AAAI-06 Boston Sites and Activities

For complete information about Boston highlights, please visit the Boston USA web site

Festivals and Special Events

Boston Harbor Hotel — Movies by Moonlight
Under the stars, see Hollywood's STARS at Boston Harbor Hotel's outdoor summer movie series. FREE! The Boston Harbor Hotel transforms its harborside terrace into an outdoor cinema for the 4th Annual Movies by Moonlight series on the Waterfront. 06/02/2006–09/08/2006

Copley Square — Farmers' Market
Pick your own produce! The Farmers' Market brings locally grown vegetables, flowers, and more to Copley Square. 05/24/2006–11/22/2006

Hatch Shell — Concerts
From summer's start to finish The Esplanade's Hatch Shell is full of music! 06/09/2006–09/24/2006

Hatch Shell — Free Friday Flicks
Summer in the City includes Boston's free film series, WBZ Free Friday Flicks on the Esplanade at sunset. All films start at sunset...a perfect way to light up a summer evening. 06/16/2006–09/01/2006

Hatch Shell — WCRB Classical Concert Series
If you enjoy the noontime Classical at Copley series, this summer head over to the Esplanade's Hatch Shell for evenings of classical music under the night sky! 07/05/2006–08/23/2006

North End Italian Feast Days — Processions
Boston's oldest neighborhood — the North End — the first neighborhood for wave after wave of Boston's immigrant population continues to celebrate the Catholic Feast Days of the Italian saints dear to the last large immigrant population in the North. Enjoy the processions, street fairs, parades, bands and wonderful Italian food — all FREE! Stroll the historic and picturesque streets and find yourself transported to Italy! 06/30/2006–08/24/2006

Waterfront Performing Arts Series — Christopher Columbus Park
The 3rd annual Waterfront Performing Arts Series takes place this summer on Boston’s waterfront in Christopher Columbus Park. The Series features performances running in perfect synergy with the park’s idyllic surroundings. Check out the schedule. 07/11/2006–08/29/2006

Museums and Attractions

Boston Family History and Immigrant Trails
Visit the Boston History Collaborative's user friendly website as you plan your visit to Boston and learn more about Boston's rich ethnic heritage and perhaps find your family's roots. Six historic ethnic groups and twenty neighborhoods are profiled. You may trace your roots though 400 years of Boston history.

Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Lighthouses
Rich in history and stories of adventure, Boston and Massachusetts lighthouses once densely dotted the coastline. Now the few remaining lighthouses help New Englanders rediscover their connection to the sea. Take a virtual or a real life tour from Boston Light — the first lighthouse in the country — to high tech beacons for thousands of commercial and pleasure vessels that still populate the coastline.

Boston National Park Service — Bunker Hill Monument
Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes! This legendary order has come to symbolize the conviction and determination of the ill-equipped American colonists facing powerful British forces during the famous battle fought on this site on June 17, 1775. The battle is popularly known as "The Battle of Bunker Hill" although most of the fighting actually took place on Breed's Hill, the site of the existing monument and exhibit lodge. Today, a 221-foot granite obelisk marks the site of the first major battle of the American Revolution.

Freedom Trail Foundation — Antenna Audio Tours NEW !
Make history when you tour the Freedom Trail using new state-of-the-art technology. Our digital, hand held players with two hours of narrative, guide you through history on the Trail. The very first outdoor citywide audio tour of its kind brings you sound effects, character voices, celebrities and historians. Start or finish anywhere on the Trail. Listen to each segment as often — or as little — as you like. Historical information about the Freedom Trail is flavored with colorful commentary about some of Boston's notable past since the Revolution.

Freedom Trail Site — Faneuil Hall
The Cradle of Liberty, Faneuil Hall was the site of many fiery town meetings. Wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil built it in 1742 and to the town as a gift. Faneuil Hall has served as an open forum meeting hall and marketplace for more than 250 years.

Freedom Trail Walking Tours — National Park Service
Enjoy a 90 minute walking tour led by a National Park Ranger and explore the heart of the Freedom Trail. Limited to 30 people, first come, first served. Meet at the National Park Service Information Center, 15 State Street.

Institute of Contemporary Art — Free Thursday Walkthrough
Since 1993, The Institute of Contemporary Art has offered free admission for all visitors on Thursday evenings from 5-9pm as a service to the Boston community. Free Thursday night programs include educational programs such as gallery talks, public panels, and artist walkthroughs.

Isabella Stewart Gardner — Neighborhood Nights
The century-plus-old Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opens its doors on select Thursday evenings during July and August. Each evening has a unique theme and includes special activities, performances, art-making and gallery explorations with a special reception. Admission is FREE for all. 07/01/2006–08/31/2006

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum — Seasonal Garden
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's courtyard is a resplendent, sun-filled, flowering oasis. Linger there to enjoy its Greco-Roman elements, multi-colored stone columns, and gracious fountain. In addition, six times a year, the Museum adorns the courtyard with a magnificent display of seasonal plants and flowers.

John F. Kennedy Library and Museum — Exhibits and Events
Enjoy the permanent exhibits at the JFK Library including:

Attorney General Robert Kennedy — exploring the close relationship between the President and his brother and Robert's work as Attorney General.
Saturday Morning Children's Programs — series for family audiences and children ages 5 and older.
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy: First Lady, ongoing.
Kennedy-Nixon Debates, ongoing.
Kennedy and the Press, ongoing.
Walk-in Exhibit: Replica of Kennedy’s Oval Office, ongoing.
Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General, ongoing.
Film on Civil Rights in the 1960’s, ongoing.
Film on Cuban Missile Crisis, ongoing. - - Film on JFK’s Early Life, ongoing.
Main Street USA, ongoing.

Every year the Library offers Free Admission on May 29th, President Kennedy's birthday.

Museum of Fine Arts — Arts of the Colonial Americas
World renowned for its superlative collection of American art, the Museum has installed over one hundred of its greatest American masterpieces in a newly conceived gallery. Arts of the Colonial Americas celebrates Boston's place at the heart of the nation's history.

Museum of Science — Current Science and Technology Center
Have you heard about it in the news? Learn about it in the Museum's spectacular new Current Science and Technology Center! This dynamic outlet for science news specializes in presenting the very latest innovations and discoveries. The Center brings the hottest science news to the coolest place for science learning!

National Parks — 12 within 30 miles of Boston!
Boston offers the highest concentration of National Park sites in the country — with 12 located within 30 miles of downtown. Come this summer to take it all in, stay in a family friendly hotel nearby and walk through American history — it's the real thing!

New England Aquarium — Guided Tours
Fish, Form and Function! Discover how fish have adapted their shapes to fit their environment; It's All in the Mouth! Size and shape of fish mouth can tell you much about what, where and how a fish eats; The Medical Center- a veterinarian tells you how they know a fish is sick. Find out what causes the illness and how they treat our fishy friends.

Old State House — From Colony to Commonwealth
From Colony to Commonwealth interprets the role of Boston, and in particular the role of the Old State House, in the events leading up to the American Revolution. It is natural that the site would play a central role in the story of the rebellion, from the bloody Boston Massacre in 1770 to the reading of the Declaration of Independence from the balcony in 1776.

Otis House Museum
Designed by Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the Massachusetts State House, the Otis House exemplifies the elegant life led by Boston's governing class after the American Revolution. Harrison Gray Otis made a fortune developing nearby Beacon Hill, served as a Representative in Congress, and later was Mayor of Boston.

USS Constitution — Speed Line
Visitors to the USS Constitution have two options while visiting the oldest commissioned warship afloat. Comprehensive 30 minutes tours are available. However, guests under time constraints can enter a "Speed Line" to board the ship for 10 minute access limited to the Spar, or upper deck.

What's Under the Golden Dome? State House Tours
Take a tour of the Bulfinch State House. See the Hall of Flags and the House and Senate Chambers and learn about the history of the oldest building on Beacon Hill. Tours last 45 minutes. Visitors are requested to call ahead and schedule a reservation.

Zoo New England — Franklin Park Zoo — Red Pandas
The Redcoats are coming! No, not those Redcoats. Red pandas are coming to Franklin Park Zoo! They're HERE! Come and find out about this interesting, and rare, species.

Theater

BosTix Kiosk — Copley Square
BosTix offers tickets to performances all over town — from touring blockbusters to hot local productions. Steps from Boston's premier shopping district, a BosTix booth is located in Boston's Copley Square, on the corner of Boylston and Dartmouth Streets near the Copley and Back Bay T stops.

Wang Center — Shakespeare on the Common
Each summer The Wang Center for the Performing Arts presents a Commonwealth Shakespeare Company production. Over 90,000 audience members have enjoyed these wonderful, FREE performances. The stage is set at the Parade Grounds on Boston Common. A true highlight of the summer, bring a picnic, your own chair, or rent a chair, and take in the Bard's drama! 07/15/2006–08/07/2006