Greater Boston and Cambridge has plenty of indoor and outdoor fun on its Kids Trails
Boston Children's Museum
Boston, MA 02210
Phone: 617-426-8855
The museum’s interactive exhibits focus on early childhood development and have three themes: arts, culture, and science. Exhibits that encourage children to have fun while they learn are extensive, including the New Balance Climb, a climbing maze made up of brightly painted towers and tubes; Science Playground, a series of sensational physical science exhibits; Hall of Toys, filled with intricate dollhouses, and much more.
Boston Duck Tours
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617-267-DUCK
The Boston Duck Tours “duck” is a renovated World War II amphibious landing vehicle. Tours are led by ConDUCKtors who describe Boston landmarks as the duck motors past places like State House, Bunker Hill, Boston Common, Copley Square, and Quincy Market. Next comes the Splashdown, when your duck hops into the Charles River for a river-level tour of the city.
One Franklin Park Road
Boston, MA 02121
Phone: 617-541-LION (5466)
Fax: 617-989-2025
Get Close.
This zoo, a 72-acre site in Boston’s Franklin Park that is considered the jewel of Emerald Necklace Park System, is the place to relax with the animals (yours and the zoo’s). Habitats include Serengeti Crossing, an African savannah; the Franklin Farm’s petting zoo; the Kalahari Kingdom, with its eyeball-to-eyeball visits with lions; the Giraffe Savannah; the gorillas of the Tropical Forest; and Outback Trail.
United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum
Quincy, MA 02169
Phone: 617-479-7900
This museum is home to the USS Salem, the world’s only preserved heavy cruiser and place for children and families to explore this unique fighting vessel. In addition to day trips, kids can camp overnight on the USS Salem and take part in hands-on activities like radar tracking, damage control, simulated fire fighting, scavenger hunts, cold water survival, and first aid lessons.
USS Constitution Museum
Boston, MA 02129
Phone: 617-426-1812
In addition to touring the USS Constitution, kids and families can explore exhibits that chronicle the ship’s first 200 years and explain why the US Navy still preserves Old Ironsides as a commissioned warship. In “Sailors Speak: A Sailor’s Life for Me?” children can learn about sailors’ experiences at sea by taking part in traditional seafaring work. Also, the museum is home to the USS Constitution Model Shipwright Guild, whose members discuss their work with visitors
