Boston Children’s Museum

We like coming to Children’s museum as a family. Sometimes it can get crowded on the weekends, so it is good to choose times when it is not at its peak.
Last time we went, we had to wait 20 minutes in a long line to get in. It was on a Saturday morning. Once we got in, it was no problem.
My little ones enjoy the bubbles section on the 1^st floor and the dodge ball game on the 2^nd floor. Definitely check it out!

Good place for kids. They have 3 floors of different rooms. A bubble room, a golf ball room that ha’s structures that golf balls can flow around and through. The first thing you will notice when you walk in is a climbing structure that goes about 3 or 4 stories high.

This place is aweome! Yes, it is chaotic and madness — and perfect for letting kids run wild!
And if you are observant, a great place to learn all sorts of things!

Half price after 4 pm and every Friday it’s only $ 1 per person from 5 pm to close.
Bring a snack, there aren’t many food options in the area. Make sure to check out the free Firetruck Museum that’s just a block away. They give away free firetruck hats for the kids!

We love this museum. We got a year membership, and it’s been well worth it. It’s a great place to take your little one. over and over again! It can be for an hour, or even a day. I must admit adults can enjoy the hands-​on exhibits (like the bubble room), too! The museum has a good location with outdoor seating for lunch/​snack.

I am an adult that visited the boston childrens museum. I even had to wear a lanyard that said that I was an adult without a child to accompany me (safety first). Typically admission is $ 16 but on Fridays from 5 to 9 pm, admission is only $ 1! I had such fun in the bubble and Arthur «exhibits» what a wonderful flashback to my childhood days!

We come here every time we visit family in Boston, which is about once a year for the last seven years. My boys are 8.5 and 7 years old. I thought this might be the year they’d buzz through it in an hour and then want to leave. Nope! They still love it here and had to be dragged out after three hours of non-​stop fun.

If you have young children, this is a great way to spend an afternoon!
The space is very big and clean. They have tons of hands-​on activities for children of all ages. My girls loved the bubble room and the workbench room.
They also have a huge sculpture in the middle of the first floor where children can (safely) climb up 3 – 4 floors. My older daughter absolutely loved it. It also had a few emergency exits to make this nervous mom feel better.
The bathrooms were clean and with pictures of animal poop in them. Very cute addition.

Won’t go here again, providence is the same distance and is only $ 9 and has free parking. This one is $ 16 for myself AND $ 16 for my one year old. Most things were for older kids … He couldn’t even reach the water stuff and the smocks were too big. Parking was $ 20 and down the street. Couldn’t bring my coffee in… Whatever. I do like the lockers for a quarter (you get the quarter back) some of the staff was friendly and some sucked. Clean.

While this can be and is such a fun place for kids to explore I have to also state the obvious.
* $ 16 per person is a high price
* exhibits often broken or in disrepair like dirty construction hats, etc
* 1 page per person limits on paper and such in art rooms
While my kids love it I can help but feel taken advantage of on every visit. Put some money back into the place and change up exhibits from time to time. Maybe even limit the # of people in the place so you can use the exhibits too.

If you’re going to visit, I would definitely try to go on Target Fridays where it’s only $ 1 between 5:30pm — 9pm. It’s hard to give the museum more than 3 stars after visiting the Houston Children’s museum.
The pretend –play areas were all lacking props. I think the most fun was on the first floor with the golf balls and activities with rolling the balls down different ramps. Even the toddler area didn’t have much going on. The Houston museum makes all children and adults who enter the toddler area take off shoes or wear shoe covers. The Boston museum only had them do that in the ‘crawlers’ area.

It is a fantastic museum, kept clean, and a lot of different areas and activities. There are also shows and things throughout the days. This place has something for most ages and interests. Sometimes it is a big exhausting with so many kids everywhere, but fantastic location and beautiful museum.

My three kids (ranging ages 1.5 to 5yo) absolutely love this awesome museum. Of all the children’s museums we’ve visited, I’d say this is their fav as well as ours. (A very close 2^nd place goes to Please Touch in PA.) Kinda expensive entry but totally worth every penny. If you live in the area, it makes sense to buy the season pass but alas, we are but mere travelers from NYC that only come here once a year.
Bathrooms are clean-​ish, roomy enough for strollers, well equipped with sinks low enough for little ones to use, and they even have separate family-​style bathrooms.
A must-​do for families with kids 4 thru 8 is the Kids Stage. It’s an interactive 20min comedic play put on by real actors & their audience. My somewhat timid kids volunteered themselves & were yelling out responses throughout the show. Tix are free, & shows run throughout the day, but you must request these tix at the info desk!
Parking can be difficult if you’re not here first thing in the morn so look for alternate methods of arriving here, or park across the wharf.
The store is a wonderful resource not just for toys but for educational items too. I love their book selection, and my kids always walk away with at least one new book on every visit. While the museum itself closes on most days at 5 PM, the store closes at 6 PM. So I highly suggest hitting the store on your way out. You can use the visit to the store as a bartering chip when your kids are refusing to leave this phenomenal museum.

My toddler and I LOVED this museum. I just can’t say enough wonderful things about the Boston Children’s Museum and what it provides for families with little kids. In fact, I was so impressed with it that I took my daughter back every single day for the remainder of our trip to Boston back in December. I also strongly considered relocating to the area.
The museum is less than half a mile away from South Station, which makes it convenient for those staying in the suburbs or any place that’s near an MBTA. You’ll also likely save on time, gas, and parking fees by using any of Boston’s convenient options for public transportation.
It has an Au Bön Pain on property, which I found incredibly convenient. I still crave the spinach and cheese croissants from my time in Boston as a kid. They serve a variety of sandwiches, croissants, salads, fruit bowls, soups, pastries, hot beverages, and cold beverages. Their kids’ menu includes things my incredibly picky eater LOVES: breast-​meat chicken «nuggets» & mac and cheese. ABP also sells cups of seedless grapes. If you just aren’t a fan, Quincy Market is a very close walk. The museum also provides microwaves for you to heat up packed lunches and a cafeteria with plenty of tables as well as benches along the pier.
The museum itself is MASSIVE and has a great deal of displays across 3 floors and houses many exhibits including:
* GIANT MULTI-​FLOOR CLIMBING STRUCTURE
* BALLS
This section was AWESOME. There were multiple structures and ways to interact with little balls. You could spin them, drop them, turn a knob and watch balls fly around… or watch them roll down a looping ramp. Such a brilliant way to encourage children to test gravity and understand basic physics.
* BUBBLES
Which kid doesn’t love bubbles? This was such a fun area to play with. You could make huuuuuge bubbles or small ones with various objects. They also had sinks and paper towels for kids and their parents to clean up before moving on. Such a thoughtful and convenient feature and a great way to encourage and promote good hygiene.
* ARTHUR & FRIENDS
This section had a fake plane that kids could pretend to fly and land with an LCD screen in place of the windows to stimulate an actual takeoff/​landing and movable knobs as well as a ramp that my daughter spent 30minutes playing on. There was a room with a play kitchen complete with play food, pots, and pans as well as a row of shoes (always a hit). There was a dark room with a tent for fake camping with the sound of crickets chirping behind you. There was a classroom with giant magnetic letters and floor cushions next to a wall shelf full of real books that my 20 month old daughter wanted to read. There was even a room with a green screen for kids to sing and dance along to the Arthur theme song while appearing on a TV.
* ASTRONOMY
This section had a bunk bed, a wall where kids can play with strings on what appeared to be thumbtacks on a wall (but safe, with no sharp ends), a telescope, a tent, a giant structure that you could enter to see the sky, and so much more.
* PEEP’S WORLD
This section had a huge water table that allowed kids to see how dams might work or test different objects to see what floated and what did not. There was a small dark space where kids could play with light & shadows. My only complaint is how tall that water table was. My daughter is obsessed with water play and she was very sad when she discovered she couldnt reach it.
* GLOBAL GALLERY
When I was there in December the featured country was China. My daughter loved playing with chopsticks and fake food. They also had regional/​traditional clothes in large sizes for kids to dress up. It would’ve been nice to have had access to a wider assortment of sizes for both boys and girls.
* BOSTON BLACK
There was a mini supermarket, a barber shop, a café, a hair salon, a truck, benches, chess tables, dominoes, just so much to do and so much culture to explore. Kids could learn to dance and create music as well.
* CONSTRUCTION ZONE
Trucks, pulleys, you name it. My daughter also loved a smaller room where you could creatively build/​assemble objects and structures with various building tools including wooden blocks.
Even after spending 3 days there, there are entire sections of the museum we never explored. My daughter would get sucked in to certain areas and we’d often find ourselves interacting with each section for over an hour. There really is just SO MUCH to learn and do here.
This museum is also a member of the ACM so becoming a member gives you access to 50% off other participating children’s museums across the nation. We have an annual pass to the San Francisco Creativity Museum so we got 50% off of admission on our visits to the BCM.

Kids, get ready to dive on in and explore & play with everything!
This place is so much fun and kids of all ages love it. Plenty of informational kiosks & «how to» displays. Larger than life chess set & smack in the middle of the atrium is an almost three story netted web that kids can climb up. It’s a lot of fun. Get ready to play grocery store and learn about gravity in fun unique ways.
Warning to parents: place gets crowded on the weekends. The over excitement or early departure can end in meltdowns and lastly, some small tots climbing the netted apparatus may not know how to get down once they reach the top due to crowding and a sudden fear of heights so be ready to guide kids back down.
Overall, I think this place is a lot of fun for kids ages 2+ to 10. Younger ones and you’ll just be pushing a stroller all day. 10 and up might wish they were catching the latest 3D movie.

Ok, I feel really old writing this, but Friday night at the Children’s Museum is awesome! Between 5:30pm-9:00pm, admission is only $ 1 per person. I paid more for parking than the price of admission for my whole family. It’s inside the museum where it gets really good. It felt like one gigantic play space for kids.
On the first floor, they have cool things like a room where you can endlessly learn about the use of kinetic and potential energy as golf balls travel through not quite friction-​less surfaces up and down chutes, rails, and everything else. Another room is just full of soapy water and objects where you can make some of the biggest bubbles I’ve ever seen.
The highlight of the second floor is the Playspace. It’s a really great area for young kids to play with toy trains, sit in a wooden car that you can play a «radio», or run up and down some building structures in a safe environment. There’s other cool stuff like the Kid’s power room, where I saw a 3-​year old break dancing on the lighted floor.
The third floor has cool things like the Japanese House, the World Exhibit (featuring China), and the Construction Zone where you can dress up in construction outfits and get into tractors.
Suffice it to say, my son thoroughly enjoyed every minute of his trip there. There’s a ton more stuff that we did while we were there. Honestly, we could have spent at least 2 – 3 more hours there if it wasn’t so late. He not only didn’t want to leave, but he’s already woken up once once saying that he wants to go again. For the price, you can’t beat it. And it wasn’t as crowded as I would expect either. I’m already planning my next trip there.

Fun for adults too.
If you can push your way past children and get your hands dirty you can have some fun too, or you can hang back and watch. I had a lot of fun playing with bubbles when I went for a private event. I did notice that most of the museum is stuck in the 90’s but most of the exhibits are still in good working condition.

We were up in Boston for vacation, and it was a rainy day so we decided to check out the museum (though everyone had the same idea).
Parking is next to impossible, get there early
There are 3 floors, so even though it was busy, there was a lot of space so kids were spaced out. Loved that because I was worried it would be cramped with the rain
Majority of the museum is geared toward older kids (we had a 3 year old and an 11 month old). But we managed to find stuff to do for both. The bubble room they both loved, as well as what we called the «golf ball room.» The music spaces were fun too
We spent a lot of time in the play space area, which had a designated space for crawlers, since out little one couldn’t do much else. But he loved it. There’s an upper area with a pit with a water bed and a seat that you can turn them on. Lower area padded stuff to crawl over, along with padded walls everywhere.
Everything sounds great, so why the 4 stars you ask? Here’s why: there were many things that were broken. Musical instruments that didn’t work, sticks broken, speakers that didn’t work. I know that it’s a bunch of kids, and they break things, but you should know that and do an inventory of what needs to be fixed more often and fix it. I was a little annoyed with one of the attendants at the play space area, because when she was there, she was not policing the area well, and there were children who were NOT crawlers coming into the crawler space. There is a reason it’s for crawlers, so your child doesn’t step on or fall on my child. She did nothing about it. Other attendants did though.
One of my biggest annoyances has to do with the bathrooms. There is one bathroom on each floor. With about 3 stalls. And ONE changing table. Really? This is a children’s museum and many of them are still in diapers. In the 3 and under area there is ONE family bathroom. Why is there not just one big room with 4 – 5 changing tables in each room on each floor? There are signs everywhere asking you to change your child in designated areas, but I have to wait 10 minutes to do so? Come on now, that’s just ridiculous
Also, PSA: parents please teach your children manners. There were so many times we were trying to do something with our kids and another child would run up and take it away or but in front. Don’t check your common sense at the door just because you paid to be there. Lots of other people did too.

Went on a dollar night and this place was jam-​packed! Loved the deal, but the amount of kids going crazy was a bit much. It gets a little scary with older children playing among the younger ones.
Loved the bubble room and the construction room, lots of different rooms to choose from… it was sensory overload!
Nice that AuBonPain is connected so you don’t have to leave if its bad weather.
Wish they had more large lockers. Parking around the corner available, make sure you read the times or you will end up paying more. We were off by 1 minute and had to pay extra money, doh! Amazing views of Boston!

I love this museum, and more importantly, so does my son. Being just 1.5 years old, I was concerned there wouldn’t be much for him, but every room we went in engaged him. There is a large area devoted just to kids 3 and under. There are at least 5 or 6 different sections with many various activities, everything is very clean and it’s all safely contained without dangers so your kid can run wild.
Being from NY I can really appreciate this. The children’s museum in Manhattan was a major disappointment. The one in Brooklyn has an area for toddlers, but kids up to 5 can play there and it makes it unsafe for the younger kids who move more slowly down ramps, etc. I would describe the NY museums as limited and the Boston museum as being unlimited in activities and areas of exploration for under 3 year olds. Beyond the toddler room were plenty of exhibits that my son enjoyed. We were there for hours and could have stayed even longer. We can’t wait to go back.
Truly — the detail and imagination that has gone into this museum surpasses impressive. It’s amazing. Worth a trip to Boston for the experience there alone.