentous event in American history. Resting atop a floating barge, the museum enables visitors to step back in time and participate in a reenactment of the events that unfolded that fateful night. The attraction includes restored ships and artifacts from the historical occasion, including one of the original tea chests.
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Museum Admission Tickets Are Only Valid For Date And Time Selected At Time Of Purchase
You will be admitted any time after the start of your selected time slot and must leave the exhibits by the end of your time slot. Tickets will be delivered digitally and can be shown on a mobile device or printed and presented at the Admissions Desk.
A Photo ID and valid Wonderfund Access card must be presented to Museum staff upon arrival.
Getting To The Museum
Boston Childrens Museum is accessible by various forms of transportation including via Old Town Trolley, public transportation, car and water taxi. The Museum is located near the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum stop aboard the Old Town Trolley sightseeing tour. For those taking the subway, the Museum is approximately three blocks from the intermodal South Station. The station can be reached on the MBTA Red and Silver Lines as well as by the No. 7 bus route. If you park in the nearby Farnsworth or Stillings street garages, bring your ticket to the Museum for validation. Do not park on Sleeper Street because it is reserved for residents and your vehicle will be towed.
Nearby Attractions
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