The Museum of Science straddles the Charles River Dam at Science Park, on the line between Boston and Cambridge, and draws families, school groups, and curious adults for hands-on science at a scale few American museums match. The institution traces its roots to the Boston Society of Natural History, founded in 1830, and it has occupied its riverside site since 1951.
Visitors can work through more than 700 interactive exhibits, building models, running experiments, and testing ideas in the exhibit halls (Cambridge Office for Tourism). The Theater of Electricity stages an indoor lightning storm powered by a giant Van de Graaff generator, a crowd favorite with every age group. The Charles Hayden Planetarium projects the night sky and deep-space journeys overhead, and the Mugar Omni Theater, New England’s only IMAX Dome screen, wraps films around the audience in a five-story hemisphere.
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
Exhibit halls open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (Museum of Science). Arrive at opening or after 2:00 pm on weekdays to miss the morning school field trips, and expect heavy crowds on weekends, school vacation weeks, and rainy summer days. Book timed tickets and planetarium or Omni shows online in advance, because showtimes sell out. Visitors seeing several attractions can save with Boston CityPASS (Museum of Science). The MBTA Green Line’s Science Park/West End station sits a short walk away, and an on-site garage is available for drivers.
