The Best 5 Indoor Activities in Massachusetts

Are you tired of sitting around the same four walls, watching Netflix and not doing much else? There are so many fun activities that can be done from home, especially if you’re a resident of one of America’s most beautiful states – Massachusetts! From cozy dinners at unique eateries to exploring the outdoors with winter gear on your feet, here are 10 engaging indoor activities in Massachusetts for days when you just don’t feel like leaving.

The 10 Best Indoor Activities in Massachusetts

New England Aquarium

• Address: 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.4 (19419)
• Phone: +1 617-973-5200
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Saturday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

  Sunday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
• Reviews:
  Overall, this is a really nice aquarium. The primary wow factor is realizing it’s virtually all contained in one large atrium with a spiral walkway up the center and an open-air penguin exhibit across the entire bottom of the room. I love penguins, so being able to see them up close and from slightly above with no glass between us was really fascinating. I also loved the seal and sea lion exhibits being outside (yet covered). It adds a more natural feel to the area, which I’m sure the animals enjoy.

  I think my only complaint would be that it seems a little small for the ticket price, especially compared to other aquariums across the country. If you purchase a combo pass with other attractions, I’m sure it’s a better value. However, all that being said, I was impressed with the number of displays they were able to fit into the space. They made good use of the building’s height. I could have probably spent hours watching the center tank – especially the giant sea turtle!

  ✭✭✭✭ By Zoe O’Haillin-Berne (3 weeks ago)

  A fantastic aquarium and easily walkable from our hotel. We came here in the afternoon after doing a Duck Tour in the morning. We have been several times and my husband and I agree that the penguin exhibit at the entrance is the most memorable aquarium entrance we both remember. It is worth walking the four floors up and then following the huge tank down the ramp in the middle of the museum. We also enjoyed the sea lion area outdoors.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Jake and Alison Foley (5 months ago)

  The New England Aquarium was amazing! From how clean it was, to how orderly it was organized! The staff was fun, inactive and knowledgeable! The bathrooms were spotless. Gift shop prices were reasonable with some proceeds going back into conservation and rehabilitation of sea life! 10/10 would recommend to anyone, especially with kids. Plenty of room to move around with a stroller, elevator access to all floors.
  Seriously considering becoming a member here!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Justin Estes (5 months ago)

  We went on a Wednesday and it was pretty busy but, decent room to move around. The concept of the enormous single tank with a wrap around spiral is pretty cool. As you walk up each level has additional tanks and exhibits around. Nice to see a giant octopus on exhibit, definitely my favorite. Some cool infographics around, geared more towards conservation rather than just stats. Nice to see the creatures with large areas of space to live. The penguins have a lot of space and the open air exhibit is unique at least in the aquariums I’ve visited. Definitely recommend a visit if you’re in the area and enjoy sea life.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Jayson Auterino (7 months ago)

  As a fan of the film Next Stop Wonderland, the New England Aquarium was a must-see during my visit to Boston, and it did not disappoint! The aquarium offers a AAA discount and a university discount. Upon entering, I turned to the left to the sting ray petting experience and shark exhibit. This was the first of multiple stops where aquarium staff were on hand to share information and answer questions, which was great! I appreciated the washing station, too. The shark exhibit was interactive and engaging. I could go on about the multiple exhibits and aquariums in the main building, but the jewel of this Aquarium is the enormous, multi-story tank featuring sea turtles, schools of fish, and the scuba divers feeding them. I suggest calling ahead to find out when the feeding time will be so that you don’t miss it! See if you can find the small Puffer fish in that large tank; it’s not easy, but worth seeing that friendly little face! ? if you turn to the right as you enter the main space, you will find a flashlight attached to the railing that allows you to play with the penguins! They enjoy swimming after that light (which is in a fish shape) just like a cat chases a laser!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Carole (a month ago)

Museum of Science

• Address: 1 Museum Of Science Driveway, Boston, MA 02114, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.7 (17530)
• Phone: +1 617-723-2500
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Friday: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM

  Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

  Sunday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• Reviews:
  Would recommend to anyone of any age. My husband and I liked it more than my 2 kids did I think. Definitely plan on staying the whole day or you might not get through the whole place. So much to look at and play with. Amazing place if you love science and history. Food was okay and gift shop was a disappointment. Not a lot of selection for such a big museum like that. Parking garage is kinda expensive so prepare for that too..

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Cassie Putnam (7 months ago)

  What an awesome place! Hands on fun for my family. My kids are middle school and High school age and had a blast exploring this place. Heck I had fun exploring the exhibits! Parking was super easy and close! The food court area was chaotic, but that’s to be expected in the summer in a big city. The food was great!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Emily Morrissey (4 months ago)

  It was good. Our children (ages 5-17) loved it. Recommend planning on spending at least 5 hours to go through all the exhibits, or more if you watch any shows. Parking is a bit expensive, but on par with the city. Staff was nice. You can leave, and come back in with a handstamp.

  ✭✭✭✭ By krystal chesbro (5 months ago)

  Fantastic experience in this vast museum. There were so many hands-on activities for the kids but the explanations for each activity were direct and easy to understand. The museum was close to the T station and we spent more time there than we planned, because of the amount of interesting things to do. The food court was not very big but there were enough decently priced options for the family. This is certainly a place I would recommend for families.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Alex Lopes (4 months ago)

  If you like to go to museums, please set aside a good time to go there calmly. It’s my second time that I went there! I simply love that place!
  The museum is near from t station (science park/west end) and you can go buy can and stop in their parking garage (must check the garage hours on website).
  Go there wearing comfortable clothes and shoes because you will walk A LOT! The museum is totally interactive and in the green wing you can follow a knowledge trail! It’s very cool experience!
  Check the attractions before go to be certain that you won’t lost anything!
  There is a lot of bathrooms and place to fill you water bottle and there is a huge place with some restaurants there (red wing) where you can take something to eat.
  You can save money being a member of the museum or you can have a free ticket becoming a member from public library!
  I strongly recommended going there if you are visiting Boston.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By rafael paes (4 months ago)

Great Wolf Lodge Water Park | New England

• Address: 150 Great Wolf Dr, Fitchburg, MA 01420, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.3 (7338)
• Phone: +1 866-678-9653
• Website: Link
• Reviews:
  Great place for the kids to burn energy. Water parks are a blast and they even have some great adult slides. Water areas look clean. Be careful on holidays though. Jam packed!!! Took us an hour just to register but again, it was a holiday. If the pool area is shoulder to shoulder, they have private tables you could rent for a hundred bucks a day. We did that and it was worth it. The game rooms and indoor play park are fun and loud areas for kids to play. Food and beer courts are in the perfect location for adults to rest their feet and minds. It’s definitely a costly night but you do get a lot in return for your kids and even for yourself. The drive up is quiet and scenic. I always love New England.

  ✭✭✭✭ By David Hill (3 months ago)

  Pros:
  Room was clean.
  Beds were pretty comfortable.
  Water slides were lots of fun for the kids.

  Cons:
  Food was astronomically priced. Our meal for 4 cost $130 before the tip! (3 out of 4 people ordered cheeseburgers, which were $19 each!! Would not have eaten there if we had known, but no prices were listed. I bought the $200 food add-on and the bulk of it was gone after 1 meal!
  There were set times that you could eat, but we weren’t made aware of that previously so we were constantly having to wait around until the meal started (if you leave the area the seats are all taken when you get back).
  It took a while to check in.
  Anytime we wanted to do anything it felt like everything took forever. Waiting in lines, waiting to be able to eat, waiting extended times for an elevator, just lots of waiting. Maybe it wouldn’t have bothered me nearly as much if we had stayed longer, but when you’re only staying for 1 day and you spend half that day waiting for every little thing it seems like a waste of money overall. I wouldn’t go for just 1 day again.

  ✭✭✭✭ By Sarah (a month ago)

  Worth the money spent. First time going to Great Wolf and it was a good experience. My child loved it and got to do the activities. There was a lot of people and the lines were long. Overall great and really liked the first staff we met named John. He was super helpful. You can definitely tell who loves to work there as they had big smiles and a great attitude. Will be going again in the future. I personally didn’t like the elevators. They should come up with a better system for that. I took the stairs mostly but felt bad for people who waited a while to get up and down the floors.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Millie S. (6 months ago)

  Great wolf lodge was pretty awesome. My first time there with my kids and I can’t speak highly enough. First and for most the wait and front desk staff were S tier. The over night front desk ladies they were there to lend my wife a helping hand with some lady issues( I unfortunately didn’t get their names) thank you so much. And our waitresses who were taking care of a bunch of tables and still got our order right, your are amazing. Both my kids highly enjoyed the water park, and adventure area. Only downside was we didn’t see a sign about having close toed shoes to do activities, but that’s on us for thinking we didn’t need it. Also crazy enough food at Great Wolf was really good. Most resorts have pretty blah food, but all of the places we ate at had really good food. The lodge especially had very good apps. We wish we stood longer, I suggest at least a two night stay to really get everything in.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Scott Phothisane (6 months ago)

  Great Wolf Lodge outside Boston is fun fun fun. This park is a little different than the others as it is split into two buildings but it has something for everyone. My older kids (7, 9) and I really enjoyed the drop off (wolf tail) slide that has a trap door where you drop from about 4 stories up. My younger son enjoyed the other slides for smaller kids. The whole family enjoyed the fabulous hot springs that have a pass through to the outside that you swim through. The room was great – we got a room with 3 bunk beds and a queen for the adults. Kids were in their own “wolf cave” with the bunks and their own TV. Can’t wait to go back again. 4 stars instead of 5 because the park does feel smaller than the others I’ve been to and as usual the food prices inside are absurd. For the value deal go with a pizza inside the arcade. Great Wolf Lodge is an awesome experience for kids and parents.

  ✭✭✭✭ By Arthur Hawgood (a month ago)

Southwick’s Zoo

• Address: 2 Southwick St, Mendon, MA 01756, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.7 (5931)
• Phone: +1 508-883-9182
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: Closed

  Tuesday: Closed

  Wednesday: 5:30 – 9:00 PM

  Thursday: 5:30 – 9:00 PM

  Friday: 5:30 – 9:00 PM

  Saturday: 5:30 – 9:00 PM

  Sunday: 5:30 – 9:00 PM
• Reviews:
  We had the best time there. The animals are well taken care of. We absolutely Loved the Deer park. You can feed them and pet them. Went to the restaurant had a delicious meal. Our server was incredible! We will definitely be going back Two thumbs up

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Julie Clark (3 months ago)

  Best zoo experience! The walk around the park moves at a nice pace and even for a discount weekend day the crowds were not bad and the lines to see exhibits were nonexistent. The animals are all in nice enclosures but they’re all easy to see and take pictures of from the path. The two interactive animal enclosures were a lot of fun and highly recommended. Great overall experience!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Erin Lucier (2 months ago)

  This place is absolutely fantastic. I’ve visited a few times and took some amazing pictures of the wildlife that is there. It is clear that the staff really do care for the animals and provide clean and big enclosures for their animals to exhibit their natural behaviors. Of course, no zoo will ever be able to replicate the wild entirely but they are doing their best and it clearly shows. There’s plenty of activities for kids to do and plenty of fun for adults as well. There are food stops around the zoo to grab a quick snack as well as gift shops and I especially like the skyfari ride that lets you see the whole zoo from a Birdseye view. I would definitely recommend visiting this place.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Alexander Martinez (6 months ago)

  This zoo is so beautiful! I really enjoyed the ride that brings you over the zoo! Visited at the best time because all of the baby animals! The little prairie dogs were so tiny and adorable! And all of the baby monkeys just stole my heart!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Ashley Yakut (6 months ago)

  Best zoo in New England. The animal variety is surprising! My favorites today were the Deer Forest where you can walk among and feed deer, the young Emus, the Rhinoceros, the Lions and Bengal Tigers, so many monkey species, and even more birds. The animal enclosures made viewing easy, and the animals are clearly well cared-for. The animal care-takers were great ambassadors and truly went the extra mile answering questions for elementary school-aged kids.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Herb Philpott (6 months ago)

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

• Address: 306 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.6 (5872)
• Phone: +1 617-338-1773
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

  Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

  Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

  Thursday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

  Friday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

  Saturday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

  Sunday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
• Reviews:
  As soon as the doors opened 15 minutes prior to the start of the tour, each person was given a card describing someone who was present at the original Boston tea party. The actors are dressed in colonial attire and are kind, well-mannered, well-informed, and fun! Children as well as adults all seemed to have a great time; there was a great sense of camaraderie is though we were all in on the plot together! I appreciated the blend of hands-on experience, creative presentation and short films. There isn’t a lot to see in the museum in terms of quantity, but I felt I got my money’s worth in terms of the overall experience. I’m glad that I made the time for it. I did also pay just under four dollars for the tea tasting experience, sampling the five types of teas that were tossed overboard that fateful night. I enjoyed the novelty of the tea tasting.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Carole (a month ago)

  We took two friends from the UK with us and they Loved it as much as we did! Great interactive live action environment with costumes!! We went into the belly of an old ship! Ridiculously cool! The media was high tech and well done… the Tea afterwards was delicious and the dining hall was just delightful. Loved all of the amazing things for sale in the gift shop! All around WELL worth the money, especially if you have kids, they Loved throwing the big tea boxes over the side of the ship! FUN!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Mark Wisehart (2 months ago)

  Absolutely worth the money! Loved the actors in costume and being given a character to play. Photos are ok to be taken everywhere except in the museum. The story is animated in various ways and media. So cool. The tea is delicious- I bought some and other treats at the gift shop. Really spent a very enjoyable two hours here.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Yvonne Beck (8 months ago)

  The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum is an interactive exhibit. When you first arrive, you are greeted by a cast member. Sam Adams was the cast member who greeted me upon my arrival. Next they show you into a meeting room where you are provided a card with the identity of a tea party participant. Some people get called during the reenactment to participate based on which historical figure they were. Samuel Adams gives an impassioned speech about taxation without representation and the plan is formed to throw the tea in the harbor.
  Next everyone is led down to the ship and can tour either the Eleanor or the Beaver which are replicas of 2 of the 3 ships involved in the Boston Tea Party. The culmination of the tour occurs when each person has a chance to “throw” tea into the harbor. There is a single wooden box that has survived and is on display inside the museum. The final aspect of the tour is a video on Paul Revere’s ride and the initial confrontation at Lexington.
  There is Abigail’s Tea shop where visitors can get a cup of tea or other snacks. They also have a large gift shop with a large variety of souvenir items.
  I highly recommend this museum and loved how interactive it is.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Ash H (a month ago)

  Amazing! Some actors dressed in colonial-era clothing relive and recount the historic moments that marked the Boston tea party revolt. Really very interesting to have the opportunity to relive this moment and learn a little more about one of the first historical moments that led to the American revolution and the country’s independence. Really, the most interesting thing is the work of the guides who make the story come alive and during the entire tour they participate in the staging, making you feel like you are living in that historic moment. My son really loved tossing the tea box overboard! As I said, this way of making the visitor participate in the historic moment is very exciting and lively! I really recommend it! A museum with a proposal very different from many I’ve visited!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Chiara Secco (11 months ago)

If you’re looking for some indoor activities to keep you busy during your stay in Massachusetts, look no further. We’ve compiled a list of the 10 best indoor activities in the state, so you can make the most of your time here. Whether you’re into history, art, or science, there’s something for everyone on this list. So what are you waiting for? Start exploring!