Editor’s note: We’re making every effort to provide you with the most up-to-date information. However, sometimes closures occur at the last minute due to circumstances beyond our control, such as the spread of COVID-19. We highly recommend that you call ahead before you pack your kids pack your kids (and all those snacks, and diapers…) and haul them across town. Stay safe!
If you are looking for something to do in Boston this weekend with your family, we’ve got the list for you! October has lots of free and cheap things to do with your family around Boston, MA like some interactive virtual events and museums that have just opened to visitors. Get your calendar out and block off your days for these awesome events for kids and families.
Take the Kids to the Pumpkin Patch
It's the most wonderful time of the year! The pumpkin patches are in full effect and we've got all the scoop right here.
StoryWalk on the Trails at Chestnut Hill Farm
StoryWalk is an innovative and delightful way for children—and adults!—to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time. At Chestnut Hill Farm, they change our StoryWalk story each month so you can enjoy it again and again. Event details.
Visit the "Go Out Doors" Exhibit
A project of The Umbrella Arts Center program, Go Out Doors features fourteen doors painted by nine regional artists installed on the West Concord section of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail between Route 2 and Powder Mill Road. Event details.
Take the Kids Apple Picking
Apple picking is great for kids as the fruit is within kid reach and there are no thorns to deal with. Bring home a bushel and make yourself a pie and everyone’s favorite homemade applesauce (snag yourself this handy peeler, you’ll thank us later). Find all our favorite Boston-area apple picking spots here.
Run Through the Sunflower Maze
Try your luck at the brand-new sunflower maze at Hanson's Farm. Bonus: the corn maze is open too! Event details.
Take the Kids to the Drive-In
With great flicks like E.T., Shrek and Harry Potter, the Mendon Twin Drive-in is the place to be this summer. Event details.
Visit the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
At the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, you can be a part of the famous event that forever changed the course of American history through a multi-sensory experience that includes live actors, interactive exhibits, and full-scale replica 18th-century sailing vessels! Event details.
Appleton Farms Guided Tour
Enjoy a guided tour to explore some of this very special place and experience its beauty and history firsthand. Event details.
Pizza Picnics at Appleton Farms
Pizza Picnics at Appleton Farms features pizza baked in our wood fire oven, made fresh by hand when you order! Non-alcoholic beverages and assorted sweet treats will also be available to purchase on site, as well as beer or wine from one of our local featured vendors. Pick a spot anywhere on the grass for a picnic-style meal – picnic blankets are strongly encouraged! Event details.
The Museum of Science Is OPEN
The Museum of Science invites you to explore everything from the latest high-tech developments to dinosaurs, space travel and the natural world. To ensure you have a safe & T-rex-cellent experience, the Museum will admit a reduced number of visitors each day. All visitors need to purchase a timed ticket before visiting. Event details.
Hay Ride at Appleton Farms
Explore Appleton Farms on a hay ride tour! Undoubtedly the best way to experience our 350+ year old farm and all of its spectacular grounds and animals. Rides will take place every twenty minutes during our Friday evening Pizza Picnics. Event details.
Boston Lights: A Lantern Experience
Walk (socially distanced, of course) through a luminous 66-foot-long shark tunnel, dramatic entrance arches, radiant flower gardens and traditional Asian lantern scenes. Glimmering butterflies, whimsical ocean scenes and a majestic 197-foot-long dragon will light up the night sky. Little entertainers can even make their own music on a giant step-and-play piano! Through Nov. 1. Event details.
At Home with Boston Children's Museum
The Boston Children's Museum has your back in all things homeschooling and keeping the kids entertained. Follow their social media accounts for fun at home activities, homeschooling info, their list of our list of #100WaysToPlay and so much more! Daily. Event details.
Virtual Science with the Museum of Science
The Museum of Science, Boston, one of the world’s largest science centers, has launched a digital Museum experience for audiences, MOS at Home. With multiple live presentations throughout the day, creative engineering projects, podcasts, kid-friendly activities, and more, the Museum is inviting the community to visit remotely for new content every day. Daily. Event details.
Animal Cuteness with #ZooToYou
Franklin Park and Stone Zoo present #ZooToYou: a daily dose of animal cuteness, chats with our care staff, crafts and activities to do at home, and more! Daily. Event details.
Virtual Visit to the New England Aquarium
Dive into the lives of fascinating aquatic creatures with the New England Aquarium's #VirtualVisits! Each day the Aquarium's educators will be posting live videos on their social media accounts allowing everyone to learn more about the aquarium and it's animals. Daily. Event details.
Salem Witch Museum's Online Tour
This online tour of the Salem witchcraft trials sites allows you to view locations around Essex and Middlesex counties and a few key sites in and around Boston that are related to the events of the year 1692. You may select a town or city below to view pictures (where available) and read about the sites in these locations.This section contains descriptions of the sites from the witchcraft trials which can still be seen today, including original houses, foundations, grave sites, and sites marked by historic markers. Daily. Event details.
History at Home From Plimoth Plantation
You can bring history into your home with a range of online programs and resources for families and individuals—from new History @ Home™ live virtual visits with Plimoth educators to coloring pages for children to Interwoven podcast series.
Online: tinybeans.go-vip.net
Check Out Our MASSIVE Virtual Events Calendar
For more virtual fun every day of the week, head to our virtual events calendar. You'll find dance classes, scavenger hunts, animal encounters, drawing classes and MORE!
Online: tinybeans.go-vip.net
—Kate Loweth
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