What are some free or inexpensive activities I can do with my PULSE mentee?
The best way to know what FREE events are happening in Boston is to check the Calendar Section of the Boston Globe each week. This section is in the Thursday paper or you can check it out on the web. Listed at the end of this resource are some great web-sites that list activities and events happening in Boston.
Blue Hills Reservation
(617) 698-1802; Hillside Street, Milton
Blue Hills Reservation (5,800 acres) adjoins Fowl Meadow Reservation (894 acres) that together comprise the largest open space within 35 miles of Boston. This woodland reservation contains hundreds of different varieties of trees, shrubs and wildflowers that harbor a great diversity of wildlife. MDC Rangers conduct public programs that interpret the area's natural and cultural history, from prehistoric times to present day. Discussions, walks, workshops, and special events for children are presented year-round on varied topics including wildlife, recreational activities, Native American life and resource management. Blue Hills also has a Trailside Museum. For More info call 617.333.0690. Blue Hills also has an Observatory and Science center. For more info call 617.696.0389
Directions: Take the Red Line to Ashmont Station and then take
Canton and Blue Hills bus to Trailside Museum.
Borders Bookstore
Borders has weekly sing-a-longs and story-telling on Saturdays for children. Call them up and find out!
300 Boylston Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Phone:617.630.1120
(Story time 11-11:30 on Tuesdays, Sing-a-longs Saturday 1pm)
Cambridge Side Galleria
Cambridge, MA 02141
Phone: 617.679.0887
(Saturday 1pm Story Telling, call for other events)
10 - 24 School Street
Boston, MA 02108
Phone:617.557.7188
(Or also call 617.557.7188 for children's events)
Boston College Athletic Events
The Boston College Athletic Association generously has donated free tickets to football, basketball and hockey games. Watch your e-mail or stop by the PULSE office for more details.
The Boston Public Library: Museum Pass Program
617-536-5400; info@bpl.org ; www.bpl.org
The following museum passes are available from all Boston Public Library locations except the Kirstein Business Branch. The main library books up a few months in advance, so it's best to try the smaller branches, like the Allston-Brighton one.
•Aquarium (Sept.-June, will admit up to 4 people)
•Children's Museum (discounted pass $2.00 entry fee per person, will admit up to 4 people)
•Harvard Museum of Natural History (discounted pass $1.00 entry fee per person, will admit up to 4 people, 2 adults and 2 children)
•Museum of Fine Arts (will admit one adult, children are free)
•Museum of Science (will admit up to 4 people)
Each location has one pass per day, per museum. All passes must be reserved by an adult with a valid library card. You may book a pass in person or by phone. You must have a valid library card to reserve and use the passes. You may pick up the museum pass the day of use. Exception: Passes reserved for Sunday may be picked up on the Friday or Saturday preceding the Sunday reservation date. The pass must be returned the next day the library is open. If passes are not returned on time, your pass privileges will be revoked for 3 months. In order to ensure fair distribution of passes, the following restrictions apply:
1. More than one pass may not be booked by the same person or family for the same day, except for the Museum of Fine Arts pass.
2. You may not book the same pass multiple times in the same month.
The Boston Public Library also has a special resource room for children. There are special internet programs that are both fun and educational for kids as well as computer games, books, magazines, homework tutorials, and learning resources.
Directions: The main branch of the library is located at 700 Boylston St--right off the Copley T-stop on the Green Line.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
(617) 638-9300
Boston Symphony Orchestra holds a FREE concert series called the Community Chamber Concerts. All concerts are held on Sundays at 3pm. Get the full schedule by calling the BSO ticket office.
Directions: Take the Green line to the Symphony stop, and the BSO is on Mass Ave.
Children's Museum
(617) 426-8855; www.bostonkids.org Museum Hours: Everyday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. except Fridays: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.**Fridays, 5-9 pm, admission is only $1, per person!
Directions: You can take the Red Line to South Station. You'll come out next to the Federal Reserve building. Walk around to the other side of the Federal Reserve by walking one block on Summer Street, to the water, and then left on Dorchester Avenue, along the water. That will bring you to Congress Street, where you'll walk across the bridge and you'll see the Museum ahead on your left, behind the 40-foot milk bottle. It's about a three-block walk.
Franklin Park Zoo
(617) 541-LION; www.zoonewengland.com/fpz/
Open daily 10am-4pm
Regular admission: $7 adult, $4 child. If you call and make a reservation 2 weeks in advance, it is $1 off the adult and child admission price.
Directions: Take the Orange line or commuter rail to the Forest Hills station, then take the number 16 bus to the Franklin Park Zoo.
Fenway Park
(617)226-6666 or email tour@redsox.com
Fenway offers tours of the park on a daily basis. They leave hourly from the Souvenir Store on Yawkey Way from 9am to 4pm.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children.
Freedom Trail
(617) 242-5642; www.thefreedomtrail.org
There is a ton to do on and off the trail for kids! Free organized tours begin at 10, 11, and 2 on the weekends and 2 on the weekdays. There are also free Junior Ranger Scavenger Hunts that can be picked up at the Statehouse Museum. To start your own tour…check out the print out on the Freedom Trail activities or their web-site listed above. Also make sure you are there 30 minutes early if you want to be on one of the organized tours!
Directions: The tours and scavenger hunt is located at 15 State St. across from the old Statehouse (located right off the State St. T-stop on the Orange Line). The Freedom Trail begins in the Boston Commons right off the Park Street T-stop.
Harvard Museum of Natural History
(617) 495-3045, www.hmnh.harvard.edu
FREE Wednesdays from3pm-5pm, September-May Also FREE on Sunday mornings 9am-12pm
The Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) is the public museum of Harvard University's three natural history institutions: the Botanical Museum, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum. Through exhibitions and an array of educational programs, the HMNH presents a historic and interdisciplinary exploration of science and nature, with an emphasis on evolutionary theory.
Directions: Take the Alewife Red Line to the Harvard Square stop. Exit through the turnstyles and up the stairway that leads to Harvard Yard, and walk into Harvard Yard to the statue of John Harvard -- from here take the path to your left, exit the yard and veer slightly to the right. The Science building (a white granite structure with a rock formation in front) will be on your left, and Memorial Hall (a large red brick building with a tall steeple) on your right. (If Memorial Hall is on your left, you are walking in the wrong direction. ) This will take you to the intersection of Kirkland and Oxford. Proceed left (westward) down Oxford Street. The main entrance to the museum is on the right side of Oxford -- at 26 Oxford Street.
Ice Skating: MDC Skating Rinks
Call (617) 727-4708 for ice rentals.
This is definitely the best deal around for ice-skating…some nights/days
are free and others are at very low prices.
SKATING RINKS IN THE BOSTON AREA:
•Boston- Steriti Memorial Rink, Commercial Street, 523-9327
•Brighton- Daly Memorial Rink, Nonantum Rd., 527-1741
•Cambridge- Simoni Memorial Rink, Gore St., 354-9523
•Charlestown- O'Neill Memorial Rink, Rutherford Ave., 242-9728
•Somerville- Veterans Memorial Rink, Somerville Ave., 623-3523
•East Boston- Porazzo Memorial Rink, Constitution Beach, 567-9571
•Dorchester- Devine Memorial Rink, Morrissey Blvd., 436-4356
•Quincy- Shea Memorial Rink, Willard St. 472-9325
•South Boston- Murphy Memorial Rink, Day Blvd. 269-7060
•Weymouth- Connell Memorial Rink, Broad St. 335-2090
•Brighton- Reilly Memorial Rink, Cleveland Circle, 277-7822
•Hyde Park- Bajko Memorial Rink, Turtle Pond Pkwy. 364-9188
•West Roxbury- Bryan Memorial Rink, VFW Pkwy. 323-9512
Ice Skating: Frog Pond on Boston Common
(617)635-4505
Frog pond offers public skating throughout the winter. Unfortunately, you do have to pay for skate rentals. (The price last year was $5) Open hours are: Sun-Thu 10am-9pm; Fri-Sat 10am-10pm Children under 13 are free to skate, All others are $3
Directions: Located in the Boston Commons, off of the Park Street T-stop.
Ice Skating at Conte-Forum
Beginning in the winter, Conte-Forum has free ice-skating. Unfortunately, they don't have skate rentals available.
Movie Tickets
Movie tickets can be bought for lower prices at the Ticket office in McElroy Commons for General Cinema and AMC Theatres
Museum of Fine Arts
(617) 267-9300; www.mfa.org/education/
The Museum of Fine Arts is free with your B.C. ID.
Youth, 7-17 $5 on school days until 3 pm; admitted free at all other times
Wednesday Evenings: 4 pm-9:45 pm, general admission is FREE
The Museum offers a variety of activities and programs for youth designed to be interactive and participatory for a broad and diverse audience.
Directions: Take the green "E" line outbound (you can switch for this line at the Arlington T-stop). Get off at the Museum of Fine Arts stop. The Museum is right across the street.
Museum of Science-Mugar Omni Theatre
(617) 723-2500; www.mos.org
Free passes can be picked up for the Museum of Science at the Academic Vice
President's Office located at the Bornheuf House on College Road.
Directions: The Museum of Science is located off of the Science Park T-stop on the Green Line.
New England Aquarium
(617) 973-5200; www.neaq.org
Free passes can be checked out ahead of time from the Boston Public Library.
Directions: Located right off the Aquarium T-stop on the blue line.
The Plex
The Flynn Recreation Complex has generously agreed to allow free admission for "mentees" when accompanied by their "mentor." Stop by the PULSE office to pick up a permission slip.
Sailing-Community Boating on the Esplanade
The oldest and largest non-profit sailing program in the country, Community Boating, Inc. offers sailing, kayaking and windsurfing on the Charles River from April 1 to October 31. Classes, boat usage and even guests (with appropriate ratings) are all included in membership. No experience necessary; classes run seven days a week. Full year memberships are just $190, and for anyone between the ages of 17-20, it’s just $150. Kids 10-18 sail for just $1 for ten weeks during the Junior Program. For more information, check their website: http://www.community-boating.org, or call 617-523-1038.
Directions: Community Boating is located on the Esplanade between the Hatch Shell and the Longfellow Bridge, easily accessible by T. Red Line to Charles/ MGH, cross Storrow Drive by the footbridge. Or take the Green Line to Arlington and walk toward the Charles River, cross Storrow Drive and take a right at the Hatch Shell. Community Boating is on your left, just before the Longfellow Bridge.
USS Constitution
617-426-1812; www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org
Open everyday--call for hours.
There is a lot to see at the USS Constitution. There are half-hour tours that are free and fun for kids. This is located off of the Freedom Trail in Charlestown.
Additional Resources on the Web
www.boston.com/globe/calendar/
www.citysearch.com
www.thefreedomtrail.org
www.boston.com
www.bostonyouthzone.com