Boston Museum of Science

Official Website:	Boston Museum of Science
Location:	Science Park, Cambridge, MA
Phone:	617-723-2500
Hours:	Hours Vary see below
Ages:	Toddlers, Kids, Teens, Adults
In/Outdoor:	Indoor
Cost:	$$$ see below
Category:	Museums

Other Ideas: Peabody Essex Museum; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Paul Revere House; Amelia Park Children''s Museum; Concord Museum

The Boston Museum of Science boasts an extensive collection of exciting science-based exhibits, both permanent and temporary.

Museum of Science Highlights:
In the main Museum of Science building, check out the natural animal habitats offering hands-on taxidermy, real chickens hatching from their eggs, a replica of the first space capsule. and a butterfly garden (additional fee).

Children's Discovery Center:
For little ones, the Boston Science Museum has a Discovery Center located directly across from the musical stairs offers a safe, enclosed play area specifically designed for children under five. There are two floors to explore, with tunnels, puzzles, an interactive light stick design corner & puppets. Terrariums, some of which have transparent domes, allow toddlers to safely view little animals in their natural environment.

Theater of Electricity
The Van de Graaff generator provides a risk-free opportunity to witness lightning at a close range. Lightning shows are daily at 12:00 noon and 2:00pm with a 7:00pm Friday show.

Chick Hatching Station
Learn about the development of chicks and watch them as they hatch from their shells right before your eyes. Exhibit is part of the 'Human Body Connection.'

Charles Hayden Planetarium:
The Planetarium at the Boston Science Museum is a high-tech, celestial adventure and the most technologically advanced planetarium in New England. Please click here for showtimes.

Science Live! Stage
Science really comes to life with the new state-of-the-art Science Live! Stage. The stage, designed especially for live animal and multi-media presentations, is surrounded by natural history dioramas and equipped with Dolby surround sound, a computer-controlled lighting system, a LCD projector, and a microscope-mounted camera.

Mugar Omni Theater
The Mugar Omni Theater at Museum of Science presents larger-than-life images on a domed screen that reaches five stories high. It’s New England's only 180-degree IMAX® dome. With a new digital sound system, seats and carpeting, the Mugar Omni Theater is better than ever. For advance credit card reservations please call 617/723-2500.

Free “Friday Night Stargazing”
The Gilliland Observatory, located atop the Museum of Science’s garage roof, is open for free viewing on Friday evenings, first-come, first-served. Visitors are encouraged to attend the Friday 7 p.m. planetarium showing of “The Sky Tonight” as background for the viewing session. Call the Gilliland Observatory Hotline for viewing status and hours at 617/589-0267. Friday evenings, approx. 8:30-10:00 p.m., weather permitting.

Museum of Science is a Duck Boat departure site . . . Boston Duck Tour tickets can be purchased in advance on their website or (617) 267-DUCK (March 29 – November 28).

Hours

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(Regular) Sat. – Thurs. 9:00am - 5:00pm; Fridays 9:00am - 7:00pm
(Summer) Sat – Thurs. 9:00am – 7:00pm.; Fridays 9:00am – 9:00pm
View Complete Schedule

Cost

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Exhibit Halls:
$22.00 for adults, $19.00 for children 3-11, and $20.00 for seniors 60+.

View All Admission Options

Location

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Science Park, Cambridge, MA map

Parking is available at the Boston Science Museum for 1,000 cars. Hourly rates apply. The garage fills up on busy days, and may close temporarily until spaces become available. Come early (before 11:00 a.m.) or late (after 4:00 p.m.) If you come late, be sure to order your tickets in advance. Take public transportation if you can: Green Line to Science Park.

Tips

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Ordering tickets online will save you the wait in line when you arrive. Simply go to the yellow 'reservations' line and breeze through the crowds waiting to purchase tickets.
The annual Museum of Science membership is well worth it if you plan to visit the museum more than once. It offers 2 hours of free parking for each visit, guest passes, and passes to the planetarium and the Omni theatre. You also can visit select science museums nationwide at no additional cost.
The food court at the Museum of Science offers some pretty good faire (Wolfgang Puck's pizza is worth a visit).
The Theatre of Electricity offers two shows, Lightening, and Battle of the Currents. The Lightening show gets you remarkably close to this striking phenomenon, but loud bangs might frighten the under 5 set. The alternative show Battle of the Currents is less loud, but may bore some kids as it's more of a discussion than a show.

Facebook Comments

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Recent Reviews

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Highly recommended by my children

This past weekend, my nephew from Los Angeles, CA came for a short visit. If only we had time, I would had took my children and their cousin to the Museum of Science. One said, 'Oh we've been there a lot of times but they always have lot of interesting exhibit and different event each time we go. (Got interrupted) And and and...I love their huge gift shop, said the little one.

Always fun and educational!

We love this museum! Our favorites are the Live Animal shows, the hatching chicks, tamarin monkeys, the IMAX movies, the shuttle simulator, and the electricity show. We also love the Butterfly Garden and the musical staircase. Parking is really cheap just a few blocks away at the mall. Also easy to get to by train. We have an annual pass and we always love our visits.

Quick Tip To Save $

Right now the museum has a great new exhibit Frogs: A Chorus of Colors, with dozens of really unique species from all over the world. My wife and I took our nieces and nephew last week and they loved it, and so did we! (As they say in their commercial, 'It's ribbeting!') We saved $2 off each child's admission through an online frog trivia game the museum has created. You can find it at www.FrogsCaravanOfColors.org. While you're there you can also sign up to win tickets and some other things. Definitely worth checking out the exhibit and the coupon!

Boston Museum Of Science

The Boston Museum of Science is a great place to explore, learn at the same time while you're having fun! If you're kids love to play but hate school and don't like learning, this is going to be a great opportunity. you and your kids will explore all the different exibits and show but you'll still learn alot. You'll be amazed how well The Boston Museum of Science portrays things in the real world. Everyone will enjoy having fun here while learning having the best trip ever! This will be a trip that you will remember for the rest of your life. I know when I went there for the first time, I loved the place and all the fun little things that set up for everyone to lear. I was surprised how they set up the things so kids can have fun while learning. It's not just a field trip to play but also a filed trip to learn! It's not only fun for kids, grownups! You'll laugh and your insides will soar when you see your family enjoying this wonderful trip! EVeryone will thank you and they'll be so glad that you took them there! It'll really be a great experience and learning memory. I'd love to think that my family had such a fun time while learning! It's amazing how much fun you'll have while gathering information!So buy some tickets, drive down to Boston and explore a world and fun and knowledge today! Keri H. Middletown R.I. 02842 10 years old

Never boring

There is always something neat to discover here. Over by the planetarium they have a really cool planet center that has models of all the planets to scale with each other and the sun. Daunting to see just how tiny the earth is next to Jupitor and the sun! We also enjoy the light models of the solar system, the galaxy and the universe as we know it. We haven't been to a planetarium show yet - perhaps this will be the year.

Favorite Museum

The Museum of Science is our family's favorite. Our kids really enjoy visiting the Human Body Connection room. There is lots to discover there - my daughter especially likes watching the chick hatching station. In addition, there are all sorts of models of human body parts, so kids can learn about the circulatory system, the ear, the teeth and decay (great for a lesson in tooth brushing!) and of course skeletons. In addition, there is a cool glassed in room with four tiny monkeys to watch - always fun. We got a museum membership this year and plan to use it as much as possible. It's also fairly easy to get to from the burbs, both by car and by MBTA.

Discovery Center is wonderful

Both of my children have a ball at the Children's Discovery center. There is so much to do in there. From the discovery boxes (big boxes of nifty things to explore like magnets or bones) and the experiment station to the waterfall play area and the animal dress up centers - you just can't lose. You can stay there for hours. What a wonderful place.

Robot Exhibit

I went to the Robot Exhibit today w/my 4 yr son who just loves robots. We were both very disappointed! Not what we thought it would be. Only 1 robot to play with. Everything else was something you had to read about.