Museum of Science (Boston) facts for kids
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Viewed from Cambridge
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| Established | 1830 |
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| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Type | Science museum Indoor zoo |
| Accreditation | AAM, ASTC, AZA |
| Visitors | 1.53 million (2016) |
| Public transit access |
Green Line
Science Park station  |
| Nearest parking | Dedicated parking garage (fee) |
The Museum of Science (often called MoS) is a super cool place in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's a nature and science museum with an indoor zoo! It sits right on the Charles River.
The museum has over 700 hands-on exhibits. You can also enjoy live shows and presentations every day. Don't miss the Charles Hayden Planetarium or the Mugar Omni Theater. The Omni Theater is New England’s only domed IMAX movie theater. Plus, the Museum of Science is home to over 100 animals. Many of these animals were rescued or rehabilitated.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's Past
How the Museum Began
The museum started way back in 1830. It was first called the Boston Society of Natural History. A group of men who loved science created it. Their first meeting had just seven members.
In 1862, the society built a new home in the Back Bay area of Boston. They called it the New England Museum of Natural History. This building is still around today.
The society did a lot of important science work, especially about rocks and the Earth. Around 1900, they added a library and special rooms for kids. In 1939, the museum got its current name, the Museum of Science. This happened under the leadership of Henry Bradford Washburn, Jr.. He was a famous American mountain climber.
The Museum After World War II
After World War II, the old museum building was sold. The museum moved to its current spot in Science Park. This land is on the Charles River Dam Bridge. The museum pays just $1 a year to use this land! Construction started in 1948, and the new museum opened in 1951. It was one of the first complete science museums in the country.
In its early years, the museum created a traveling planetarium. A version of this still visits many elementary schools today. They also got "Spooky," a great horned owl. Spooky became a symbol of the museum and lived to be 38 years old! Today, you can see many stuffed animals on display. They teach kids about animals from New England and around the world.
The Science Park/West End train station opened in 1955. This made it much easier for people to visit the museum. The Charles Hayden Planetarium opened in 1958. Many more parts were added in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1999, The Computer Museum in Boston joined the Museum of Science. Some of its cool exhibits moved here.
The museum had big renovations in 2005 and 2006. In 2010, the Charles Hayden Planetarium was updated and reopened. The museum's main entrance is right on the line between Boston and Cambridge. You can even see a marker on the floor inside!
What's Next for the Museum?
Since 2013, the Museum of Science has been getting a huge makeover. This big project will update nearly half of the exhibit halls. It will also add three new major exhibits. These include the Hall of Human Life, the Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River, and What Is Technology?
The Hall of Human Life opened in 2013. It focuses on how the human body works. The cool moving sculpture called Archimedean Excogitation was moved to the atrium. This made room for the new Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River. This gallery opened in 2016. It gives visitors amazing views of the Charles River and the Boston skyline.
In 2016, Michael Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York City, gave $50 million to the museum. This was the largest gift in the museum's history! The museum also opened Wicked Smart: Invented in the Hub. This exhibit shows off new technologies, especially those made in the Boston area. You can even try out a new type of wheelchair there. Another popular exhibit uses Xbox Kinect sensors. Visitors can control cool visual displays with their body movements!
Exciting Exhibit Halls
The Museum of Science has different sections, or "wings," filled with exhibits.
Blue Wing
- Garden Walk and Insect Zoo: Walk through a greenhouse with insects, reptiles, and amphibians.
- Seeing is Deceiving: Discover a collection of optical illusions that trick your eyes.
- Making Models: Learn how models help us understand the real world.
- Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond: A room full of classic math exhibits.
- Natural Mysteries: Investigate and classify mysterious objects and natural specimens.
- Theater of Electricity: See the world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator in action! Watch demonstrations of Tesla coils and other electric devices.
- Math Moves!: Experiencing Ratio and Proportion: Explore math and proportions. It includes over 100 working models of mechanical motions.
- Innovative Engineers: Learn about engineers from Boston, including women and minorities.
- Investigate!: Explore house-sized rooms using scientific thinking.
- Energize!: See exhibits about renewable energy technologies.
- Nanotechnology: Discover the science of tiny things.
- Mapping the World Around Us: Learn about maps and geography.
- Take a Closer Look: Use tools to see things up close.
- Dinosaurs: Modeling the Mesozoic: See fossils and life-size dinosaur models. This includes a huge Tyrannosaurus rex!
- Colossal Fossil: Triceratops Cliff: See a 65-million-year-old Triceratops fossil. It was found in 2004.
- Machines & Transportation: Explore how machines and vehicles work.
- Living on the Edge: Learn about different environments.
- To the Moon: Discover space travel and the moon.
- Behind the Scenes: See how the museum works.
- Wicked Smart: Invented in the Hub: Explore new technologies from the Boston area.
Green Wing
- New England Habitats: Learn about the animals and plants of New England.
- A Bird's World: Discover the amazing world of birds.
- Colby Room: A historical exhibit with stuffed animal heads. It's also used for meetings.
- Hall of Human Life: Interactive activities all about human biology.
Red Wing
- Mugar Omni Theater: Watch amazing movies on New England's largest Omnimax screen.
- Charles Hayden Planetarium: Explore the stars and planets in this awesome planetarium.
- Cosmic Light: A small space exhibit with real images of space. It has bronze models of the Solar System's Sun and planets.
- Discovery Center: Talk with scientists and join in experiments.
- Foucault pendulum: Watch this pendulum show how the Earth rotates.
- Museum Store: Find cool science-themed gifts.
- Polage: A wall-sized art piece made with polarized light.
- Soundstair: A stairway that makes musical sounds when you walk on it!
- Archimedean Excogitation: A large sculpture where balls roll along a path.
- Thrillride 360: Experience an exciting simulator ride.
Miscellaneous
- Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River: Learn about the Charles River and river science.
- The Rock Garden: See different types of rocks.
- The stone panels on the outside of the museum were made by sculptor Theodore Barbarossa.
Live Shows and Fun Programs
The museum offers many free live presentations for visitors. These include hands-on demonstrations. You can also enjoy live animal show-and-tell sessions.
The MoS has many educational programs for all ages. These include talks, concerts, films, and workshops. They even have special "overnight" programs. Students in grades 1–7 and Scout groups can spend a night at the museum!
Engineering Design Workshop
The Engineering Design Workshop is a popular exhibit in the Blue Wing. It has different design challenges for visitors. There are also "cart activities" where you can work one-on-one. These activities teach you about the engineering process. You can try out robotics and circuitry. All activities give you a magnet to remember your visit!
Past Special Exhibits
The Museum of Science has hosted many amazing special exhibits over the years:
- In the 1950s, you could see a small cloud chamber. You could watch tiny particles leave vapor trails.
- From 1969 to 1985, a steam locomotive called Boston and Maine 3713 was displayed outside.
- In 1988, the museum hosted an exhibit about Ramses II. It had over 70 artifacts from Egypt. The main attraction was a huge 40-foot model of an Egyptian temple. It held a 57-ton statue of Ramses!
- In 2004, the museum hosted The Lord of the Rings the Motion Picture Trilogy the Exhibition. It featured costumes and props from the famous movies.
- The Museum of Science created its own exhibit called Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. It was shown at the museum from 2005 to 2006. Then it traveled to other places.
- Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds 2: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies was at the museum from 2006 to 2007.
- From 2009 to 2010, Harry Potter: The Exhibition was a big hit at the museum.
- The Science Behind Pixar is an exhibit created by the Museum of Science and Pixar Animation Studios. It shows the math, computer science, and science used to make computer-animated films.
Cool Computing Exhibits
When The Computer Museum closed, some of its educational exhibits moved to the Museum of Science. The museum created new computing and technology exhibits. One exhibit, The Computing Revolution, showed the history of computing. Another, Cahners ComputerPlace, had educational video games and an interactive AIBO ERS-7 robot. The museum also displays the first integrated quantum computing system. It was developed with IBM.
Other Fun Things to See
- In 1997, the museum created a huge Solar System model. It was built to scale and stretched all the way to the Riverside train station! The bronze models of the Sun, Mercury, and Venus were on the museum grounds. As of 2023, only the model of Mars remains inside the Cambridgeside Galleria Mall.
- A rooftop Wind Turbine Lab was built in 2009. This lab tests nine different wind turbines on the museum's roof. An exhibit inside, Catching the Wind, shows live data on how much electricity each turbine makes.
Images for kids
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The Museum of Science Boston logo
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The Museum of Science viewed from Cambridge
