Boston Children's Museum facts for kids
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| Former name | The Children's Museum of Boston |
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| Established | 1913 |
| Location | 308 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210 |
| Type | Children's museum |
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| Public transit access |
Red Line
Silver Line
Courthouse Station |
The Boston Children's Museum is a special place in Boston, Massachusetts. It's designed to help kids learn and have fun at the same time. You can find it on Children's Wharf right by the Fort Point Channel. This museum is actually the second oldest children's museum in the entire United States! It's packed with exciting activities that are both entertaining and educational for young people.
Contents
Discover the Museum's History
How the Museum Started
The idea for a children's museum in Boston began in 1909. A group of local science teachers created the Science Teacher's Bureau. Their main goal was to open a museum just for kids.
They wanted a museum that would have natural objects, books, pictures, and even lantern slides. These items would help with science lessons in schools. They planned for the exhibits to be easy to understand and at a child's eye level.
The Women's Education Association also helped with the plans. After four years of hard work, The Children's Museum officially opened. This happened on August 1, 1913. It was located at the Pinebank Mansion near Jamaica Pond in Olmsted Park.
When it first opened, the museum had two main displays. One was about birds, and the other showed minerals and shells. George Hunt Barton was the museum's first president. Delia Isabel Griffin became its first curator, which means she was in charge of the collections.
Museum Branches and Growth
In its early years, the museum created smaller "branch" museums. These were set up in schools around Boston. This way, more children could experience the museum's exhibits. These branches often had a single room with a display case of interesting items.
In 1919, a much larger branch opened called the Barnard Memorial Branch Museum. It had many different exhibits. However, this branch closed in 1926.
In 1935, the museum needed a bigger space. They found a new building on 60 Burroughs Street. The Children's Museum moved there and reopened on November 18, 1936.
New Ideas and Modern Changes
Michael Spock, the son of famous Dr. Benjamin Spock, led the museum from 1962 to 1985. Under his leadership, the museum started a new idea: "hands-on learning." This meant kids could touch and interact with exhibits. The first interactive exhibit, "What's Inside," was created during his time. In 1972, the museum earned special recognition from the American Alliance of Museums.
Moving to the Fort Point Channel
In 1979, the Boston Children's Museum moved again. They chose a large, empty wool warehouse on the Fort Point Channel. This new location gave them more space and was easier for people to reach.
A year later, in 1980, Boston's sister city, Kyoto, Japan, gave a special gift. They donated a real Japanese silk merchant's house to the museum. This house, called Kyo-no-Machiya, is still a very popular exhibit today.
Kenneth Brecher became the museum's director in 1986. During his time, a special exhibit called Kids Bridge opened. This exhibit taught visitors about cultural diversity and how to understand different people. It later traveled around the United States.
Lou Casagrande was the museum's president from 1994 to 2009. Many important exhibits opened during his leadership. These included "Five Friends from Japan" and "Boston Black: A City Connects." In 2004, the museum officially changed its name to Boston Children's Museum.
A Green Museum Expansion
In 2006, the museum started a big project to expand and renovate. They closed for four months in early 2007 to finish the work. The project added a large, glass-walled area to the front of the museum. It also included a new theater and new exhibits.
The museum focused on being "green" during this renovation. It became the first green museum in Boston. In 2008, it received a special LEED Gold certification. This shows it was built in an environmentally friendly way. The museum reopened on April 14, 2007.
In 2013, the Boston Children's Museum received the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. This is a very high honor for museums that do great work for their communities. Carole Charnow is currently the museum's president and CEO.
Exciting Permanent Exhibits
The museum has many fun and educational exhibits that are always there for you to explore:
- Arthur & Friends: Step into the world of Arthur and his friends from the books and TV show. You can play in the Read Family Kitchen or Mr. Ratburn's Classroom.
- Art Studio: This is a creative space where kids and families can make art together.
- Boston Black ... A City Connects: Learn about Boston's Black community and its rich history. You can decorate a Carnival float or explore a Dominican store.
- The Common: This central area is great for light shows, musical chairs, and a giant checkers game. It's also used for group activities.
- Construction Zone: Inspired by the Big Dig project, this exhibit lets you pretend to ride a Bobcat or use jackhammers.
- Countdown to Kindergarten!: This exhibit looks like a real classroom. Kids can experience what kindergarten is like, and adults can ask questions.
- Explore•a•Saurus: Become a scientist and discover amazing facts about dinosaurs.
- Japanese House: This is a real two-story townhouse from Kyoto, Japan. You can learn about Japanese family life, culture, and architecture.
- Johnny's Workbench: Use real hand tools and natural materials to create a small woodworking project to take home.
- KEVA Planks: These special planks help you learn about problem-solving, math, and design as you build amazing structures.
- Kid Power: Learn how to live a healthier life by eating well and exercising.
- KidStage: Watch or even join in performances like music, singing, dance, and comedy on this kid-sized stage.
- New Balance Foundation Climb: This is a huge, three-story climbing structure right at the front of the museum. It was designed by Tom Luckey.
- Peep's World: Based on the TV show Peep and the Big Wide World, this exhibit teaches young children science skills.
- PlaySpace: This area is just for the museum's youngest visitors, ages 0–3. It has a tree house climber, a train set, and a special area for babies to crawl.
- Science Playground: Explore the natural world, discover how things move, and play with giant bubbles!
Museum Collections
The Boston Children's Museum has a huge collection of over 50,000 objects from all over the world. Most of these items were given to the museum as gifts. While most are kept safely in storage, you can see some of them. Look for displays in the Native American Study Storage and Japanese Study Storage areas on the third floor. The museum also lends objects to schools through its Educational Kits Program.
Global Impact
The Boston Children's Museum has inspired other museums around the world. For example, the Museo Pambata in Manila, Philippines, and Le Musée des Enfants in Brussels, Belgium, were both inspired by this museum.
The Museum Building
The museum is located in a renovated industrial building. Inside, a large glass elevator takes visitors to the upper floors. This elevator used to be outside but was moved inside during the 2006-2007 renovation. The ground floor has the admissions area and a gift shop. Outside, there's a big deck overlooking the Fort Point Channel and Boston Harbor. This deck is also home to the famous Hood Milk Bottle.
The Hood Milk Bottle
The Hood Milk Bottle is a famous landmark right in front of the Boston Children's Museum. It arrived there on April 20, 1977, after being shipped by ferry in an event called the "Great Bottle Sail." This giant bottle is 40 feet (12 meters) tall and 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. It weighs 15,000 pounds! If it were a real milk bottle, it could hold 58,620 gallons (221,900 liters) of milk.
The bottle had a big renovation in 2006. Its top half was removed so the base could be moved and rebuilt. A newly renovated bottle was put back in place on April 20, 2007. This was exactly thirty years after it first moved to Children's Wharf. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino officially rededicated it.
The Hood Milk Bottle was first built in 1933 by Arthur Gagner in Taunton, Massachusetts. He used it to sell homemade ice cream next to his store. It was one of the first fast-food drive-in restaurants in the United States. Gagner sold the bottle in 1943, and it was left empty in 1967. Ten years later, H.P. Hood and Sons, Inc. bought it and gave it to the Boston Children's Museum in 1977. Sometimes, movies are even projected onto the side of the bottle for museum events!
