Central region offer indoor & outdoor fun for children and families

Old Sturbridge Village is open! Advanced ticketing required is required. Please visit our updated policies & procedures before reserving your visit.

Learning comes alive like never before at Old Sturbridge Village, where kids can try their hand at farming, get up close and personal with baby animals, take a horse-drawn wagon ride, walk through a covered bridge and see how everything from horseshoes to lanterns were made in the early 19th century. The 200-acre village is designed to transport guests back to a rural New England town of the 1830s – and it’s really an immersive experience. Costumed historians at schoolhouses, trade shops, farms and homes are happy to answer questions. There are nature trails through woodlands, pastures and along the river, with wildlife from great blue herons to mallards and turtles.

New England’s largest zoo is now open with an all new prairie dog digs, two toed sloths and cheetahs. Learn about your favorite animals at the Earth Discovery Center. You’ll find 115 species of animals large and small on foot, from the Woodlands Express train ride or high above on the Skyfari Sky Ride, Meet elk, native birds, painted turtles and toads, Step into the 35 acre deer forest, ride over the playful chimpanzees, stately camels, scary alligators, colorful zebra and ostrich. Enjoy a day’s worth of shows, animal encounters, a petting zoo, parakeet aviary and animal exhibits to take your breath away with big cats, white rhino, snakes, dragons, and WATCH OUT - the popular Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. Always free parking and handicap accessible.

Coming to Southwick's Zoo this September thru January 3, 2022 - The Festival of Illumination "World of Lights" 2021! Take a trip across continents and explore hundreds of hand-crafted Chinese paper lanterns!

Families love the Worcester Art Museum, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a safe, comfortable environment for kids and families to learn about art in new ways. Through mid-September, there’s a special exhibit featuring baseball jerseys, and the Open Door Gallery features the work of artists with disabilities.. All galleries are stroller-accessible, and there are baby-changing stations.

EcoTarium is closed for the fall and winter - see you next year!
Experience hands-on exhibits and make new discoveries, indoors and outdoors, at the EcoTarium in Worcester. The EcoTarium offers three floors of interactive exhibits, exciting shows in the Alden Digital Planetarium: A National Geographic Theater, daily Science Discovery programs, live animal habitats, nature trails through forest and meadow environments, PLUS unlimited play in the expansive Nature Explore® Outdoor Exhibit. To complete your visit, take a trek through the treetops on the Tree Canopy Walkway (seasonal). Rain or shine, summer or winter, there’s always something fun for the whole family to discover at the EcoTarium!

Visit the EcoTarium website for directions, events calendar, exhibit information and more.