Boston and Cambridge brim with history, museums, shopping at Faneuil Hall

Year round here’s a great fun day out at one of Boston’s major attractions and largest park. Opened to the public in 1912 and operated by Zoo New England, the seventy-two acre park features wildlife from around the world. Get up close to African lion, Masai giraffe and Grevy’s zebra, plus lowland gorillas, lemurs, sloth and other beasts in special exhibits including the Tropical Forest, Kalahari Kingdom, and the Giraffe Savannah. Experience a unique bird adventure at the Aussie Aviary, open seasonally, featuring hundreds of brightly colored budgies in free flight. There are programs and classes for every age and group, a Zoo camp, the Gift Shoppe, and indoor facilities for birthday parties, corporate events and celebrations of every kind.

The four museums on the campus of the oldest university in the country offer permanent and changing exhibitions and public programs for all ages. Explore thousands of specimens from around the globe, from the 42-foot-long Kronosaurus to exquisite Glass Flowers; from massive Maya and Egyptian monuments to finely calibrated scientific instruments acquired by Benjamin Franklin. See Penobscot Canoes at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. Admire rare minerals and gemstones, explore New England Forests, or immerse yourself in Marine Life at the connected Harvard Museum of Natural History. Don’t miss the free Harvard Semitic Museum and Harvard’s Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments. The museums are just an 8-minute walk from the Red Line T and Harvard Square.

Explore the enduring importance of rivers and canoes in Penobscot tribal life. See the archaeology of Harvard Yard, how students lived at colonial Harvard, and the role of the 17th-century Indian College in Harvard’s early years. Trace the birth of American anthropology through the China trade, the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the Javanese Village at the Fair, expeditions to the Arctic and the American Southwest, and more in the museum’s 150th anniversary exhibition. Visit the website for special exhibitions. Admission to the connected Harvard Museum of Natural History and its famed Glass Flowers is included. Open daily 9:00 AM–5:00 PM.

Let yourself slip back in time with guided lighthouse tours (June-October) and ranger-narrated Discovery and Sunset Cruises (summer). There are also frequent special events and activities held on some islands for people of all ages. Sail the waters that conceal old shipwrecks and histories of war, pirates, and spooks! Find a ferry to the islands.
See Boston Harbor Islands for full description of this park.