Explore Boston · Part One
Boston with Kids
Bronze ducklings, indoor lightning and a warship with a working crew: a city sized for small legs.
Boston is small, walkable and full of things children can touch, climb and ride. The family classics sit a short T ride apart, several cost nothing, and the history comes with cannons, tall ships and tea you are encouraged to throw. Pick one anchor a day, then add a park.
Hands-on museums
Museum of Science
Straddling the Charles on its own dam, this is the city’s best whole-day building for curious kids. Don’t miss the live lightning show, thrown by the world’s largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator. ›
Boston Children’s Museum
Founded in 1913 and marked by the giant Hood Milk Bottle on Fort Point Channel: a three-story climb, water-play tables and a real house from Kyoto. Martin’s Park, built for all abilities, is next door. Admission is $24 from age one, or $1 on Sunday afternoons, 1–4 p.m., if you book ahead online. ›
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Across the river, a 42-foot Kronosaurus, the only mounted one anywhere, a Triceratops skull among the first ever found, a 1,600-pound amethyst geode and the Glass Flowers, 4,300 botanical models in glass so exact that children refuse to believe them. One ticket also covers the connected Peabody Museum. ›
USS Constitution Museum
Beside Old Ironsides in the Charlestown Navy Yard, kids sign on with the 1812 crew: scrubbing decks, climbing aloft to furl a sail and trying out a sailor’s hammock. ›
Animals and water
New England Aquarium
Spiral up the four-story Giant Ocean Tank past sea turtles and sharks, greet the penguins at its base, then reach into the shark and ray touch tank. The Blue Line stops at the door. ›
Whale watch
The Aquarium’s whale watch leaves Central Wharf, beside Long Wharf, from mid-May into November: three to four hours out to Stellwagen Bank, where humpbacks feed all summer, from $75. Dress warmer than the forecast says; it is colder on the water. ›
Franklin Park Zoo
Open since 1912 in Olmsted’s Franklin Park. The domed Tropical Forest keeps western lowland gorillas and pygmy hippos indoors, a reliable rainy-day plan; outside are giraffes, lions and kangaroos. ›
Duck tours
The amphibious ducks roll past the landmarks, then drive straight down a ramp into the Charles. Out on the river, the driver sometimes lets a young passenger take the wheel. About 80 minutes; $57 for adults and $42 for ages 3–11, plus fees. ›
Harbor Islands ferry
Seasonal boats from Long Wharf reach Georges Island, where the tunnels and ramparts of Fort Warren make a ready-made fortress, and Spectacle Island, with a swimming beach and a hilltop skyline view. Round trip $24.95 adults, $17.95 ages 3–11. ›
Parks and play
Make Way for Ducklings
Nancy Schön’s bronze Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings, from Robert McCloskey’s picture book, have paraded through the Public Garden since 1987, the garden’s 150th anniversary. Expect a small rider on every duck. ›
Swan Boats
The Paget family has pedaled these swans around the Public Garden lagoon since 1877. The loop takes 10 to 15 calm minutes, $4.75 for adults at the dock, and the boats run from mid-April through Labor Day. ›
Frog Pond
Boston Common’s pond works all year: a wading spray pool in summer, outdoor skating with rentals from about late November into March, and a carousel alongside from spring into fall. ›
Esplanade playgrounds
On the Charles, the Esplanade Playspace near the Hatch Shell and the Arthur Fiedler Footbridge has a zip line for ages about 5 to 12; Stoneman Playground, farther upriver, has a toddler side. ›
Ice cream
The two counters every Boston child can name: J.P. Licks, a Jamaica Plain original with shops across the city, and Toscanini’s in Central Square, whose B3, brown butter and brown sugar ice cream with brownie chunks, is the flavor adults order for themselves.
History that holds their attention
USS Constitution
Launched in 1797, Old Ironsides is still a commissioned Navy ship, and active-duty sailors show visitors her decks. Boarding is free; adults need a photo ID for the security check. ›
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
Costumed reenactors run a 1773 town meeting, then hand out tea chests to heave over the rail, near where the real tea hit the water. Tours are timed, so book ahead; from $36 for adults. ›
Bunker Hill Monument
For kids with energy to spare: 294 spiral steps up a 221-foot granite obelisk, no elevator, with harbor views as the reward. The museum across the street tells the battle’s story. ›
The Freedom Trail
Following a red brick line through downtown is a game in itself. Walk a stretch rather than all 2.5 miles, or join a guide in 18th-century costume from Boston Common. ›
Know before you go
Children 11 and under ride the T free. Most subway stations are accessible, but not all, so check elevator status on mbta.com before setting out with a stroller; Beacon Hill’s brick and the North End’s narrow sidewalks are the hardest going.
Bathrooms on the Freedom Trail, in walking order: the Visitor Information Center at 139 Tremont Street on the Common (daily 8:30 a.m.–4:45 p.m.), Faneuil Hall (up the stairs toward the Great Hall), the lower level of Quincy Market, the Navy Yard visitor center in Building 5, just inside the gate by the ship, and the Bunker Hill Museum across from the monument. The burying grounds have none.
Weekday mornings are the calm ones; the Museum of Science is busiest on weekends and school vacation weeks. Book timed tickets ahead, and duck tours a week or more ahead in July and August. Outdoors, the season decides: the Swan Boats rest from Labor Day until April, island ferries run mid-May to mid-October, and Frog Pond freezes from about late November.