THURSDAY
29
OCTOBER
Free Things to Do in Boston with Kids
Boston's free list is bigger than most families use. The ICA is free for everyone eighteen and under every day, the MFA runs four Massachusetts-resident open houses a year, the Arboretum and Castle Island never charge, and the Children's Museum's $1 slot is Sunday afternoon, 1 to 4, reservation required.
Updated October 21, 2026 · refreshed weekly
- ICA Boston: Everyone 18 and under is always free; free for all Thursdays 5–9pm. Closed Mondays
- MFA open houses (MA residents): Oct 12, 2026 · Jan 18, 2027 · May 31, 2027 · Jun 18, 2027
- Boston Children's Museum: $1 on TJX Sunday Afternoons, 1–4pm, online reservation required
- Arnold Arboretum: Always free, sunrise to sunset; free parking on the Arborway, Jamaica Plain
- USS Constitution: Free to board, Tuesday–Sunday 10am–6pm, first come first served
Free with no asterisk, no pass, no booking
Start here, because this is the part that cannot go wrong. Four places with no ticket, no timed entry and nothing to reserve.
Arnold Arboretum — Jamaica Plain, BostonVisit official site →
Harvard's tree collection, open every day of the year, with a Little Explorers program for three- to five-year-olds and printable scavenger hunts.
Tickets
Always free
Know before you go
- Landscape open sunrise to sunset; visitor center 10am–4pm
- Free parking along the Arborway, Flora Way and Walter Street
Who it's for
Preschoolers, and anyone who wants space without a gate
Boston Public Library, Central Library — Back Bay, Boston
A landmark reading room open to anyone, with free art and architecture tours and a courtyard that is the best free sit-down in the Back Bay.
Tickets
Free
Know before you go
- Monday–Thursday 9am–8pm, Friday and Saturday 9am–5pm, Sunday 11am–5pm
Who it's for
Any age, and the warm room when the weather turns
Boston Public Market — Downtown Boston
An indoor hall of New England producers that costs nothing to walk into.
Tickets
Free to walk into
Know before you go
- Open daily from 8am — to 6pm Sunday–Tuesday, to 8pm Wednesday–Saturday
Who it's for
Families who need an indoor stop between downtown and the North End
USS Constitution — Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston
An active-duty US Navy ship you can walk the deck of, with a museum beside her on a suggested donation.
Tickets
Free to board. The museum's suggested donation is $15 a person standard, with a reduced tier starting at free
Know before you go
- Tuesday–Sunday 10am–6pm, first come first served
- Security screening at the gate
Who it's for
School-age kids who like ships
Free on the right day: the ICA and the MFA
Two of the city's best art museums are free far more often than people realize, and the rules are different at each. The ICA's is the more generous; the MFA's turns on residency and the calendar.
Institute of Contemporary Art — Seaport, BostonVisit official site →
The most generous admission policy in the city, in a harbourfront building worth the trip on its own.
Dates
- Free for all on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Labor Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day
Tickets
Free for everyone 18 and under and for Boston Public Schools students; free for all Thursdays 5–9pm
Know before you go
- Closed Mondays, and on Patriots' Day, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day
- The Watershed across the harbor in East Boston is a free art space, open every summer
Who it's for
Families with teenagers — you pay for the adults only
Skip if
It is a Monday
Museum of Fine Arts — Fenway, BostonVisit official site →
A great encyclopedic collection that is not free for school-age children — the youth rate starts at seven, and the free days are for Massachusetts residents.
Dates
- Open houses for Massachusetts residents: Oct 12, 2026 · Jan 18, 2027 · May 31, 2027 · Jun 18, 2027
- Boston Family Days: first and second Sundays of the month, free for Boston students and their families
Tickets
$30 adult, $14 youth 7–17, free 0–6
Know before you go
- No advance tickets for the open houses, and you give a Massachusetts zip code at the door
- Closed Tuesdays
Who it's for
Massachusetts families who can move a museum day onto a public holiday
Skip if
You have a seven-to-seventeen-year-old and your date is not an open house
The $1 and $3 slots worth planning a week around
Several museums run deep-discount entry that goes unused because nobody advertises it. Every one of them needs either a card or a booking.
- Children's Museum with an EBT, WIC or Wonderfund Access Card: $3 a person for up to four people per card, per visit
- Children's Museum with a public-library coupon: half price for up to four people
- Children's Museum: half price for active Massachusetts K-8 teachers, free for active-duty armed forces and veterans
- Turn up for the Sunday afternoon slot without the online reservation and you pay the full $24
- MFA $5 Third Thursdays: pay-what-you-wish with a $5 minimum, after 5pm on the third Thursday of the month
- MFA Card to Culture: an EBT card becomes up to four $3 adult tickets and four free youth tickets
- Zoo New England: EBT and WIC holders buy a $45 family membership for two adults and up to four children at both zoos, valid for Massachusetts residents through December 31, 2026
Free outdoors, and the one that charges to park
The outdoor list is the deepest part of Boston's free offer and needs almost no planning. One entry on it charges to park, and charges a lot.
Castle Island — South Boston
A 22-acre DCR park on the water with Fort Independence in the middle, joined to the mainland by walkways and roads.
Dates
- Fort Independence open Memorial Day to Columbus Day, which falls on Monday, October 12 in 2026
- Castle Island Association tours Sundays noon–3pm through September and October, ending Columbus Day weekend
Tickets
Free, and the fort tours are free too
Know before you go
- The walkway runs along the water's edge all the way to the Kennedy Library
- Public restrooms at neighbouring Carson Beach are closed, which matters on the long version
Who it's for
Any age — the best free walk in the city
Blue Hills Reservation — Milton
Seven thousand acres and a 635-foot summit twenty minutes from downtown, and unlike Walden it allows dogs on leash.
Tickets
Free, with free parking at Houghton's Pond
Who it's for
Families with a dog, and older kids with the legs for a summit
Skip if
You want flat — Great Blue Hill is a real climb
Rose Kennedy Greenway — Downtown Boston
Fountains and lawns strung through downtown, free to use, with one paid ride at the end of it.
Tickets
Free; only the carousel charges, at $4 a ride
Who it's for
Toddlers in summer — the fountains are the attraction
Walden Pond — Concord
Free to walk into, and the exception on this list because the parking is not.
Tickets
Entry free; parking $8 with Massachusetts plates and $30 out of state, cash not accepted
Know before you go
- The lot closes once the reservation reaches capacity, and an annual pass does not get you past that
Who it's for
Early arrivals on a weekday
Skip if
It is a warm weekend — the lot fills and turns cars away
Free admission days & community days in our catalog
Live from our catalog — 5 upcoming, refreshed weekly.
Free Thursday Nights at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
ICA Free Thursday Night at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston.
SUNDAY
1
NOVEMBER
Play Date: Free Family Art Day at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston — free, all ages.
THURSDAY
5
NOVEMBER
Autumn-inspired arts & crafts, tasty snacks, a photo moment, and a reading nook fill the Community Room, all ages.
SUNDAY
8
NOVEMBER
Keynotes, fireside chats, immersive experiences, a book fair, and family programming explore how science earns and keeps trust at the Museum of Science Boston.
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FAQ
Which free day would you plan a week around?
The ICA on a Thursday evening. It is free for everyone from 5 to 9, and free for under-18s anyway, so a family of four pays nothing at all. The Massachusetts-resident open houses are the runner-up.
Do library cards get you into Boston museums?
Sometimes, at a discount rather than free. Zoo New England lists no library pass at all. The programs vary by town rather than by museum, so check your own library's museum-pass page before you buy anything.
What's free indoors when it rains?
The Central Library at Copley, Boston Public Market, and the USS Constitution Museum on its reduced tier. The ICA is free for all on Thursday evenings. Everything else on this page is outdoors, and Walden Pond may not even let you park.