Boston Things to Do Tips by karenincalifornia

We let our teenagers pick an activity and they picked the Franklin Park Zoo. You gotta love it when your teenagers still want to go to the zoo! The Franklin Park Zoo is located in a completely untouristy part of Boston. The zoo itself is a wonderful zoo. Compared to other zoos, it is not huge, but it is nicely maintained and the exhibits are very well done. Plan on spending 2-3 hours here. We enjoyed ourselves very much and commended the kids on their selection.

I was very impressed with the zoo's program for obtaining more information on each exhibit. Instead of renting out headphones and a tape, the zoo had you call a cell number (no doubt for a fee - I'll check my phone bill)! By calling the number, you received additional information on the exhbit. I have to say, the signs themselves were very well done. I especially liked how the signs designated animals as seriously endangered, rare or common.

The photo was taken at the giraffe exhibit. We very much enjoyed watching the baby giraffe with his/her parents.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 617-541-5466
Address: 1 Franklin Park Road, Boston, MA 02121
Directions: Take a cab.
Website: http://www.franklinparkzoo.org/index.cfm?nodeID=2&stopRedirect=1

This is tip #2 for the Franklin Park Zoo, but the Butterfly Exhibit merits its own individual tip. Located in the zoo, it is a must see. Now, I'll say straight out, I absolutely love butterfly exhibits. There is something to be said for having bugs brush past your face and hair and possibly land on your arms. Why is it that we'll tolerate butterflies flying around our faces in a greenhouse, but we'd avoid stepping into a spider exhibit like the plague? Ah, but I digress...

I don't know how many varieties of butterflies are in the exhibit, but it is a lot. Don't miss this beautiful exhibit!

Leave a Comment

Address: Franklin Park Zoo

Trinity Church is a gorgeous Episcopalian church located in the Back Bay neighborhood. It's architecture is beautiful - it was dedicated in 1877 and is now set amongst glass skyscrapers. For a small fee you can enter the church on your own or join a tour. The church is very active in the community and hosts numerous concerts, visual art events and fundraisers.

Leave a Comment

Address: 206 Clarendon St, Boston, MA 02116
Website: http://www.trinitychurchboston.org/index.php

We let my daughter pick another Boston activity and she picked the Museum of Fine Arts. Before you comment on how nice that is that we have a child with such a strong interest in the arts and culture, you should know that she had a school project (visiting a museum) that she needed to get out of the way. She completed her project while my husband and I wandered throughout the museum.

This is a fantastic museum in a very beautiful building. In addition, it has very easy access and is right next to a subway stop.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 617-267-9300
Address: 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA
Website: http://www.mfa.org/

While we were in Boston, we crossed over the Charles River to visit Harvard in Cambridge. Harvard offers daily tours in the summer and each day shows hundreds of Harvard hopefuls around the campus. We enjoyed walking around the campus and admiring the red brick buildings with large columns and the shaded common grounds. On these tours you learn interesting facts from the student guides, like some classes at Harvard have only 1 student, while another might have 900 students.

900 students in a class! I can't even imagine it. Sounds like a terrible Spielberg movie.

Leave a Comment

Address: Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA