Links to area museums with programming of interest to BBHSers. My goal is to find and feature programs that cost $10 or less per child per class meeting. There will be a few exceptions for unique programs, but at no point will I waste your time with programs that cost more than $25 per meeting.
Check out a list of FREE admission days/times at area museums.
If you have an EBT card, you can get deeply discounted admission at hundreds of venues in Massachusetts. $5 per person seems to be an average cost of admission. Check out the Greater Boston participating organizations. You can find the Statewide list here.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
One of the most well-known homeschool classes in Greater Boston is the Homeschool Artful Adventures program at the MFA. Tickets are $10 for one class or $40 for 5. One adult is admitted for free with each class ticket. If you bring more than one kid, you and your partner can both go in for free: mini-date! Or you could take Grandma, a friend from high school, your neighbor. If your child is old enough, this is a drop-off program, and you can have an entire hour and a half of grown-up time in one of the most beautiful places in Boston. The down side is it can be hard not to spend money on food. But you’re welcome to bring your own lunch to the downstairs cafe.
Many homeschool groups and coops have separately arranged for an Artful Adventure for their group on another day/time and on a topic of their choosing. Contact the general Artful Adventures Program to set something up for you and your friends! 10 kid minimum, FYI
EBT cardholders can get $3 per person admission for up to 4 people.
Wednesday nights after 4 pm, admission is by donation. There are also 4 free days every year on MLK Jr. Day, Lunar New Year Celebration, Memorial Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Museum of Science, Boston
Need some hands on activities to support your science learning? The MOS has daily drop-in activities that are included with Admission! Our favorite is the Hands-On Laboratory, and I keep wanting to get to their Astronomy Nights. Older homeschoolers might get a lot out of the Afternoon Science Report and Science Snapshot, both daily. Keep an eye on the the daily schedule to see the topic for programs on a given day.
The Museum of Science membership isn’t cheap, but it can pay for itself very quickly if you visit often. We visit a lot in the winter to get indoor activity, particularly at the Science Playground. The 5-person memberships lets you bring in any 5 people as long as one of them is a named member. Bring friends! The reciprocal membership program gives you free or discounted admission to 400+ museums and zoos around the country.
EBT and WIC cardholders get free admission for 4 people.
New England Aquarium, Boston
On Mondays in the Fall (Sept-Dec), homeschool families can receive admission of $10/child with one free chaperone, but there’s a catch! You have to call in at least one day in advance and there’s a $2 fee. The Central Reservations line is 617-973-5206. If you walk up the day of, the cost is $10/child and $19/adult ☹️ This program ends for the season on December 23, 2019.
But don’t fret! If you get a BPL card, you have access to the museum pass program which has an NEAQ pass that admits 4 people FOR FREE!!!! With an EBT or WIC card, you can get $5 admission for 4 people.
Harvard University Museums, Cambridge
Harvard University has a wealth of collections open to the public. Their most popular museums have admission fees, but the smaller ones are generally free and open to the public. The Art Museum, Natural History Museum and Peabody Museum all have times for free admission for Massachusetts or Cambridge residents.
USS Constitution Museum, Charlestown
Please note that the ship USS Constitution and its museum are two separate things. The ship is owned and operated by the US Navy and during a Federal government shutdown, will be closed. The museum, which is right next to where the ship is docked, is a privately owned institution that will still be open during a shutdown.
The USS Constitution is one of the best, kid-friendly, hands-on museums of history I have ever visited! This isn’t to say the content has been watered down for children, on the contrary the material has been made accessible to all through some of the best hands-on exhibits in the region. Ever feel, as and adult, like you have a gap in your own history education about the War of 1812? This museum does a terrific job walking you through it, among other topics of local, national and international history!
While almost no museum is really appropriate for big play, this one has terrific opportunities for gross motor play. There’s the life on the ship exhibit with hammocks to get into. There’s an area to try out hanging on the ships rigging to pull in or let out a sail. There’s a place to pull a “live” goat on board with ropes and pulleys.
The museum does a very good job with interesting programming for a wide range of audiences. They have Sensory Sundays on the second Sunday of the month, with many very thoughtful features such as: turning off the cannon sounds in exhibits; making paper towels available in the bathrooms and turning off the hand dryers; having available weighted blankets, noise-cancelling headphones and sunglasses; a Social-Narrative book. Check their Happenings pages for details on upcoming Sensory Sundays and their other wonderful programming.
This museum isn’t the most convenient to public transportation, but it’s doable and well worth it! The closest bus routes are the 89 and 93. You can get there by MBTA water taxi, or even walk over from North Station – which is a beautiful walk in good weather. Click here for driving and public transportation directions.
Institutions to be Added Here
- Harvard Museums: Art, Natural History, Semitic, Archaeology & Ethnology
- MIT Museum
- National Parks Service – Old State House, Faneiul Hall, Saugus Iron Works
- Lars Anderson car museum
- Boston Children’s Museum
Broke Boston Homeschooling 