Boston Children’s Museum
308 Congress St., 617-426-6500. Boston Children’s Museum is the second oldest children’s museum in the world and a pacesetter for children’s exhibitions, educational programs and curriculum. Visit www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org for more information.
Current Exhibitions
Big & Little
Through January 2012
An exhibit about size, proportion and scale. Special thanks to Shaquille O’Neal and the Boston Celtics.
Building Brainstorm
September 24, 2011-January 12, 2012
Through hands-on and inquiry-based activities, children will investigate aspects of city planning, architecture, engineering and landscape architecture.
Native Voices, New England Tribal Families
January 28 – September, 2012
An introduction to native communities around New England today. By visiting five different communities from northern to southern New England, we learn a lot about Native American traditions and how modern families balance contemporary life with preservation of important cultural identities.
Boston Fire Museum
344 Congress St., 617-482-1344
Exhibits of historic fire equipment, trucks, pumps, and memorabilia, and a vast collection of photographs from the 1800s housed in a landmark 1891 fire house.
Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA)
100 Northern Ave., 617-478-3100
Located in a breathtaking waterfront building, the ICA is Boston’s destination for exciting new visual art, film and performance. ICA Water Café (see listing) and ICA Store are open to all. Hours: T-W 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Th-F 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Monday, except holidays. Visit www.icaboston.org for more information.
Current Exhibitions
Figuring Color: Kathy Butterly, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Roy McMakin, Sue Williams
On view through May 20, 2012
Approximately 65 works, all of which employ color and form to represent a metaphorical body.
Isaac Julien: Ten Thousand Waves
On view through March 4, 2012
Isaac Julien’s Ten Thousand Waves is an immersive, nine-screen video installation that interweaves three stories linking China’s ancient past and the present.
Jessica Jackson Hutchins
On view through March 4, 2012
This exhibition, Hutchins’s first solo presentation in a museum, showcases Symposion, a large sculpture whose title is the classical Greek word for “drinking party.”
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
Opening June 2012 on the Congress St. Bridge, the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum will invite visitors to relive the most important event leading to the American Revolution aboard replicas of the original ships.
Boston Society of Architects Center 
290 Congress St. Art, science and culture converge at the BSA’s new center where multimedia exhibits and interactive events bring architecture and design to life. Explore the significance of design in Boston – regionally, nationally and internationally. Visit bsaspace.org.
Current Exhibit
In Form
Guest curators from over,under present Boston’s legacy of architectural design and urban planning within a framework of physical and virtual interfaces. Three themes—Legible City, Futures and City Spaces—engage viewers to consider Boston’s past, present and future.