With all its diversity and collegiality, it’s no surprise that the city of Boston is home to museums of every type. From carefully stored historical time capsules to fun reenactment of history itself, Boston museums give the tourist their pick of options. Whether it is kids or adults, there’s something for everyone! Read on to find out about the must-visit museums of The Hub.
Institute of Contemporary Art
Situated in a stylish and spacious seaport building, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is the cultural cornerstone of the Boston waterfront. With a sprawling 65,000-square-feet of floor space, the glass-walled building houses multiple galleries, a theater, and even a café. Founded in 1936, the museum changed its name in 1948, from the original Boston Museum of Modern Art to ICA. Distancing itself from the partisan concept of ‘modern,’ the museum takes pride in embracing the changing concept of ‘contemporary’ and being an inclusive platform for creative, challenging, and offbeat contemporary works. One can also catch a concert or a DJ on the scenic breezy back deck for a lighter scene.
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
As the name suggests, this fun and floating museum is centered on a milestone event in America — the Boston Tea Party. There are various things one can do here, like visit the media exhibits explaining the event, but the most thrilling part is the live reenactment of the historic incident! The one-hour-long museum tour takes place on restored 18th-century sailing vessels, which replicate the ships involved in the original event from December 16th, 1773. Aiming to educate the participants in a fun way, the tour features historical interpretations and interactive exhibitions. Visitors also have a chance to get a taste of history by sampling the five flavors of teas thrown overboard that winter evening. Lastly, one can score a photo op by dumping tea themselves. Memorabilia, anyone?
Harvard Museum of Natural History
The historic Harvard Museum of Natural History in Boston boasts of a vast — and perhaps a slightly creepy — collection of bottled, dried, and stuffed creatures from across the globe. There’s everything from butterflies, to coelacanths, to llamas to please the fossil-mad nerds. One can gawk at the dinosaur skeletons or be wowed by the gigantic 42-foot kronosaurus, a prehistoric marine reptile. Rock fans (the stone, not the music), can head straight to the gemstones and meteorites section. The entry fee to this museum includes admission to another interconnected institution- the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. This particular museum of Boston is renowned for its anthropological exhibitions focused on North and South America.