Free Museums Near Boston To Visit with Kids | MommyPoppins

Get your family out to one of the free museums near Boston, in the city and around New England. Boston is home to some of the best museums, zoos, and theme parks in America, but many of these incredible experiences come at a steep cost. Here’s a secret: many museums and attractions in Massachusetts are free for little kids, and in some cases, all kids. Mommy Poppins has set out to uncover these freebies almost 50 of them, in fact! So what are you waiting for? Start your free museum adventures, and check off the list as you go. And take advantage of the kid-friendly rates for The “T”. Kids under 12 ride for free with an adult!

If you’re working your way through our Boston Kids’ 100 Things to Do bucket list, you may want to coordinate with the cut-off ages below; some of the museums you can catch on their free admission days, but several other attractions really drive home the bittersweet point that you’re only young once. Don’t miss our Boston Free Fun Guide for even more ideas for creating special experiences for kids without breaking the bank.

Photo courtesy of the  Arnold Arboretum

Free Musems Near Boston – Always Free

Some of Boston’s best museums and attractions are free whenever your family visits!

Free Museums Near Boston – Attractions Free for Kids Under 1

These museums, zoos, and Boston attractions are free for the littlest of your little ones.

 
Visit Taco the baby sloth at the Stone Zoo, where kids under 2 are admitted for free. Photo courtesy of the Zoo

Free Museums Near Boston – Places Free for Kids Under 2

Toddle on over to these museums, zoos, and more. Kids under two get in for free.

Free Museums Near Boston – Places Free for Kids Under 3

Free Museums Near Boston – Museums and Gardens Free for Kids Under 5

 
See Boston’s history retold in Colonial period costume. Photo courtesy of the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum

Visit these museums (and more) fore free admission for children under five years old.

Free Museums Near Boston – Free for Kids Under 6

Free Museums Near Boston – Free for Kids Under 7

Free Museums Near Boston – Free for Kids Under 12

Check out the DeCordova Museum, where kids under 12 can see art for free!

Walk through a garden of sculptures including Jim Dine’s Two Bog Black Hearts any season. Photo courtesy of the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

Free Museums Near Boston – Free for Kids Under 13

Free Museums Near Boston – Free for Kids Under 18

 
Look at the world from the inside out as it was in 1935. Photo Courtesy the Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library

Originally published 2015
Updated January 2023