Greater Boston and Cambridge offer indoor & outdoor fun for children and families

Families love Boston, and it’s no secret why: It’s so walkable, and there’s so much to do, everyone leaves happy. See tea tossed overboard at the Tea Party Ships & Museum, then take in the Children’s Museum practically next door. Visit the Paul Revere House and the USS Constitution on the exciting Freedom Trail, catch a game at Fenway or take a relaxing trip on the famous Swan Boats in the Public Garden (don’t forget to visit the “Make Way for Ducklings” statues while you’re there). There are plenty of playgrounds, a classic carousel, trolley and duck boat tours, street performers at fun Faneuil Hall, seals, penguins and sharks in the New England Aquarium – and you can watch a lightning storm happen indoors in the Museum of Science.

It’s not surprising that a city known for so many families – the Adamses, Quincys and Hancocks – would have activities and attractions popular with families. Visiting the Adams' Homesteads and Presidential Library. (In the Stone Library, you’ll find the Mendi Bible given to John Quincy Adams by the Amistad enslaved people.) Walk to the Abigail Adams Cairn, the site where she and John Quincy watched the smoke and fire from the Battle of Bunker Hill. From the Quincy RiverWalk, you can launch your kayak. Shop or dine in stylish Marina Bay, with incredible Boston skyline views. Hike or bike (or ski) in Blue Hills Reservation, take a harbor cruise, or climb a lighthouse in the Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park.

When it comes to getting children involved in learning about history, the Concord Museum has several ideas. The museum uses everything from close-looking prompts that encourage a deeper look at an object to interactive stations throughout the galleries and special scavenger hunts to get families involved. And, of course, there are several items that capture children’s imaginations, like the Paul Revere lantern that signaled how the British were coming (“one if by land, two if by sea”); and a flute and desk used by Henry David Thoreau. Items in the April 19, 1775 gallery are also fascinating to children, including powder horns and muskets as well as a digital map that, step by step, takes viewers through the events of that important day. Strollers are permitted throughout the museum.