Kid-friendly museums around Boston
These museums are chosen for hands-on: water tables, structures to climb, a sailor's hammock on a warship to crawl into, rather than things behind glass. There's a fit for everyone from 2 to 10, in a city with one of the densest museum scenes in the country.
A toddler's first choice is the Children's Museum in the Seaport, built for ages 0–10 with its own 0–3 space; the Discovery Center and the lightning show at the Museum of Science fill a whole day. The Harvard Museum of Natural History is rooms of animal specimens and dinosaurs, free for Massachusetts residents on Sunday mornings; the MIT Museum in Kendall is for the 6-and-up 'why' kids. Farther out, the Discovery Museum in Acton plays indoors and out for three hours, deCordova in Lincoln treats sculpture as a playground, and the EcoTarium in Worcester is science center, small zoo and train in one. The USS Constitution Museum in Charlestown is donation-based and the best free indoor stop downtown.
- 8 places
- 1 free
- 8 stroller-friendly
- closest is 15 min away
8 places
Drive times from Newton
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (Trustees)
5.0Lincoln · 20 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free lot inside the park; admission about $20 adults, free under 12, free for Trustees members
Boston Children's Museum
5.0Boston · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$ · Parking: Red Line to South Station and a 10-minute walk; by car use the Farnsworth St garage (museum discount)
Discovery Museum
5.0Acton · 35 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free museum lot
EcoTarium
5.0Worcester · 55 min drive
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free museum lot; admission about $20 adults, about $14 kids, train extra
Harvard Museum of Natural History
4.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Street parking on Oxford St or the Harvard campus visitor garage (weekend discount); or Red Line to Harvard and a 10-minute walk
Museum of Science
4.0Boston · 20 min drive
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Garage under the museum (about $25+); or Green Line to Science Park/West End, right at the door
USS Constitution Museum
4.0Boston · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Pay lot inside the Navy Yard (about $15 on weekends); better to take the MBTA F4 ferry from Long Wharf or the Orange Line to North Station and walk 15 minutes
MIT Museum
2.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Red Line to Kendall/MIT puts you right there; by car use the garages around Kendall (cheaper on weekends)
💡 Good to know
- The Newton, Brookline and Cambridge libraries lend discounted passes to the Children's Museum and the Museum of Science; book online a few weeks ahead. The Harvard Museum of Natural History is free for Massachusetts residents Sundays 9 to noon.
- Go at opening on weekends for the smallest crowds, and bring a change of clothes to the children's museums: the water tables always win.