MFA Boston: Vacation Week Adventures

Museum of Fine Arts Children's Vacation Activities during Spring Break!

Discover the wide range of colors found in art! All are invited to April Vacation Week to enjoy interactive family tours and drop-in art-making activities exploring color! All ages and abilities welcome; children must be accompanied by an adult. No registration required. See Visiting with Kids and Family for more information.

  • Drop-In Art Making: Sun Catchers

    • 10 am–4 pm
    • Shapiro Family Courtyard
    • See how light changes color by taking a closer look at beautiful examples of stained glass on view in galleries 218, 221, 222, 223, and 228. Then head to the Shapiro Family Courtyard to create your own hanging artwork that glows with help from the sun.
  • Drop-In Art Making: Felt Art Whimsy

    • 10 am–4 pm
    • Druker Studios, 159, Linde Family Wing
    • Learn how to transform natural wool fibers into a beautiful felt work of art with artist Alexandra Adamo from Alex Makes Art.
    • Please note: Felting needles are sharp! This activity is only for visitors ten years old and up.
  • Drop-In Art Making: Ukrainian Easter Eggs

    • 10 am–4 pm
    • Druker Studios, 160, Linde Family Wing
    • Welcome spring by learning about pysanky, traditional Ukrainian painted eggs. Then create your very own pysanka by adding bright colors and intricate patterns to a wooden egg using watercolor-based dye, tape, and masking fluid.
  • Drop-In Art Making: Paper Flowers

    • Occurs every day but Saturday, April 22
    • 10 am–4 pm
    • Koch Gallery, 250
    • Take a look at Dutch and Flemish paintings depicting flowers in galleries 243 and 244. Then stop by gallery 250 to create realistic-looking flowers using paper, wire, tape, and scissors.
  • Story Hour

    • 10:30 am and 1:30 pm
    • Gallery LG36
    • Stop by to hear children’s stories about color. Leave after one story or stay for the whole hour.
  • Family Tour: Colors All Around Us

    • Occurs every day but Saturday, April 22
    • 10:30 am, 11:15 am, 1 pm, 1:45 pm, and 2:30 pm
    • Meet at Sharf Visitor Center
    • Join a family-friendly tour in search of the most bold and vibrant colors in the Museum! What’s your favorite? Tours are 30 minutes.
  • Conservation Up Close: Gilding Frames

    • Wednesday, April 19
    • 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 2:30 pm
    • Meet in Gallery 168
    • Join Christine Storti, head of Furniture and Frame Conservation; and Gregory Porter, assistant frame conservator; to explore the materials and tools used to gild frames. See up close the delicate nature of gold leaf, and learn how gilders used squirrel hair brushes to transfer the leaf and agate gemstones to burnish the gold for shine.
    • Space is limited. Free tickets available for pickup in Gallery 168 on a first-come, first-served basis 30 minutes prior to the start of each session.
  • Conservation Up Close: Making Traditional Egg Tempera Paint

    • Saturday, April 22
    • 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 2:30 pm
    • Meet in Gallery 168
    • Join Sarah Mastrangelo, Cunningham Associate Conservator of Paintings, for a brief history of the use of egg tempera in Italian panel painting and a demonstration of how traditional egg tempera paint is made. Take part in a discussion on the manufacture and processing of pigments, and get a feel for the difference between egg tempera and a contemporary paint medium like gouache.
    • Space is limited. Free tickets available for pickup in Gallery 168 on a first-come, first-served basis 30 minutes prior to the start of each session.
When: 
Wednesday, April 19 – Saturday, April 22, 2023 10am–4pm
Phone: 
617.267.9300
Adirondack Leadership Program at Gordon College’s La Vida Center

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 10am 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,...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

Home & Food Truck Show | Topsfield

Home and Food Truck show at the Topfield Fairground in Massachusetts
April 20th & 21st. FREE admission and FREE parking. All INDOORS & Enjoy the Food Trucks outside. Speak to leading home industry professionals to plan your spring home projects.
10:00 am to 6:59 pm

Spring Blooms at the Stevens-Coolidge Estate

Spring Blooms at the Trustees Stevens Coolidge Estate in North Andover!
Join The Trustees of Reservations at our new entrance location showcasing contemporary gardens, historical gardens, and our Garden Gateway visitor orientation center at 153 Chickering Road, North Andover MA.
10:00 am to 5:00 pm

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.
10:00 am to 3:59 pm

Evening Stroll at Maudslay

Enjoy and evening stroll with the park interpreter at Maudlsay State Park in Newburyport
Join the park interpreter for a moderately paced walk to view different areas of the park and experience the seasonal changes at Maudslay. 
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Marblehead Junior Class Carnival

The Marblehead Carnival is a fundraiser for the Marblehead High School junior class in Massachusetts!
Come join the annual Marblehead Carnival sponsored by Junior Class at Devereaux Beach. Each year this carnival serves as a major fundraiser.  You'll find rides, games, and great food!
6:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Friday, May 3

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.
10:00 am to 3:59 pm

Home & Food Truck Show | Topsfield

Home and Food Truck show at the Topfield Fairground in Massachusetts
April 20th & 21st. FREE admission and FREE parking. All INDOORS & Enjoy the Food Trucks outside. Speak to leading home industry professionals to plan your spring home projects.
10:00 am to 6:59 pm

Spring Blooms at the Stevens-Coolidge Estate

Spring Blooms at the Trustees Stevens Coolidge Estate in North Andover!
Join The Trustees of Reservations at our new entrance location showcasing contemporary gardens, historical gardens, and our Garden Gateway visitor orientation center at 153 Chickering Road, North Andover MA.
10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Kidleidoscope

Kidleidoscope at Maudslay State Park is a chance for preschoolers to explore the park, enjoy a story and make a craft!
Maudslay State Park has created this program for their youngest crowd! For the young set that loves nature, the park interpreter will lead a three-part preschool aged program that includes a story, craft & walk that involves outdoor exploration. A different nature topic each week so come every...
11:00 am

Friday Family Farm Chores at Appleton Farms

Join The Trustees of Reservations at Appleton Farms for our special, hands-on Family Farm Chores program held on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
Every day has a full list of barnyard chores we need to accomplish to make sure our farmyard friends are happy and healthy. Let’s get to work! Join us for our special, hands-on Family Farm Chores program held on Fridays and Saturdays! Get on your muck boots – your whole family will get to be...
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Salisbury Beach Carousel - Free Friday Hours

Carousel at Salisbury Beach MA. Parties, Family Reunions, Weddings, Showers, Birthday Parties
Salisbury Beach Carousel Hours: Friday: 4 pm to 8 pm Saturday: 12 pm to 8 pm Sunday: 12 pm to 6 pm Hours of operation are to change.
4:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Marblehead Junior Class Carnival

The Marblehead Carnival is a fundraiser for the Marblehead High School junior class in Massachusetts!
Come join the annual Marblehead Carnival sponsored by Junior Class at Devereaux Beach. Each year this carnival serves as a major fundraiser.  You'll find rides, games, and great food!
6:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Family Friendly Folk Dance

Come join the community tradition of the folk dance at Ipswich Town Hall in Massachusetts!
Dance is a New England folk tradition, and Ipswich Recreation invites you to the fun! Join old and new friends in folk dances, including squares, contras, and circle dances. Egrets-Only, a band and caller of local Ipswich parents, will provide the fiddle tunes and instruction.
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Saturday, May 4

StoryWalk Series at Maudslay

When Spring Comes Storywalk at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts!
When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes is the subject of this STORYWALK Series.  Watch the world transform when Spring comes!Enjoy this preschool storywalk at your leisure with the younger set and combine reading and time outside in nature!
7:00 am to 8:00 pm

Electronic Recycling at Landmark School

Landmark School in  Beverly Massachusetts hosts an Electronic Recycling event.
Landmark School is hosting a community Electronics Recycling event  for friends and neighbors to be able to dispose of their broken or unwanted electronics responsibly. The event is a community service fundraiser so a small fee will be charged for donated electronics. Laptops, cell phones, PCs,...
8:00 am to 12:00 pm