It’s cold. Winter is long. And so cold. And so damp. Anyone else getting intensely stir crazy? If so, I’ve assembled this list of warm, dry museums to stimulate the imagination and excite ones intellectual faculties!
1. Harvard Museum of Natural History. Free to Massachusetts residents 9am-noon on Sundays (always) and 3pm-5pm on Wednesdays (Sept-May). Otherwise, $7 for students. Ask to see Nabokov’s genitalia cabinet (he collected butterfly private parts–you didn’t expect the guy who wrote “Lolita” to be a tad bit pervy?). The Harvard Art Museum has the same policy for free admissions, however students are only $6 here.
You didn't expect the guy who wrote "Lolita" to be a tad bit pervy?
Light of my life, fire of my…
2. The Boston Public Library. Not a museum, but close to campus, has warm drinks, Sargent murals, and people-watching. Might be better than a museum if you are running out of story material. Consider it a museum of potential characters!
3. USS Constitution Museum. Avast ye! Admission by donation. They have hammocks.
4. The Commonwealth Museum. Always free. Learn about the history of the commonwealth and its peoples.
5. Museum of Fine Arts. Free for Emerson students! (And many other kinds of students.) Details here. Also free on Wednesdays after 4 pm.
6. Museum of African American History. $5 always. A comprehensive study of Boston’s black community and its contributions - often overlooked around these parts On a nice day, you can also walk the Black Heritage Trail.
7. Institute of Contemporary Art. Free on Thursdays 5-9. The view of the waterfront looks really nice!
8. Mary Baker Eddy Library. Students: $4. A monument to feminism… and Christian Science. Check out the Mapparium - a three story, painted glass globe.
9. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Students: $5. Free on your birthday. Always free if your name is Isabella, but you will need to register.
10. MIT Museum. Free 10am-noon on Sundays. Students: $3. Robotics, AI, holography. Dang - it’s like visiting the future!
11. Paul Revere House. Students: $3. Paul Revere advertised as a dentist, but he was not George Washington’s dentist. “Fabricating a full set of dentures was beyond his ability.” (”Paul Revere: A Brief Biography“)
Tags: Boston · cheap · museums · things to do2 Comments
The Museum of Fine Arts is actually free for Emerson students as part of their University Membership program.
Tanya - thank you so much for pointing this out! I’ve now corrected the post to reflect this. Again, my thanks - I feel very foolish for overlooking this!