10 Things to do in Cambridge That You Shouldn't Miss

Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as America's first landscaped cemetery. A National Historic Landmark, its renowned landscape inspired the creation of the nation's public parks. Mount Auburn was designated an Important Bird Area by the Massachusetts Audubon Society, reinforcing its status as a significant wildlife sanctuary. Still an active burial place, Mount Auburn Cemetery provides comfort and solace to countless families. The Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery was established in 1986 to assist in the conservation of the Cemetery's natural beauty and to promote the appreciation of its cultural, historic, and natural resources. Over 100 public programs are offered annually by the Friends to educate, enrich, and inspire the community. The Friends seeks financial support for education and interpretive programs and materials for the public, specific cultural projects, and operational support for horticultural rejuvenation and the preservation of the historic monuments, structures, and archival artifacts and records.

Founded in 1636, Harvard is America's oldest institute of higher learning and one of the country's most prestigious universities. Among the illustrious alumni are civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois, philosopher Henry David Thoreau, writer Gertrude Stein, composer Leonard Bernstein, cellist Yo Yo Ma and seven U.S. presidents.

One of the world's leading educational institutions, with an emphasis on math and sciences, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located on the banks of the Charles River. The M.I.T. campus includes many modern buildings designed by famous architects and is worth exploring.

From towering Native American totem poles and large Maya sculptures to precious artifacts of the ancient world, the Peabody Museum is among the oldest archaeological and ethnographic museums in the world with one of the finest collections of human cultural history found anywhere. The Peabody Museum was founded in 1866 and is one of the oldest museums in the world devoted to anthropology, the study of ancient and contemporary peoples and cultures. The museum building adjoins the Harvard Museum of Natural History complex on the north side of the main Harvard campus. With 1.2 million objects, the Museum has one of the largest archaeological and ethnological collections in the world, including extensive archives of documents and historic photographs. The collections are heavily used by researchers, descendant communities, Harvard faculty and courses given by universities throughout the region. The museum also has an Education department that serves primary and secondary school students.

At the Harvard Museum of Natural History, just steps away from the historic Harvard Yard, you can witness the amazing artistry of the celebrated Blaschka glass flowers & sea creature collections, roar with the Siberian tiger, buzz with honeybees, find your birthstone gem, and go back in time in Romer Hall, home of the famous 42-foot Kronosaurus. The Harvard Museum of Natural History is the most-visited attraction at Harvard—for its incomparable collections based on the research of scientists across the University, and its ongoing exhibitions like Climate Change, The Rockefeller Beetles, Birds of the World, Marine Life, and more. The Harvard Museum of Natural History’s mission is to enhance public understanding and appreciation of the natural world and the human place in it, sparking curiosity and a spirit of discovery in people of all ages.

The Harvard Art Museums, among the world’s leading art institutions, comprise three museums (the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler Museums) all under one roof. Masterpieces among our more than a quarter million works include works by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Georgia O’Keefe, and Jackson Pollock; contemporary works by internationally recognized artists such as Kara Walker, Al Weiwei, and Kerry James Marshall; and an array of remarkable objects from ancient cultures in the Mediterranean, Near East, and Far East. Our special exhibitions give us the chance to showcase an even wider range of works spanning diverse media, genres, and eras. The Museums are open to everyone, 7 days a week.

A nature reservation covering 950 acres along both sides of the Charles River offers bicycle and jogging paths, 12 tennis courts, six swimming pools and the popular Hatch Memorial Shell with live concerts.

Welcome to Harvard Square Each year, over 8 million men, women and children visit Harvard Square. Visitors come for a variety of reasons; this is a place of history, of books, of ideas, and of learning. It is a place of bookstores and coffee houses, of fine dining and eclectic shopping. It is a place of folk music and old theaters, of Cuban ballet and world-class music, of street-performers and award-winning pizza, of public discourse, and public art. Whatever brings you here, we welcome you and hope you enjoy your stay.

PLEASE NOTE: The MIT Museum is closed until further notice as we monitor the rapidly changing concerns associated with COVID-19. Visit our website for updates and stay well! The MIT Museum presents temporary and permanent exhibitions at the nexus of art, science, and technology, as well as events, programs, and weekend demonstrations. People from around the world come to visit and learn about kinetic art, artificial intelligence, and original research that has shaped the world. FebFest and the Cambridge Science Festival fill winter and spring school vacation weeks, while the very fun "Friday After Thanksgiving" chain reaction event is held nearby at an MIT gymnasium, while produced by the Museum. The MIT Museum also has a science-themed store, and the galleries are available for small functions. Located in the Central Square Cultural District the MIT Museum is surrounded by unique restaurants, theaters, music venues and a renowned local ice cream store. Look for our yellow chairs!