10 History Museums in Boston That You Shouldn't Miss

Free Admission! The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in the western hemisphere. On display in the Museum are military artifacts, weaponry, uniforms, medals, and gifts to the company. Items span all conflicts from the Revolution to the battlefields of Desert Storm. A special display houses items from the Honorable Artillery Company of London. You will also notice as you tour items from the Swiss Guard. Special collections present the personal stories and materials for scholarship and research. Display cases showcase the uniform and Congressional Medal of Honor of Major George Maynard one of many recipients who have been a part of the AHAC. Also on display is an exhibit of President John F. Kennedy with the company roster opened to show his signature and a photograph of the president elect being interviewed by CBS. At the far end of the Armory are a very special set of stairs… the Stairway of the Constitution!

The Leventhal Map Center is located on the first floor of the Boston Public Library's historic McKim Building in Copley Square. It includes an exhibition gallery featuring changing thematic exhibitions, a public learning center with research books, a reading room for rare map research, a world globe three feet in diameter, and a Kids Map Club with map puzzles.

The six glass towers of this striking memorial serve to represent the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, six main Nazi death camps and the candles on a menorah.

Relive the Kennedy era in this dynamic combination museum and library, where your visit starts with a short film and then leaves you on your own to explore a series of fascinating exhibits, including the Kennedy-Nixon debate, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the space program, 1960s campaign paraphernalia and displays about Jacqueline and other Kennedy family members. The striking, I.M. Pei-designed building overlooks the water and the Boston skyline.

At the USS Constitution Museum you don't just learn about history, you EXPERIENCE it! Furl a a sail, fire a cannon, and scrub the decks to learn what life was like at sea over 200 years ago. Located across from the ship in the historic Charlestown Navy Yard. The Museum is private non-profit Museum and is operated separately from USS Constitution (the Ship).

At the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, you can be a part of the famous event that forever changed the course of American History! It’s more than a stroll through historic artifacts – it’s an adventure! Located on the Congress Street Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, this floating museum is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. Live actors, high-tech, interactive exhibits, authentically restored tea ships and the stirring, multi-sensory documentary “Let it Begin Here,” are just a taste of what you’ll see, hear and feel. Meet the colonists, explore the ships and dump tea overboard just as the Sons of Liberty did on that fateful night of December 16, 1773. Stop in at Abigail’s Tea Room for teatime and visit the Gift Shop for special souvenirs. It’s educational, entertaining and enlightening — an experience not to be missed by adults and children of all ages. Your tour of the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum will last approximately one hour and will take you through a variety of displays that are interconnected. The tour is designed to give you the opportunity to participate, explore and learn about the people, events and consequences that led up to the American Revolution in the order in which they actually occurred more than 230 years ago.

Relive the drama and excitement of the American Revolution with fun and engaging programs and tours, interactive exhibits, beautifully restored period rooms and unsurpassed 18th century treasures. Celebrating 300 years as America's oldest and most historic colonial building, the Old State House is now Boston's Revolutionary Museum. Visit us at the heart of the Freedom Trail and only steps away from Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market and the New England Aquarium.

Opened in 2011, the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum uses its architecturally magnificent building, mammoth steam pumping engines, and the adjacent historic Chestnut Hill Reservoir to interpret unique stories of one of the country’s earliest metropolitan water systems. Through educational programs and exhibits focused on engineering, architecture, urbanism, public health, and social history, the Museum connects these stories to current issues and future challenges. Dubbed “The Cathedral of Steam Technology,” the facility served originally as the high service pumping station that delivered clean, safe drinking water into the heart of 19th century Boston. Built in response to the Great Fire of 1872, the Waterworks was the nexus of a complex supply and delivery system that included reservoirs, aqueducts, water towers, and other facilities that eventually became part of the Metropolitan Water Resources Authority. Today, the museum preserves the three original, coal-fired, steam engines that pumped millions of gallons of water each day into Boston. The historic building, designed in the Romanesque style of H.H. Richardson, was built by Boston City Architects Arthur H. Vinal in 1888, and enlarged by Edmund March Wheelwright in 1897. The structure was constructed near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, part of the pastoral park and carriageway influenced by the Olmstead brothers’ landscape style. Turn of the century engineer and microbiologist George C. Whipple, later co-founder of the Harvard School of Public Health, and chemist Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a pioneer of water quality testing, are among the notable contributors to the Waterworks legacy. Today, the museum serves as a community hub for audiences interested in the rich history of the Waterworks system. Thousands of visitors are welcomed each year for lectures, tours, and exhibits free of charge. Our education department partners with students and teachers for enhanced, curriculum-connected programming focused on water science, engineering, and sustainability. A dedicated group of volunteer docents, many retired engineers, historians, and scientists, guide visitors through the building and collections spaces. The Waterworks building is ADA accessible and stroller friendly. The museum is served by the T via Green Line “C” (Cleveland Circle stop) and “D” (Reservoir stop) trains, and is reachable by Buses #51 and #86. Limited parking is available onsite.

The Paul Revere House is the home of legendary patriot Paul Revere, where he began the famous “Midnight Ride.” A rare example of 17th-century urban architecture, and a National Historic Landmark, it is the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston, and the only home on the Freedom Trail. Historic rooms contain artifacts from Revere’s era, including Revere family furniture and documents. One room is furnished with artifacts from the time of the first owner. Exhibits in the Visitor Center include beautiful silver made in Revere's shop. Visit to discover the true story of the “Midnight Ride” and the man behind the myth.

This library preserves historical and legal records of Massachusetts for its citizens. The museum offers formal exhibits showcasing its artifacts.