Presidents Day and School Vacation Week Events in Boston
Visitors meet Myrtle the Turtle at the New England Aquarium. / Photo by Olga Khvan
— Museums —
In addition to checking out the MFA’s exhibits, the museum will host special School Vacation Week programming including a performance, stories, and art-making activities. | $25, free for kids under 18, February 16-20.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
This School Vacation Week, the Gardner is hosting “Journeys East” all week except for Tuesday. Celebrate Asia by checking out screens, sculpture, letters, and more, and by taking part in art activities like making accordion books, meditation gardens, and mandala designs. There will also be music, dancing, and storytelling. | $15, free for kids under 18, February 16 and 18-20.
Visit the ICA to check out the museum’s new exhibits “When the Stars Begin to Fall” and “Sonic Arboretum.” The kids might also enjoy catching a showing of the Oscar-nominated animated short films (through Monday, February 16). | $15, free for kids under 18, open all week.
Children and adults have much to explore at the MOS, and if you need to rest your feet for a bit, check out Humpback Whales in the Mugar Omni Theater, a new IMAX film that opens Friday, February 13. | $23 adults, $20 kids, open all week.
The NEAQ’s residents have been having plenty of fun this winter season. Join the penguins, seals, and others for a delightful day at the aquarium. | $25 adults, $18 kids, free for kids under 3, open all week.
Each year during February School Vacation Week, the MIT Museum celebrates National Engineers Week with “Feb Fest: Light, Cameras, Science!”, a week of engineering-centric activities, workshops, and demos. | $10 adults, $5 kids, February 16-21.
The Children’s Museum hosts special Vacation Week programming each year. Fun activities include “Not a Box,” box-y crafts based on the book by Antoinette Portis. Adults who don’t have kids can visit the museum on Thursday, February 12, for a Valentine’s Day-themed Adult Night. | $14, free for kids under 1, open all week.
The PEM will host creative activities all week long, from a collaborative project with an artist involving performance and fashion, to light projection art, to a “Materials Maze and Design Challenge.” | $18 adults, free for kids 16 and under, February 16-20.
Kids can take part in a variety of art-making projects at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, several of which will focus on giving back to the community. And while you’re there, take a stroll through the impressive Mapparium too. | $6 adults, free for kids under 18, February 17-20.
Like the Children’s Museum, you need a kid to get into LDC Boston in Somerville, except on special Adult Nights. There’s one scheduled for Wednesday, February 18, and the theme is “We LOVE Sports.” Um, duh. | $23, open all week.
— History —
Usually the perfect place to go for President’s Day, this year the JFK Library’s main exhibit galleries are closed for renovation until mid-March. Instead, consider…
Take the kids here for a variety of historical activities. They can go on a scavenger hunt, practice colonial quill and ink writing, and make a royal coat of arms. | $10 adults, free for kids under 18, February 16-20.
— Screen and Stage —
“Do you want to build a…” If you can finish that sentence, you could probably enjoy Disney on Ice’s presentation of Frozen, based on the hit animated movie with songs you still can’t get out of your head. | $30+, February 13-22.
This month at the BCT, it’s all about Pinkalicious. The musical stars a girl named Pinkalicious who loves pink cupcakes so much that she turns pink from head to toe. | $27, February 14-22.
This year during February School Vacation Week, the Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline will debut Ooey Gooey! by Barefoot Puppets. | $12, February 17-19.
The 20th annual event at the Brattle Theatre will show three different programs: the All Bugs Revue, Daffy Duck and Friends, and the Looney Tunes Revue. And that’s all, folks! | $9, February 14-21.
