The cold weather is finally here for good (I think). And with cold weather comes rain and snow and just generally times when you don't want to be outside.
So this post and the next one will be a few recommendations for museums. I know museums don't always seem that interesting, but these are worth a look I promise. The Boston area is blessed to have a wide variety of truly good museums, from art museums to natural history to cars. Some are on the pricier side, but if you're a resident of the state of Massachusetts, if you go to your local library or the Copley branch of the BPL, you can probably get at least a coupon if not a free pass to most of them. There are also lots of free hours, which I will point
out.
These are art museums, though certainly not all of the art museums in this city. I'll make sure to mix up some other museum types in the next post.
The Museum of Fine Arts is a great art museum, and has some really unique work in its collection. It is pricey ($20 admission), but when you consider how huge it is and the fact that one ticket gets you in for two days (as long as it's within 10 days of your first visit), it's not so bad. Also, Bank of America card holders get in free, anyone under 17 gets in free, and on Wednesday nights, all admission is free. There are Asian, American, African, and European collections, along with several rotating exhibition spaces. And on the first Friday of every month, there's live music, cash bar, and tapas, all for just the price of admission. There is also a theatre which shows all kinds of interesting movies. This is a great place to take your kids, especially since on vacation days, they often have activities and other interesting programs for them. When the weather's nice, one of my favorite things to do is go for a walk or even a picnic along the Fens which is right next door, and then head over to the museum. On Huntington Ave, and the E train, and #39 bus line.
used to be in the Back Bay, but a few years ago it moved to a gorgeous brand new building on the waterfront, near South Station. The exhibition space is mostly devoted to traveling shows and they often have really cool ones. There are also dance performances and movies in the theatre, and the view from the top floor is really unique, a view of Boston from an angle that you don't usually get unless you're on a boat. Thursday nights are free, and it's either a short walk from South Station or the World Trade Center stop on the Silver Line.
Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum was the home of Isabella Stewart Gardiner and her art collection. There is also a great glass covered courtyard (that's what's in the picture) that is really nice all seasons, but especially in the winter when the lush green is a bit of a pick-me-up. The art in this museum is organized according to how Ms. Gardiner wanted, so there are all kinds of interesting adjacencies, paintings in places you wouldn't expect, so it adds another level of interest even beyond the art and the courtyard. Also the scene of one of the largest art thefts in history. They do a music and food event on the third Thursday of each month, which you do have to buy tickets to, great fancy night out though. On Huntington Ave, and the E train, and #39 bus line.
New England Aquarium - Full of fish, as all aquariums should be, and in a great location right on the Harbor and the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Being on the water enables them to not only do the traditional aquarium thing, but also to do whale watches and other kinds of marine-biology centered boat trips from right at their front door. The central giant tank has a great diversity of creatures, and the resident penguins hanging out are such characters and fun to watch. They have rotating exhibits about all kinds of marine life, and then upstairs is a shallow pool where you can touch (with supervision) some of our local sea life (horseshoe crabs, sea stars, etc). They also have an IMAX theatre, some of what they show is educational, some of it is totally not. It is expensive to get in, but the Boston Public library does let you borrow a pass for 4 from any of its branches.
Museum of Science - The permanent things include kinetic sculptures to teach physics, live animal exhibits about biology, a butterfly greenhouse built into the top floor, exhibits on the sun, geology, dinosaurs, a lightning show, and way more things about how the world works, too many to name right now. Traveling exhibits have been about Star Wars, time travel, the whole gamut. There's also a planetarium that does laser shows along with the regular night-sky stuff, and an IMAX theatre that's on a dome, much more immersive than a flat screen. Members here get special benefits too, a library, cheaper parking, and invitations to special events at the museum, especially the 4th of July fireworks viewing party on the roof of the parking garage. 
Harvard Museum of Natural History/ Peabody Museum - Tucked behind the main yard on Oxford St, this is an old school natural history museum with lots of taxidermy animals and skeletons, which is either grotesque or morbidly cool, depending on how you look at it. The blue whale skeleton hanging in one of the main halls is amazing. There is a great fossil and mineral collection and also an incredibly beautiful larger than life glass flower collection. Attached to the natural history museum is the Peabody which has exhibits on Mayan culture, some Pacific Island stuff, and North American First Nations. Free on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening to Massachusetts residents.
