To select a museum, click “Details/Reserve”, then select which Pass to reserve.
Boston Children’s Museum
308 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210
617-426-6500 http://www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org/
[Details/Reserve]
Founded in 1913 by the Science Teachers’ Bureau, the Boston Children’s Museum is the second oldest children’s museum in the world and one of the few that maintain a collection. Designed for both children and families, the Museum exhibits focus on science, culture, environmental awareness, health & fitness, and the arts, emphasizing hands-on engagement and learning through experience, and employing play as a tool to spark the inherent creativity, curiosity, and imagination of children.
Categories: Children, Crafts, Family, Technology
Pass Benefits
The pass admits up to 4 people at 1/2 off the general admission. Free admission for children under 1.
*This is an e-pass which will be emailed to you and must be used on the selected date.*
Discovery Museum
177 Main Street, Acton, MA 01720
978-264-4200 http://www.discoveryacton.org/
[Details/Reserve]
Acton's Discovery Museum, located on a 4-acre campus, is aimed at providing an environment in which play becomes a conduit for learning about science, technology, and nature. The museum’s building contains a number of galleries dedicated to teaching scientific concepts in a fun, hands-on environment, as well as themed play spaces for younger visitors. Outdoors, Discovery Woods includes a nature playscape with a cargo net climb, nest swing and beaver lodges, as well as a treehouse with an observation deck and a bouncy bridge. There are opportunities to practice orienteering with provided maps and instructions on trails on the property. A museum shop is on the premises. The museum building is fully ADA compliant, with exhibits based on Universal Design principles.
Categories: Children, Family, Science
Pass Benefits
This pass admits 3 visitors at 1/2 price admission per person. Any additional visitors must pay the regular admission price.
*This is an e-pass which will be emailed to you and must be used on the selected date.*
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture
11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-1638 https://hmsc.harvard.edu/
[Details/Reserve]
The Harvard Museums of Science & Culture is a partnership of museums on the Harvard University Cambridge campus dedicated to the natural world, science, and human cultures. They include the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, the Harvard Museum of Natural History (comprised of the Harvard University Herbaria, Mineralogical and Geological Museum, and Museum of Comparative Zoology), the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, all located between Oxford St./Divinity Ave area. Of particular note are the famous glass flowers, models commissioned by Harvard in 1886 to aid in the teaching of botany (and made in Germany over the course of more than eight decades), on display in the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
Categories: Children, Family, History, Nature, Science
Pass Benefits
Admits up to 4 visitors at 50% off regular museum admission rates. Discount may not be combined with other offers.
*This is a physical, coupon pass which must be picked up in WPL's Children's Room. This pass has an expiration date and does NOT need to be used on the date you've selected in our calendar.*
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115
617-566-1401 http://www.gardnermuseum.org/home/
[Details/Reserve]
The Gardner Museum houses the collection of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a local patron of the arts who died in 1924, in a building she commissioned to look like a 15th century Venetian palazzo. The center of the original building showcases courtyard plantings that reflect the seasons as they evolve throughout the year. In addition to her collection, which remains displayed exactly she arranged it per her will, there are changing exhibitions, concerts, lectures, family events, and an artist-in-residence program. In 2012, the museum opened an addition designed by Renzo Piano that houses a space for their concert series.
Categories: Art, Family, Music
Pass Benefits
Admits up to 4 people at $5.00 each. Children under 18 are free.
Mass Audubon (Drumlin Farm)
208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773
781-259-2200 http://www.massaudubon.org/
[Details/Reserve]
Mass Audubon maintains about 100 wildlife sanctuaries in Massachusetts, more than half of which may be visited for walks on trails and visits to nature centers and museums. Among these is Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, a working farm with animals and crops, plus exhibits that include native wildlife, such as owls, foxes and deer. A shop on the premises sells items related to nature, such as bird feeders and binoculars.
Categories: Children, Family, Nature
Pass Benefits
This one-day Library Partner Admission Pass admits up to 4 people to a Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuary. With this pass, admission is discounted to $2 per visitor over the age of 2. Please visit https://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/trails for the latest information, including safety guidelines.
Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
617-267-9300 http://www.mfa.org/
[Details/Reserve]
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, in existence since July 4, 1876, is one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world, with a collection of almost 500,000 works of art, ranging from ancient Egyptian artifacts to contemporary painting, sculpture and video. In addition, there are always special exhibitions on view, opportunities to take advantage of educational programs—some right in the galleries—and a contemplative Japanese garden.
Categories: Art, Family, History
Pass Benefits
This pass discounts admission for 2 adults to $10 each. Up to 4 youth tickets can also be discounted to $10 each for the special exhibition.
*This is an e-pass which will be emailed to you and must be used on the selected date.*
The Museum of Science in Boston is located on a piece of land that extends the width of the Charles River, connecting Boston and Cambridge. Dedicated to promoting and educating visitors about science and technology, the museum includes a planetarium, the world’s largest open-air Van de Graaff generator, an IMAX theatre, a butterfly garden, and permanent and changing exhibits on birds, insects and animals; space; dinosaurs; engineering; nanotechnology; math; biology; and more.
Categories: Children, Family, History, Nature, Science, Technology, Sky
Pass Benefits
This pass will admit up to 4 people at a 50% discount on tickets to the Museum’s Exhibit Halls. Children under 3 are not included in the count of 4 and are always admitted for free.
*This is an e-pass which will be emailed to you and must be used on the selected date.*
Please bring your library pass confirmation (printed or displayed on a phone) when you visit.
When you arrive at the Museum, stop at the Box Office to exchange your library pass and purchase your Exhibit Halls tickets at the discounted rate. If you have any questions or would like to reserve your Exhibit Halls passes in advance to avoid waiting in line the day of your visit, please call 617-723-2500 (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily).
New England Aquarium
1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110
617-973-5200 http://www.neaq.org/
[Details/Reserve]
The New England Aquarium is home to thousands of aquatic animals, from the giant Pacific octopus to Northern fur seals to little blue penguins. They offer a wide range of exhibits, including a shark and ray touch tank and the Giant Ocean Tank, a four-story coral reef featuring hundreds of Caribbean animals. In addition, they have an IMAX theatre and run whale watch boat excursions in partnership with Boston Harbor Cruises from April through November.
Categories: Children, Family, Nature, Science, Ocean
Pass Benefits
The pass admits up to 4 people at 50% off. Children under 3 years are admitted free.
*This is an e-pass which will be emailed to you and must be used on the selected date.*
Trustees of Reservations (with deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum)
The Trustees of Reservations preserve and protect more than 100 special properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value—nearly 25,000 acres—all around Massachusetts. From Crane's Beach in Ipswich and World's End in Hingham to The Old Manse in Concord and Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, visitors to Trustees sites enjoy local history and nature in its various forms: beaches, meadows, forests, swamps and more.
In the summer of 2019, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, the largest park of its kind in New England, became part of the Trustees. The museum, located in Lincoln, MA, encompasses nearly 30 conserved acres and presents contemporary art from New England—and beyond—with sculptures in the landscape and museum exhibitions. For a full list of locations, please visit their web site.
Categories: Art, Family, History, Nature, Recreation
Pass Benefits
Benefits vary by location. The GO Pass admission is equivalent to a Trustees Family Membership admission price at Trustees properties that charge an admission fee.
At the deCordova Museum and Sculpture park, the GO pass allows free admission for 2 people.
*This is a physical, coupon pass which must be picked up in WPL's Children's Room. This pass has an expiration date and does NOT need to be used on the date you've selected in our calendar.*
Zoo New England
1 Franklin Park Road, Boston, MA 02121
617-541-5466 http://www.zoonewengland.org/
[Details/Reserve]
Zoo New England operates Franklin Park Zoo, a 72-acre site nestled in Boston’s historic Franklin Park, and the Stone Zoo, located on a 26-acre site near Spot Pond reservoir in Stoneham, MA. In addition to animals, both zoos are engaged in wildlife and conservation programs, research, and education.
Pass Benefits
This pass allows up to 6 people to visit at $9 per adult and $6 per child. Children under 2 are free. Library coupons are not valid for admission to the evening "Boston Lights" exhibition.
*This is a physical, coupon pass which must be picked up in WPL's Children's Room. This pass has an expiration date and does NOT need to be used on the date you've selected in our calendar.*