MFA Boston: Vacation Week Adventures

Museum of Fine Arts Children's Vacation Activities

From dragons and unicorns to ancient Egyptian objects, the Museum of Fine Arts is filled with artworks both magical and mythical. Make art, enjoy performances, go on a family art walk, and listen to spellbinding children’s stories. Enjoy free drop-in activities all week. All ages and abilities welcome; kids are free, but children must be accompanied by an adult. No registration required.

Enjoy free drop-in activities all week, supported by the Cogan Family Foundation.

All ages and abilities welcome; children must be accompanied by an adult. No registration required. FREE admission for kids all week. (Kids 6 and under always get FREE admission to the MFA, and kids 7 to 17 are free during non-school hours. See Visiting with Kids for more information.)

Always Available

Art Connections Activity Cards | Sharf Visitor Center
Pick up an Art Connections card and explore birds, powerful figures, bugs and other themes throughout the Museum. Some cards available in Spanish.

A Guide to Family Fun at the MFA | Sharf Visitor Center
Available in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Pick up one of our free pocket-sized informational guides on visiting and exploring the Museum with kids. Includes tips, gallery games, and ideas for looking at and discussing art together.

Behind the Scenes Galleries | Galleries 125 and 225
Peek behind the scenes to learn about all the hidden work that happens every day at the MFA. Watch a video, explore the interactive kiosks, or just relax and enjoy views of Boston.

When: 
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 – Friday, April 20, 2018
Special hours: Wed, April 18, 10 am–8 pm
Location: 
Museum of Fine Arts
Phone: 
617-267-9300
Link(s): 
MFA Boston April School Vacation Week
Boston
Museum
April Vacation

Danvers Family Festival
Danvers Homecoming means 10 days to celebrate community. Things to do in Danvers MA
Danvers Family Festival, now in its 39th year, was created in 1979 to promote Family Fun in Danvers, MA.
Where: Endicott Park
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Art & the Landscape: Alicja Kwade: TunnelTeller
Art & the Landscape: Alicja Kwade: TunnelTeller at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachsuetts
Berlin-based contemporary artist Alicja Kwade (b.1979, Poland) has long been engaged with value systems, philosophical questions about the essence of reality, and with attempting to examine, if not resolve, issues of inherently subjective concepts such as space and time. In her sculptures, as well...
Where: Castle Hill on the Crane Estate
♦ Read More →

Robots and Beyond: Exploring Artificial Intelligence at MIT
Minsky Arm, created by Marvin Minsky on display at the MIT Museum!
Robots and Beyond shares the results of decades of Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation at MIT. Explore the ideas that shaped AI and the birth of robotics, fields that are synonymous with research at MIT.
Where: MIT Museum
♦ Read More →

The Big Dog Show A Dale Rogers Exhibit
Big Dog Show is a travelling large-scale public art exhibit
The Big Dog Show is a travelling large-scale public art exhibit created by award winning sculptor, Dale Rogers, and consists of twenty 8-foot-hi
♦ Read More →

Michael Gordon Fishing Derby
The Michael Gordon Fishing Derby is an annual event during the Danvers Family Festival!
This event is FREE and no pre-registration is required.  Danvers Family Festival tradition continues this year with the Annual Danvers Recreation Fishing Derby in Memory of Mike Gordon. The fun family event will start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 11:00am sharp. (All fish must be weighed-in by 11am)....
Where: Mill Pond Danvers
8:00 am to 11:00 am
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Boston Public Market - Boston
Boston Public Market - Boston
The Boston Public Market is an indoor, year-round marketplace featuring 35 New England artisans and food producers housed under one roof offering fresh foods, prepared meals, crafts, and specialty items. Residents and visitors alike can find seasonal, locally sourced food from Massachusetts and New...
8:00 am to 8:00 pm
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North Shore Cancer Walk 10k
North Shore Cancer Walk fundraiser 10k Walk in Salem Massachusetts
Each year thousands of participants join together with family members, colleagues and friends for the North Shore Cancer WALK. As a walker, volunteer or donor, you can be part of an inspirational day in the fight against cancer. The 10K (6.2 mile) WALK route is an unforgettable journey of shared...
Where: Salem Willows Park, Where: Downtown Salem
8:30 am
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Museum of Science Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience
Museum of Science Cambridge MA
Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience, the Museumof Science newest temporary exhibition, takes you as close to space as you can get without leaving Earth! This hands-on, climb-aboard cosmic adventure of science fun and learning invites explorers of all ages to understand the rewards and challenges of...
Where: Museum of Science
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
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Lahey Teddy Bear Clinic & Ice Cream Social
Lahey Health hosts the Third Annual Teddy Bear Clinic and Ice Cream Social As part of the Danvers Family Festival
Lahey Health hosts the Fourth Annual Teddy Bear Clinic and Ice Cream Social As part of the Danvers Family Festival.  Bring your favorite stuffies to a Teddy Bear Clinic at Lahey Outpatient Center, Danvers.
Where: Lahey Outpatient Center Danvers
9:00 am to 11:00 am
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Newburyport Farmers' Market
Newburyport Farmers find organic locally grown produce, mea, dairy Newburyport
The Newburyport Farmers Summer Market celebrates local fresh produce every Sunday morning rain or shine!  Start your Sunday browsing fresh North Shore local produce, meats, cheeses, and seafood in an open air market atmosphere! Food and beverage vendors offer fresh hot coffee, breakfast treats and...
Where: Tannery Marketplace
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
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It's My Heart's Keep the Beat CHD Awareness Walk & Picnic
This one or two mile or 5K Non-Competitive Walk around beautiful Endicott Park will end with a free family picnic and fun entertainment for adults and kids of all ages.
This 1 or 2 mile or 5K non-competitive Walk will take you through beautiful Endicott Park and Glen Magna Farms and will end with a FREE family fun picnic that will have a raffle, food, and activities for kids of all ages.
Where: Endicott Park
9:30 am to 3:00 pm
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AJH: Newborn Care Class
Anna Jaques Hospital Parent Support Group Newborn Care Class
The Newborn Care class will cover practical baby care topics that will help you to feel more confident in your ability to care for your newborn. Classes are on Sundays from 9:30am-12:00am in the Higgins Conference Room at Anna Jaques Hospital.
Where: Anna Jaques Hospital
9:30 am to 12:00 pm
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Reading the Granite Landscape
Find out the story behind the granite at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport!
Halibut Point State Park is also a granite quarry with a history that goes back billions of years! A rock is not a thing but a drama, it can teach us about the great unifying science and the unique geology of Cape Ann.
Where: Halibut Point State Park
10:00 am to 11:00 am
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Swan Boat Rides in Boston Public Garden
Swan Boat Boston North Shore Parent, North Shore Parents Summer Activities Guide
The Public Garden may be one of the most ideal picnicking locations in Boston. Well-groomed and overflowing with tulips, cherry-trees, with willows cascading over the duck pond, the Boston Public Garden is a great place to relax during Boston's most beautiful season.
Where: Boston Common and Boston Public Garden
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
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New England Reptile Expo - Manchester NH
New England Reptile Expo in MAnchester NH
Come check out New England's largest Reptile Expo, with more than 50 reptile breeders displaying and offering for sale thousands of reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids. Vendors will also be selling cages, terrarium supplies, and other reptile-related items at discounted prices.
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
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PEM Explores Innovations Inspired by Nature - Salem
Peabody Essex Museum Wild Designs Exhibit
This summer discover how creative innovators are turning to nature for new ideas and smart solutions to human challenges.  Wild Designs, on exhibit at Peabody Essex Museum, features works by artists and other creatives who are looking to nature and living systems for new ideas and creative...
Where: Peabody Essex Museum
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
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North Andover Farmers' Market
North Andover Farmers Market every Sunday Through October 7, 2018.
The North Andover Farmers' Market brings local produce and foods to the heart of North Andover every Sunday!  The market will take place in the center of town at the intersection of First Street and Main Street.
Where: Downtown North Andover
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
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Swampscott Farmer's Market
The Swampscott Farmers Market happens every Sunday through October.
Rain or shine, the Swampscott Farmers’ Market features a wide variety of produce, meats, fish, breads, flowers and crafts from farmers, food producers, and artisans from around Massachusetts and nearby New England states. Anchoring the market, Swampscott will have Clark Farm providing a large...
Where: Swampscott Town Hall
10:00 am to 1:00 pm
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Fitness on the Green at MarketStreet Lynnfield - Athleta
Workout and get fit on The Green with fitness and health experts at MarketStreet Lynnfield MA.
Join us on The Green at MarketStreet Lynnfield for sweat-inducing workouts. These complimentary classes run from May through October.
Where: MarketStreet Lynnfield
10:00 am to 11:00 am
♦ Read More →

MFA: Mark Rothko: Reflection
Museum of Fine Art Mark Rothko Exhibit
An immersive display of 11 masterpieces by Mark Rothko (1903–70), on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., invites visitors to contemplate the power of art to shape human experience. Opening on September 24, don’t miss “Mark Rothko: Reflection,” an immersive display of 11...
Where: Museum of Fine Arts
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
♦ Read More →

Essex Heritage Boat Tours to Bakers Island Lighthouse - Salem
Boat and Light Station Tour Bakers Island Tour
Bakers Island Light is officially open for the season! Whether you have visited before or are new to the site, there are lots of ways to experience Bakers Island Light this summer. Read on to see what is happening this year.
Where: Central Wharf Salem
10:30 am to 2:00 pm
♦ Read More →

Sargent House Museum‎ Revolutionary Tea Party - Gloucester
Sargent House Museum in Gloucester MA
Come to the Sargent House Museum and learn how Americans like Judith Sargent Murray took tea in the 1770s, from brewing bohea to brewing revolution. Sample some of the teas thrown into Boston Harbor at the Boston Tea Party, and brew your own liberty tea.
Where: Sargent House Museum
11:00 am to 12:30 pm
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Strawberry Festival at Russell Orchards
The Strawberry Festival at Russel Orchards features lots of fun and live music!
Join Russell Orchards for their annual strawberry fest as they celebrate the "first fruit". Favorite outdoor activities include: strawberry picking, hayrides, glitter tattoos, fresh strawberry shortcakes and loads of other farm fresh goodies!
Where: Russell Orchards
11:00 am to 4:00 pm
♦ Read More →

Wagon Rides at Appleton Farms
Wagon rides at Appleton Farms in Ipswich Massachusetts. Photo: ©2011 Bill O'Connor
Wagon Rides are new to Appleton Farms this summer! What better way than to spend a summer day on the farm. Hop aboard our hay wagon and go for a ride past our vegetable fields and out to the great pasture. Enjoy our rolling landscape, maybe spot some cows grazing and enjoy being outside! The ride...
Where: Appleton Farms
11:30 am to 2:30 pm
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Polo at Myopia Hunt Club
Polo at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton MA
Bring a picnic and enjoy the action.
Where: Myopia Hunt Club
1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
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Public Skate & Learn to Skate at Peabody Skating Rink
Learn to Skate with the Peabody Skating Club at Peabody Skating Rink
The McVann-O'Keefe Skating Rink in Peabody is open for Public Skating weekdays from 10-11:45 am, Saturday's at 2 pm, and Sundays at 2:10 pm. Call today to ask about the Learn to Skate program at with the Peabody Skating Club. The ice is perfect. The Halloween and Christmas parties are a blast, and...
Where: McVann-O'Keefe Memorial Skating Rink
2:00 pm to 3:45 pm
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A Jack and the Beanstalk Panto!

Theater in the Open presents a Jack in the Beanstalk Panto at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time one again for our Spring Pantomime! This time around we’ll be following the (mis)adventures of Jack and friends as they take the path much less traveled by, and learn some valuable lessons along the way…!!!
Where: Maudslay State Park
2:00 pm
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Taste of MarketStreet Lynnfield
Taste of MarketStreet Lynnfield fundraiser for Haven from Hunger
Join us for a Taste of MarketStreet on Sunday, June 24th from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Enjoy small bites and entertainment on The Green. Participating restaurants include: 100% of your $10 Admission will be donated to Lynnfield Rotary. Eventbrite ticket holders enter through "Eventbrite Only Line" at...
Where: MarketStreet Lynnfield
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
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Early Evening Stroll at Bradley Palmer State Park
Take an evening stroll at Bradley Palmer State Park with your family!
This is a great way to exercise and feed your soul. Bradley Palmer has some great hiking trails.  Join the interpreter on a hike every week that will take you on a wide variety of trails by season’s end.  The walk is moderately paced to cover at most two miles.
Where: Bradley Palmer State Park
5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
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Sundays in Patton Park 2017
North Shore Free Concerts for North Shore Families at Patton Park in Hamilton Massachusetts
Come enjoy community and music each Sunday in Patton Park! Dust off your lawn chairs and bring your picnic down to the park on Sunday evenings. We have a fantastic line up of bands this summer ---presented by Institution for Savings Bank and sponsored by The Community House, Town of Hamilton, HW...
Where: Patton Park
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
♦ Read More →

Fitness on the Green at MarketStreet Lynnfield - Lululemon
Join us on The Green at MarketStreet Lynnfield for sweat-inducing workouts. These complimentary classes run from May through October.
Where: MarketStreet Lynnfield
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm
♦ Read More →

Monday, June 25

Danvers Family Festival
Danvers Homecoming means 10 days to celebrate community. Things to do in Danvers MA
Danvers Family Festival, now in its 39th year, was created in 1979 to promote Family Fun in Danvers, MA.
Where: Endicott Park
♦ Read More →

Robots and Beyond: Exploring Artificial Intelligence at MIT
Minsky Arm, created by Marvin Minsky on display at the MIT Museum!
Robots and Beyond shares the results of decades of Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation at MIT. Explore the ideas that shaped AI and the birth of robotics, fields that are synonymous with research at MIT.
Where: MIT Museum
♦ Read More →

The Big Dog Show A Dale Rogers Exhibit
Big Dog Show is a travelling large-scale public art exhibit
The Big Dog Show is a travelling large-scale public art exhibit created by award winning sculptor, Dale Rogers, and consists of twenty 8-foot-hi
♦ Read More →

Art & the Landscape: Alicja Kwade: TunnelTeller
Art & the Landscape: Alicja Kwade: TunnelTeller at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachsuetts
Berlin-based contemporary artist Alicja Kwade (b.1979, Poland) has long been engaged with value systems, philosophical questions about the essence of reality, and with attempting to examine, if not resolve, issues of inherently subjective concepts such as space and time. In her sculptures, as well...
Where: Castle Hill on the Crane Estate
♦ Read More →

Boston Public Market - Boston
Boston Public Market - Boston
The Boston Public Market is an indoor, year-round marketplace featuring 35 New England artisans and food producers housed under one roof offering fresh foods, prepared meals, crafts, and specialty items. Residents and visitors alike can find seasonal, locally sourced food from Massachusetts and New...
8:00 am to 8:00 pm
♦ Read More →

Dragonflies in the Park
Kids will explore and learn about the dragonflies at Halibut Point State Park.
Explore the world of odonata, one of the oldest life forms on Earth. This is a great kids’ program and most appropriate for families. Best for kids 8 and up. Meet at the Parking Lot Kiosk
Where: Halibut Point State Park
9:00 am to 10:00 am
♦ Read More →

Museum of Science Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience
Museum of Science Cambridge MA
Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience, the Museumof Science newest temporary exhibition, takes you as close to space as you can get without leaving Earth! This hands-on, climb-aboard cosmic adventure of science fun and learning invites explorers of all ages to understand the rewards and challenges of...
Where: Museum of Science
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
♦ Read More →

Sing & Dance with the Music Man
Sing & Dance with the Music Man Brian Doser in Hamilton visit Massachusetts
Come join the fun at Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham Monday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. for 30 - 45 minutes of great music with Brian Doser! Sing and dance with the Music Man during a family concert, featuring familiar and original tunes, performed by local dad and musician...
Where: Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham
10:00 am to 10:45 am
♦ Read More →

Sing & Dance with the Music Man - Saturday
Sing & Dance with the Music Man Brian Doser in Hamilton Visit Massachusetts
Come join the fun at Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. for 30 - 45 minutes of great music with Brian Doser! Sing and dance with the Music Man during a family concert, featuring familiar and original tunes, performed by local dad and musician...
Where: Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham
10:00 am to 10:45 am
♦ Read More →

MFA: Mark Rothko: Reflection
Museum of Fine Art Mark Rothko Exhibit
An immersive display of 11 masterpieces by Mark Rothko (1903–70), on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., invites visitors to contemplate the power of art to shape human experience. Opening on September 24, don’t miss “Mark Rothko: Reflection,” an immersive display of 11...
Where: Museum of Fine Arts
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
♦ Read More →