The Museum of Science straddles the Charles River dam between Boston and Cambridge, with hundreds of hands-on exhibits spread across three color-coded wings. The signature act is the Theater of Electricity, where a two-story Van de Graaff generator — among the world’s largest — throws real indoor lightning during live shows. Add the Hayden Planetarium and the domed Omni theater, the only screen of its kind in New England, and you’ve got a full day without repeating yourself.

Summer is when the museum earns its keep for local families: it’s air-conditioned, rainy-day-proof, and genuinely engaging for everyone from preschoolers to skeptical teenagers. Crowds peak midday when camp groups roll through, so mornings and late afternoons are the calmer windows. Pick a wing and wander — dinosaurs, the human body, engineering challenges — rather than trying to see everything in one visit.