Rainy-day things to do with kids around Boston
Boston has plenty of rainy and snowy days and a long winter, and these places work regardless: three big museums and the aquarium, the Discovery Museum in Acton, LEGOLAND at Assembly Row, libraries with real play areas, and the 'rainy-day train adventure' of riding the Green Line into town.
The free options are mostly libraries: Newton, Cambridge and Lexington have the biggest children's areas and the most storytimes, and the Central Library at Copley is worth a visit for the old building alone. To make it an event: the Children's Museum is built at toddler scale, the Discovery Center and lightning show at the Museum of Science fill a whole day, the New England Aquarium is entirely indoors, and the USS Constitution Museum is free and heated. The Harvard Museum of Natural History is free for Massachusetts residents on Sunday mornings, and the Tower Hill greenhouses are warm and humid in winter.
- 21 places
- 10 free
- 21 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
21 places
Drive times from Newton
Cold Spring Park woodland trail
5.0Newton · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Beacon St entrance, busier during the summer Tuesday farmers market
Newton Free Library children's department
5.0Newton · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot in front of the library, busier on Saturday mornings
Ride the Green Line D into the city
5.0Newton · 5 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: MBTA pay lot by Newton Centre station, or the big lot at Riverside (cheaper on weekends)
Brookline Public Library main branch children's room
5.0Brookline · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot behind the library (2-hour limit), or street parking in Brookline Village
Cambridge Public Library main branch children's room
5.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Small garage under the library (time-limited, often full), street parking on Broadway; or Red Line to Harvard and a 10-minute walk
Wellesley Free Library children's room
5.0Wellesley · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot in front of the library, easy on weekends
Cary Memorial Library children's room
5.0Lexington · 20 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots behind the library and in Lexington Center (time-limited)
Boston Public Library Central Library children's library (Copley)
5.0Boston · 20 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Green Line to Copley puts you right there; by car use the Prudential or Copley Place garages (expensive)
Thomas Crane Public Library children's room
5.0Quincy · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot beside the library; or Red Line to Quincy Center and a 5-minute walk
New England Aquarium
5.0Boston · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Blue Line to Aquarium puts you right there; by car use the Harbor Garage (aquarium discount, still about $20+)
Blue Hills Trailside Museum (Mass Audubon)
5.0Milton · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Free museum lot (Route 138); admission about $8 adults, about $5 kids
Boston Children's Museum
5.0Boston · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$ · 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
$$ · Parking: Free museum lot
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill
5.0Boylston · 55 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free lot inside the garden; admission about $20 adults, about $8 kids, check the website
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
Lowell National Historical Park: free trolley and canal boats
4.0Lowell · 45 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Lot beside the visitor center (246 Market St), downtown garages cheaper on weekends; check the website
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Boston
3.0Somerville · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Assembly Row garage, first 1–2 hours free (check current rules); or Orange Line to Assembly and a 5-minute walk
MIT Museum
2.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Red Line to Kendall/MIT puts you right there; by car use the garages around Kendall (cheaper on weekends)
💡 Good to know
- Museums fill up fast on rainy weekends; be there at opening or book a timed ticket. The Children's Museum and the aquarium require advance tickets on weekends.
- The downtown museums all sit beside a T stop; on a rainy day the Green or Red Line beats hunting for parking.