Massachusetts - Museums and Galleries in Greater Boston and Cambridge

Arthur M. Sackler Museum
485 Broadway Street
Cambridge, MA  02138
Phone: 617-495-9400

Open: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday,1-5 p.m.; closed on national holidays.

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Ancient, Asian, Islamic, and Later Indian art: Chinese jades, bronzes, and cave temple sculpture; Korean ceramics; Japanese wood block prints; and Greek and Roman sculptures, vases, and ancient coins. Admission fee.

Busch-Reisinger Museum
32 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA  02138
Phone: 617-495-9400

Open: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Closed on national holidays

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Collections of art from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and related cultures. Major holdings of Austrian Secession art, German expressionism, 1920s abstraction, and Bauhaus archives. Post-war and contemporary art from German-speaking Europe including work by Joseph Beuys. Of particular interest is the lovely sculpture garden. Admission charge.

Charles River Museum of Industry
154 Moody Street
Waltham, MA  02453
Phone: 617-893-5410

Open: Thursday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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Located in America's first factory, the history 1814 Boston Manufacturing Company textile mill, on the National Register of Historic Places. Exhibits include the American Industrial Revolution, steam power, Waltham Watch Company, plus the bicycle and automobile manufacturing industries along the Charles River. Explore the inventions that powered America into the modern age and the geniuses who perfected them. Admission charge.

Commonwealth Museum
220 Morrissey Boulevard, Columbia Point
Boston, MA  02125
Phone: 617-727-9268

Open: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; second and fourth Saturday of the month, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

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The entire state of Massachusetts is on display: Places around the state, famous people who were born or have resided in the state, in addition to its politics and special role in America's history. Free admission.

Concord Museum
Cambridge Turnpike at Lexington Road
Concord, MA  01742
Phone: 978-369-9763
Fax: 978-369-9660

Where Concord’s History Begins

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Renowned as the site of the battle that began the American Revolution and as the home of the most original thinkers and writers of the American literary renaissance, the town of Concord has played a remarkable part in the history of New England and the nation. The Concord Museum is the one place where all of Concord' s past is brought to life through a nationally-significant historical collection including the famed Revere lantern, literary treasures such as Emerson's Study and Thoreau' s Walden desk, Concord-made clocks, silver and furniture -- all in engaging, self-touring galleries with hands-on family activities and the award-winning Exploring Concord film. Open daily year round.

Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Ave.
Boston, MA  02210
Phone: 617-478-3101

Open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. with free admission on Thursdays from 5-9 p.m.

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The Institute of Contemporary Art unveiled its new home on Fan Pier on Boston's waterfront in December 2006. The building's dramatic cantilevered design integrates the city's HarborWalk into the museum and offers shifting views of the harbor. The design weaves together interior and exterior space, producing shifting perspectives of the waterfront throughout the museum's galleries and public spaces.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
280 The Fenway
Boston, MA  02115
Phone: 617-566-1401

Open: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

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This 15th-century Venetian palace, created at the turn of the century by Isabella Stewart Gardner, houses more than 2,500 art objects, among them works by Rembrandt, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, and Matisse. The Museum was the creation of Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) “for the education and enjoyment of the public forever.” Since opening to the public in 1903, the Gardner has served as a center for ideas and life-long learning in its community--a tradition that is kept alive today through an array of interpretive, creative, educational, horticultural, artistic, and scholarly programs.

Jackson Homestead
527 Washington Street
Newton, MA  02458
Phone: 617-796-1450

Open: Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays

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The Jackson Homestead, a 1809 Federal-style farmhouse, is a nationally accredited museum and home to Newton's Historical Society. The exhibits and programs concentrate on topics of New England history, including the home as a site on the Underground Railroad. Collections include paintings, costumes, photographs, manuscripts, maps, and historical artifacts.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Columbia Point
Boston, MA  02125
Phone: 617-514-1600
Toll-Free: 866-JFK-1960
Fax: 617-436-3395

The life, leadership, and legacy of President Kennedy

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Situated on a 10-acre park overlooking Boston Harbor, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the nation's official memorial to John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States. The museum at the Kennedy Library enables visitors to step back into the recreated world of the early 1960s and experience first-hand the life and legacy of John F. Kennedy. In 25 dramatic exhibits, including three theaters and 20 video presentations, visitors are inspired by the stirring eloquence of John F. Kennedy and by the grace of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Open daily, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; closed New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

List Visual Arts Center at MIT
20 Ames Street
Cambridge, MA  02139
Phone: 617-253-4680

Open: Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, noon-6 p.m.; Friday, noon-8 p.m.; closed Mondays and holidays

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Exhibitions explore challenging, intellectual contemporary art making in all media: painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and architecture/design. Map available for self-guided tour of MIT’s public art works and architecture.

Longyear Museum and Historical Society
1125 Boylston Street (Route 9)
Chestnut Hill, MA  02467
Phone: 617-278-9000

Open: Monday, Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m.; closed Tuesdays and holidays

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Exhibits focus on the life of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science Church. Admission is free.

Mary Baker Eddy Library™
200 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA  02115
Toll-Free: 888-222-3711

Home of the world-famous Mapparium®

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The Mary Baker Eddy Library features some of the most thought-provoking and fun exhibits in the city, exploring the life and achievements of Mary Baker Eddy. She was a controversial New England woman who defied conventional 19th-century thinking to become an influential religious leader, author, teacher, and founder of the Christian Science Monitor at age 87. The museum also houses the world-famous Mapparium®, an achievement in art and architecture from 1935 giving visitors a unique look at how ideas have the power to change the world. The Lending & Reference Services and Research Room provide access to further subject reading, books, archival documents, photographs, and artifacts of the Mary Baker Eddy Library Collections.

Milton Art Museum
44 Edge Hill Road
Milton, MA
Phone: 617-696-1145

Featured exhibits include 19th century bronze sculpture, prints, Asian artwork and contemporary artists. There is an admission fee.

Museum of African American History, Boston campus
46 Joy Street, Beacon Hill
Boston, MA  02114
Phone: 617-725-0022

Open: Call for hours

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The African Meeting House and Abiel Smith School on Beacon Hill, both built in the early 1800s, are two of the Museum of Afro-American History's most valuable assets. Located in what once was the heart of Boston's 19th-century African American community, these buildings remain a showcase of black community organization and enduring testimony to black craftsmanship. Once a church, a school, a vital community meeting place, the African Meeting House is open to the public. The Abiel Smith School, the nation's first public school for African American children, currently houses a first-class exhibit space and the museum store.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA  02115
Phone: 617-267-9300

One of the world’s great art museums

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Come to the MFA and see masterpieces from around the world and across the ages. At every turn, you’ll find breathtaking works of art, from masters of American painting to the icons of Impressionism, from exquisite Asian scrolls to ancient Egyptian mummies. We have a rich collection of American art including such icons as Paul Revere’s silver Liberty bowl and masterpieces by John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, and Winslow Homer. Our collection of Asian art is unrivaled in size, scope, and distinction in the Western world, and we own the finest collection of Monets outside of Paris. Gallery tours, audio tapes, and maps of the Museum are available in foreign languages. Open daily, the MFA also offers films, concerts, artist lectures, and family programs. Visit mfa.org for more information.

Museum of Transportation
15 Newton Street
Brookline, MA  02445
Phone: 617-522-6547

Open: Tuesday – Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; open on some Monday holidays (call ahead); closed national holidays

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America's oldest collection of automobiles housed in a castle-like building; artifacts; vintage car meets. There is an admission charge.

Nichols House Museum
55 Mount Vernon Street
Boston, MA  02108
Phone: 617-227-6993

Open: May 1 - October 31, Tuesday through Saturday, noon-4 p.m.; November 1 - April 30, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, noon-4 p.m.; closed most major holidays

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Built in 1804, this home on Beacon Hill features exhibits of antique furniture and household items. Admission charge.

Old Schwamb Mill
17 Mill Lane at 29 Lowell Street
Arlington, MA  02474
Phone: 617-643-0554

Open: Tuesdays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

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The historic Old Schwamb Mill site itself survives as a continuously operating site where, for more than 300 years, immigrant Puritan, Yankee, and German entrepreneurs harnessed the water power of a fast-moving brook to run machines and develop a series of family-owned businesses. Today The Old Schwamb Mill continues to produce museum quality hand turned wooden oval and circular frames. See the production of a frame and hear what the woodworker says about his work.

Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University
5 South Street
Waltham, MA
Phone: 781-736-3432

Open: Hours are seasonal. Summer hours are Wednesday through Friday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Call ahead for schedule.

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The Rose Art Museum specializes in modern and contemporary art. It has top-shelf works by, among others, Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Morris Louis, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, Roy Lichtenstein, and Ad Reinhardt. When you enter campus through the main entrance, take a left. You will pass the admissions building and the round Spingold Theatre building, both on your left. The Rose Art Museum will be on your left. Admission is free and the museum is open to the public.

Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History
235 Wellesley Street
Weston, MA  02493
Phone: 781-768-8367

Open: Thursday - Sunday, noon - 5 p.m.

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The Spellman Museum engages diverse audiences of all ages in the opportunities to learn from stamps and postal history. It welcomes stamp collectors and philatelic students from around the world. Admission charge.

The Museum of the National Center of Afro American Artists
300 Walnut Avenue
Boston, MA  02119
Phone: 617-442-8614

Open: Tuesday through Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

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A total focus the art of Afro-Americans, including exhibits, tours, lectures, films, and concerts. Admission charge.

U.S. Naval Shipbuilding Museum
739 Washington Street (the former Fore River Shipyard)
Quincy, MA  02169
Phone: 617-479-7900

Open: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

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This museum features the U.S.S. Salem, a U.S. Navy battleship in use early this century. Admission charge.

USS Constitution Museum
Charlestown Navy Yard
Charlestown, MA  02129
Phone: 617-242-7511

Open: Open: April 15 –October 15, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; October 16-April 14, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

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The USS Constitution Museum is a non-profit museum that serves as the memory and educational voice of USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides," the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat. The museum houses the ship's logs, weapons, charts, journals, arts, and more. Visitors fire a cannon, swing in a hammock, or command the USS Constitution in battle using a computer. Free admission.

Danforth Museum of Art
123 Union Avenue
Framingham, MA  01702
Phone: 508-620-0050

Open: Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday

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Art museum with exhibits focusing on both traditional and contemporary art. Admission charge.

Davis Museum and Cultural Center
Wellesley College, 106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA
Phone: 781-283-2051

Open seasonally

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The beautiful Rafael Moneo-designed Davis Museum offers innovative temporary exhibitions and spacious galleries for the museum’s permanent collection of nearly 10,000 works of art that spans the 3,000 years of art history. The permanent collection features American Art; Stories, Ideals, Beliefs; Perceiving Space in Art; and The Artist-as-Curator: Kiki Smith. This hidden gem on the Wellesley College campus is free and open to all. Admission: Free. For hours, visit www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu

Fogg Art Museum
32 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA  02138
Phone: 617- 495-9400

Open: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday,1-5 p.m.; closed on national holidays.

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Collections illustrate the history of Western art from Middle Ages to the present with major focus on Italian early Renaissance, British pre-Raphaelite, and nineteenth-century French art. Major collection of Impressionist and post-impressionist work and works by Picasso. Admission charge.

Gibson House Museum
137 Beacon Street
Boston, MA  02116
Phone: 617-267-6338

Open: Year-round; visits are by guided tour, Wednesday-Sunday, 1, 2, 3 p.m.; closed New Year's Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

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This Victorian home is open for visitors to observe the 19th century lifestyle and culture in Boston. There is an admission charge.

Harvard Art Museum at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum
485 Broadway
Cambridge, MA
Phone: 617-495-9400

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.

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This collection that is richer and deeper than all but three or four of the country's great public museums; it has, for instance, around 80 works just by Edgar Degas, as well as ancient sculpture from Greece and Rome, European old masters, Asian art, modern German art, and a sizzling selection of Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The Harvard Art Museum will be closed for major renovations through December 31, 2013. Up to that time, a comprehensive selection of works from the Harvard Art Museum's three constituent museums — the Fogg Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, and Arthur M. Sackler Museum — will be shown together at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum. Admission: adults, $9; seniors over age 65, $7; college students, $6; Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon and every day after 4:30 p.m., free.

Harvard Museum of Natural History
26 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA  02138
Phone: 617-495-3045
Fax: 617-496-8782

Dinosaurs, Glass Flowers, Meteorites – Explorers Welcome

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Explore 12,000 specimens at the Harvard Museum of Natural History -- dinosaurs, meteorites, gemstones, and hundreds of animals from around the globe. Get close to the world’s only mounted Kronosaurus, a 42 ft-long marine reptile; one of the first Triceratops ever discovered; a 1,642 lb. amethyst geode; whale skeletons. Don’t miss the world famous exhibit of 3,000 ‘Glass Flowers’, amazingly realistic models of plants, fruits and flowers created by father-son glass artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka from 1886-1936. You won’t believe they’re not real! The museum is on the University campus, just a 7-10 minute walk through historic Harvard Yard from the Harvard Square Red Line ‘T’ station. Check out lectures, films, classes & changing exhibitions.