Museums in Massachusetts: The state of Massachusetts has tons of cool places to go at all times of the year! Historic sites, amusement parks, zoos, pools and lakes, beaches , waterfalls, and wonderful museums of art, history, and science, just point your finger and choose where to have fun at the moment. Find out more about some of Massachusetts’ museums and see which one you want to go to first!
Best Museums in Massachusetts
Table of Contents
1. Whaling Museum – Nantucket Whaling Museum
“Look sharp, all of you! There are whales here! ” Herman Melville, Moby Dick
The Whaling Museum is a whaling museum that tells the story of Nantucket and explores all aspects of the demanding and dangerous 18th-century whaling trade. In the Whaling Gallery, there is a six-meter-long sperm whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling.
The museum is open from April 2nd to December 31st, daily from 10 AM to 5 PM.
whale hunting gallery
The Whaling Gallery exhibits this sperm whale that died on Siasconset beach in early 1998. It’s breathtaking to be so close to its skeleton.
According to Niles Parker, former NHA Robyn, and John Davis Curator, “This is the whale that put Nantucket on the map. During the height of Nantucket’s whaling era, men left the island in droves to hunt the whale. It is because of this whale that the island enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most prosperous ports in late 18th and early 19th century America”
In the gallery, it is also possible to find a miniature of the boat that was used to hunt whales and several images of the men and women who went looking for them. needed to support this production
Using historical imagery, footage, and artifacts in the museum, NHA guides tell the story of Nantucket’s rise and fall as the whaling capital of the world and bring to life the work and danger faced by men in search of whales.
Hadwen & Barney Oil and Sail Factory
In the oil and candle factory space learn about the lucrative oil trade and candle production in the 19th century and the growth of Nantucket’s industries needed to support that production.
Whaling Museum Programs and Events
Click here for upcoming Whaling Museum programs and events.
If you would like to use the museum to organize a wedding ceremony or reception, cocktail party, or private dinner, simply complete the Venue Request Form or contact Ashley Martin, NHA Special Functions Manager at ( 508) 228-1894 ext . 131 – [email protected].
Accessibility
The Whaling Museum is fully equipped to receive disabled visitors. Non-motorized wheelchairs are available for visitors to use free of charge. In addition, listening devices are also available for lectures, films, and presentations.
The elevator is equipped with Braille signage and gives audible signals. Service animals are also welcome to visit the Museum.
The Whaling Museum is located at 13 Broad St in Nantucket MA.
2. Institute of Contemporary Art – Museum of Contemporary Art
The Institute of Contemporary Art or Museum of Contemporary Art is located in Boston and is the perfect place for contemporary art lovers. The multi-story museum is packed with themed exhibits, research by renowned contemporary artists, and new commissions, and features emerging artists in the museum’s first solo exhibitions. Be prepared for a lot of painting, sculpture, and photography. Many of the works in the museum belong to artists whose works and ideas have changed the course of art history.
The Institute of Contemporary Art has a store that sells various objects of contemporary design, jewelry, art books, and toys, it is open at the same time as the museum. In addition, there is a cart that sells light drinks and coffee. Eating and drinking are allowed on the first floor.
The Institute of Contemporary Art is open Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10 AM to 5 PM, and Thursday and Friday from 10 AM to 9 PM. It remains closed on Mondays and on the first Friday of each month opens from 10 AM to 5 PM. Entry costs $15. Children under 17 years of age do not pay admission, people over 60 years old pay $13, and students $10. You can go on a free guided tour on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.
If you have any questions, you can call the numbers below or visit the museum’s website. Remember that the numbers are American.
(617) 478-3100 (main)
(617) 478-3103 (box office)
[email protected]
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3. Museum of Fine Arts – Boston Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts is located in Boston and is open seven days a week. At the Museum of Fine Arts, it is possible to explore art, history, and culture uniquely. Conservatives, educators, academics, and local artists give weekly lectures. Guided tours last about an hour and several tours are offered throughout the day. Some focus on just a few areas of the museum, others on all the highlights.
At the Museum of Fine Arts, there are artistic demonstrations, where artists, dancers, and musicians speak their stories and inspirations behind their art. This ends up becoming as special as the art itself! When artists talk about what they felt or thought while creating. It makes your work even more complete and more complex. In addition, it is also possible to know the techniques and tools they use. For those who have their artistic side out, there are drawing materials available to participate in the magic of creating and putting all the inspiration that the Museum of Fine Arts brings to a work of art.
The Museum of Fine Arts offers courses and classes in art, repairs, and films, in addition to the huge collection of decorative arts, American paintings and sculptures, arts of the Ancient Americas, Arts of Islamic Cultures, Chinese, Egyptian, Korean, European, Arts of Fashion and much more! Photographs, prints, and drawings, musical instruments… The Museum of Fine Arts enchants everyone with a minimum of sensitivity to the unique, to the beauty that makes up art.
Hours of Operation
- Monday – Tuesday | 10 AM to 5 PM
- Wednesday – Friday | 10 AM to 10 PM
- Saturday – Sunday | 10 AM to 5 PM
Visit Value
- Members | Free
- Adults | $25
- Seniors (65+) | $23
- Children under 6 years | Free
- Young people from 7 to 17 years old | Free / $10
Youth ages 7-17 have free weekends, weekdays after 3 PM, and school holidays in Boston; otherwise, youth admission is $10). - Students (18+) | $23
University membership program participants receive free admission. Students residing in NH and ME also receive free admission).
These prices include all-day access to galleries and special exhibitions, a free repeat visit within 10 days (applies only to tickets for adults, seniors, and students), and free Gallery and Tours activities.
More information – Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
+1 (617) 267-9300
www.mfa.org
4. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum – A Venetian Palace in Boston
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is located in Boston and is very curious and special for those who are art lovers. There are several attempts to not allow commercial photos to be taken inside this museum, but visitors are so delighted that they end up photographing. Many people use the words “magical” and “enchanting” to describe the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
This museum is the creation of Isabella Stewart, a woman who collected art from around the world on her many travels over 30 years. She chose the building especially to house this entire collection, it was inspired by the beautiful palaces of Venice. Sculptures, paintings, engravings, tapestries, period furniture, plants, and textiles, are all scattered without much order inside the place as if it were someone’s well decorated house, but they have explanatory sheets on the objects. Look for Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael, Manet, Botticelli and Degas… Some works were stolen in the 90s and they keep the empty spaces on the walls, so that visitors can remember the works never recovered (among them Rembrandt), and that are needed in that special world of Isabella Stewart.
In addition to all the works placed there, there is also a magnificent central garden with several Roman sculptures. The place reminds us a lot of what we read in the best books and that make us travel. At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum we travel to Venice when observing the architecture of the place, there is also a lot of art from China, the works take us to Europe, Asia, even America… there are many styles and periods, arranged intuitively. Isabella Stewart , in addition to being an art lover, also enjoyed music. Therefore, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , music shows take place and there are incentives for young artists. Be sure to check the show schedule.
Useful information
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11AM to 5PM; Thursday closes later, 11AM to 9PM; Closed on Tuesdays.
Tickets: Adults $15 | Seniors $12 | Students $10. Ticket sales end 30 minutes before closing.
Phone (617) 566-1401
Website gardnermuseum.org
25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115, USA
5. Harvard Museum of Natural History
The Harvard Museum of Natural History is located in Cambridge , has 12,000 species on display, is extremely realistic and has species preserved in glass. This museum reminds us a lot of school laboratories, but it is much broader and more relevant than the laboratories. Be prepared to observe and learn about skeletons of dinosaurs, large mammals, marine invertebrates, insects, rare plants and minerals from around the world. Also get to know the Brazilian amethyst weighing 760 kg that is featured in one of the 16 galleries in the place. The Harvard Museum of Natural History is Harvard’s most visited attraction!
In this museum you will find a fascinating universe of the life of microbes. It is possible to see bacteria and other microbes interacting with each other. Also jellyfish and anemones, octopuses, tentacled squid, slugs and other sea creatures captured in glass. In addition, 830 species of plants made of glass is one of Harvard’s most famous treasures.
For insect lovers, the Museum has 150,000 beetle specimens from all over the world. And that’s not all! A renewed gallery of rare minerals and sparkling gems delight visitors who can touch rocks and mineral specimens that date back to the beginning of our solar system. There are crystals that have survived intact for 4.3 billion years!
The Harvard Museum of Natural History talks about Africa, Asia, the Americas, birds, insects, mammals, marine life, forestry, microbial life, evolution, climate change and much more! The place enchants everyone, from children to adults and the elderly, scholars and the curious. Be sure to visit the Harvard Museum of Natural History .
Information, Location and Contact
26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Phone: (617) 495-3045
Website: hmnh.harvard.edu
Open daily from 9AM to 5PM
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) MUSEUM
The MIT Museum is a must-see for technology fans and geeks. The MIT Museum has more than 1.5 million objects, prints, rare books, technical archives, drawings, photographs, films, holograms. Thus, your visitors can see up close the advances of science, as well as test techniques still in development.
The MIT Museum invests in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, including, there are robots living at the MIT Museum, they are called Kismet, Cog and RoboTuna. The creators demonstrate how technology can be an art form of its own – through stunning creations and contraptions.
It is also possible to find sculptures by Arthur Ganson or sing with the Bob Marley hologram. The Museum is a perfect combination of art and science. The place is not big, you can see it all in a few hours. It’s interesting for anyone who likes technology, engineering, robotics or anyone who just likes to build things with gears.
The museum has permanent collections and changing exhibits on two floors, an education classroom, and an online and on-site science-themed store.
In addition, the gift shop of this museum is something to talk about. Even those who don’t spend a lot of time at these little shops stop to enjoy and shop at the MIT Museum’s gift shop. There are many MIT books, scientific gadgets, toys, jewelry and clothing. There are those who visit only through the shop.
Hours of Operation
The Museum is open seven days a week from 10AM to 5PM (except major holidays). July and August, it’s open until 6PM.
Entry Value
$10 – Adults
$5 – Under 18s, 65+ and students with
Free ID for under 5s, MIT holders with a
Free guest also on the last Sunday of each month, September through June
Location and Contact
265 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
(617) 253-5927
Museum website
7. Museum of Science in Boston
The Museum of Science is a Science Museum located in Boston. This museum is a great destination for anyone interested in science curiosities. At the Museum of Science , visitors can make contact and diverse experiences to learn science not only with information, but also in practice. Excellent destination for those with children, but especially for those who are curious and science lovers, this place is one to be remembered.
In this museum you will find a 65 million year old Triceratops Fossil (discovered in 2004) as well as life-size dinosaur models. You will also be able to experience the sensation of walking through an exotic garden full of butterflies of various species and learn more about each stage of their metamorphosis, if you are lucky, you may even see one of them come out of the cocoon. The Museum of Science shows how things work, from the lives of butterflies to the gears of an escalator.
In addition, in the museum you will also find a lot of information about everything that generates energy, such as sunlight, water in motion. You also have the opportunity to touch some spheres and see the energy very close to your hands.
Visitors can also access some tools used by the scientists themselves. The Museum of Science , in addition to exhibiting on energy, also explains the science behind light and color. There is an installation that makes your shadow fixed to the wall. Have you ever thought about walking and leaving your shadow behind? There are also several exhibits on optical illusion.
The Museum of Science is special for those who like to know how things really work. It offers several possibilities for interesting experiences and games, such as dynamic simulators with rotation technology, you can fly over Boston!
entry value
Adults US$23
Children US$20
Seniors US$21
There are also additional values for some attractions:
Mugar Omni Theater US$10
Charles Hayden Planetarium US$10
Butterfly Garden US$3
3-D Cinema US$3
Boston CityPass holders take another queue.
opening hours
Regular Museum Hours:
Saturday – Thursday: 9am – 5pm
Friday: 9am – 9pm
www.mos.org/
Museum Of Science Driveway, Boston, MA 02114, USA
8. The Adventure Park at Heritage Museums & Gardens
Adventure Park at Heritage Museums & Gardens is a park with museums and gardens aimed at an outdoor educational experience. The forest aims to bring the public closer to nature through recreation and learning.
It is an interactive exhibition for children, adults and groups. These are physical and mental challenges in an ecologically correct environment. While having fun, they simultaneously learn about the flora and fauna of Cape Cod. Climbing at The Adventure Park is an activity that touches mind, body and soul.
9. Adventure Park Experiences at Heritage Museums & Gardens
In floor:
Visitors who choose to hike will be able to enjoy the beauty of Dexter’s Rhododendrons. There is a mill on site that milled wheat, rye, barley and salt for 93 years before being transported to Heritage.
At 10 signposted stops, visitors learn about forest formation, history, how a forest ecosystem works, interdependence and interactions in forest ecosystems, forest succession, and human impact on ecosystems. You will be able to see and touch the trees, hear the sounds of the forest and identify them, learn the names and characteristics of the trees and at the same time have fun.
In the trees:
Platforms with trails at different heights, with bridges, zip lines, cargo nets, rope walks, tunnels, moving boards and various obstacles. There are also signs for learning to climb. You can learn about motion, gravity, energy, magnetism and friction, and the climb itself is a problem-solving lesson.
You will also find the Heritage Museums and Gardens Car Gallery on site, the car gallery features an exhibition of a collection of vintage and classic automobiles. In addition, it also has the American Art & Carousel Gallery at Heritage.
Reservations, times and prices
Tickets are valid for 2 hours of ascent time, with an additional 30 minutes for orientation. Click here to see prices based on age and tour. Book your ticket in advance!
The Adventure Park at Heritage Museums & Gardens
67 Grove St, Sandwich, MA 02563, USA
(508) 866-0199
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