WHAT TO DO

Harvard Museum of Natural History

Visitors peruse specimens collected by Harvard scientists since the university's beginning. And what plunder there is to behold: rare prehistoric fossils, a menagerie of mounted wildlife (from hummingbirds to a hippopotamus), intricate glass fowers, and entire halls filled with gems and minerals including a 1,600-pound amethyst geode from Brazil. hmnh.harvard.edu

Fenway Museums

Few small museums in the world are as admired as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, set in a four-for Italian palazzo in the Fenway neighborhood and featuring a stunning collection of international paintings and sculptures. Nearby is the sprawling Museum of Fine Arts, home to everything from Impressionist masterworks to Nubian artifacts to Colonial American silver (including some by Paul Revere). mfa.org; gardnermuseum.org

Tea Party Ships & Museum

A lightning bolt in 2001 and a free in 2007 destroyed the old ship and museum devoted to this singular event in U.S. history, but just five years later a new museum and three replica tall ships put the Tea Party literally on the map again. bostonteapartyship.com

Arnold Arboretum

A stroll through this Harvard University-owned, Frederick Law Olmsted–designed landscape is no ordinary walk in the park. This is where you'll find some of the most rare and majestic trees and plants in the entire country, spread across verdant meadows and gardens, herbariums, bonsai collections, and greenhouses. arboretum.harvard.edu

New England Aquarium

The centerpiece of this family favorite is the four-story, 200,000-gallon Giant Ocean Tank, better lit and more dramatic than ever after a big renovation in 2013. Among the 1,000 or so animals that inhabit its replica coral reef is another don't-miss star: Myrtle, a 500-pound green sea turtle who's been greeting visitors here since 1970. And sure to excite children and adults, alike, is the Shark and Ray Touch Tank in a mangrove-themed tank surrounded by shallow edges and viewing windows, allowing visitors to experience a close encounter with these animals. neaq.org