# Indoor stuff to do in Boston?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 1, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160 "2015-10-01T17:43:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/1 "2015-10-01T17:43:43Z")
I’m going to Boston this weekend to audition for Jeopardy, which I’m excited about, but it looks like really bad timing because a hurricane might be hitting the east coast. So far it looks like it’ll be hitting more south and maybe after we’ve already headed home, but regardless there will probably be a lot of rain on Boston this weekend.
At lot of the tourist stuff I had planned on involved walking around outside or being outside, or going outside from shop to shop, none which is not ideal for massive rains. Does anyone have any recommendations for good indoor stuff in Boston? What would be the best museum to see?
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/2 "2015-10-01T17:58:15Z")
The [Museum of Science](http://www.mos.org/) isn’t bad. Although it’s joined the trend of science museums directing their exhibits to children, there’s still enough to amuse an adult. Awful expensive though.
Boston is crawling with art museums, if that’s what you’re into, but I don’t know enough to recommend any.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/3 "2015-10-01T18:34:06Z")
Lotsa Museums.
I second the Museum of Science, but also consider the
\*\*Museum of Fine Arts
\*\*and just on the very next block is the
**Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum** – it’s her home, which was built to resemble a Venetian Doge’s palace, with a central garden. She stipulated in her will that things couldn’t be moved or labeled, so going through the museum \is a real experience.
**MIT Museum**
the Harvard Museums, all around Harvard Square.
If you go north to Salem, you have the **Peabody-Essex Museum** , which is now huge, and filled with stuff.
If you go to Salem – in October – you will be deluged with Halloween stuff. There are at least four Witch museums, the Witch House, the House of Seven Gables, numerous “Haunted Houses”, a shop made up to look like Ollivander’s Wand Shop from Harry Potter, the Salem Wax Museum, the Salem Pirate Museum, **Count Orlock’s** , a superb museum of monster figures made by Hollywood makeup artists (not to mention having the life/death masks of Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and others). There are more Neww Age/Paranormal shops than you can shake a wand at, numerous antique stores, lots of cute Boutique shops, one book store, two comic shops, and a veritable plethora of restaurants.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/4 "2015-10-01T19:04:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> **Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum** – it’s her home, which was built to resemble a Venetian Doge’s palace, with a central garden. She stipulated in her will that things couldn’t be moved or labeled, so going through the museum \is a real experience.
I haven’t been there for a while. Do they still have the two empty frames where the paintings were stolen?
> [@](#):
>
> If you go north to Salem, you have the **Peabody-Essex Museum** , which is now huge, and filled with stuff.
I’ve never been to the PEM, but they have an exhibition of [Strandbeests](https://www.google.com/search?q=strandbeests&espv=2&biw=1682&bih=891&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMI9vKr9_qhyAIVBlQ-Ch0qiQkx) that I really want to see.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/5 "2015-10-01T19:11:39Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> I haven’t been there for a while. Do they still have the two empty frames where the paintings were stolen?
Yup, nothing can be touched or rearranged, so the blank space remain.
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### Author:  [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/6 "2015-10-01T19:22:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> the Harvard Museums, all around Harvard Square.
IMO, the [glass flowers](http://hmnh.harvard.edu/glass-flowers) and [sea creatures](http://hmnh.harvard.edu/sea-creatures-glass) at the Harvard Museum of Natural History are particularly spectacular. Now’s a good time to see them, since the glass flower exhibit will be closed for renovations starting next month.
However, much of the rest of the museum is in the 19th and early 20th century fashion, consisting of a lot of exotic critters that were shot, stuffed, mounted, and are now falling apart.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/7 "2015-10-01T19:31:01Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> I haven’t been there for a while. Do they still have the two empty frames where the paintings were stolen?I’ve never been to the PEM, but they have an exhibition of [Strandbeests](https://www.google.com/search?q=strandbeests&espv=2&biw=1682&bih=891&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMI9vKr9_qhyAIVBlQ-Ch0qiQkx) that I really want to see.
More than two – 11 paintings or drawings were taken (plus two non-picture works), so there are more than two empty frames. But the empty space for the Rembrandt dominates its room.
> **[Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum_theft)**
>
> In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, 13 works of art were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Security guards admitted two men posing as policemen responding to a disturbance call, and the thieves bound the guards and looted the museum over the next hour. The case is unsolved; no arrests have been made, and no works have been recovered. The stolen works have been valued at hundreds of millions of dollars by the FBI and art dealers. The museum offers a $10 milli...
They’ve added an entire new wing to the Gardner, by the way, which is a sneaky way to get around the “nothing can be changed” rule. They have rotating exhibits in the new wing. If you haven’t been to the Gardner in some time, you should have a look – you might be surprised.
The Museum of Fine Arts has had a lot of work done in recent years, too, by the way.
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### Author:  [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/8 "2015-10-01T19:43:16Z")
> [@Frank](#):
>
> The [Museum of Science](http://www.mos.org/) isn’t bad. Although it’s joined the trend of science museums directing their exhibits to children, there’s still enough to amuse an adult. Awful expensive though.
Yes, I was there this summer, and it really is aimed at the younger crowd. The Van der Graaf generator show is pretty cool, though.
Looking at the forecast, I don’t think the weekend is going to be a complete washout – so far, it looks like it will be breezy and cloudy with possible showers, but, so far, it’s not looking like continuous rain. So walking around may be possible.
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### Author:  [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/9 "2015-10-01T20:04:09Z")
Thanks for the recommendations everyone! I am big on art, I might go to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Museum of Fine Arts depending on time and weather.
> [@Finagle](#):
>
> Looking at the forecast, I don’t think the weekend is going to be a complete washout – so far, it looks like it will be breezy and cloudy with possible showers, but, so far, it’s not looking like continuous rain. So walking around may be possible.
Yeah, I panicked a little when I heard it was a hurricane, but it looks like it’s aiming for more south of Boston, and might not hit until Monday or Tuesday, and things still could change. But even if there’s just some rain on and off, a museum might be good to go to for a little while and then we can do more walking around after it clears up some.
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### Author:  [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/10 "2015-10-01T20:20:34Z")
You could go to a baked beans shop and eat some Boston Baked Beans.
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/11 "2015-10-01T20:58:07Z")
Take art for $500, Alex
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### Author:  [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/12 "2015-10-01T21:49:27Z")
> **[New England Aquarium — Homepage](https://www.neaq.org/)**
>
> The New England Aquarium is one of the premier visitor attractions in Boston, with over 1.3 million visitors a year, and a major public education resource.
The New England Aquarium
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/13 "2015-10-01T21:53:13Z")
You can take a walk down the MIT Infinite Corridor (entrance 77 Mass Ave, Cambridge) and explore MIT. By the time you find your way out the rain would have gone.
If you make it to Jeopardy, here is some possibly out of date advice. When I went to the audition at their studios after I passed the test they asked me and everyone what we’d do with the prize money. Then they have you play a sample game. Be high energy - though not as high as a Wheel of Fortune contestant. I got on right away.
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### Author:  [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/14 "2015-10-01T22:02:39Z")
JFK’s Presidential Library and Museum is in Boston. I’m trying to go to all of them, but haven’t yet been to that one. If you are interested in hockey you might see if the Bruins are in town. I think the season hasn’t started yet and they’re still playing preseason.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/15 "2015-10-02T02:30:36Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> **Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum** – it’s her home, which was built to resemble a Venetian Doge’s palace, with a central garden. She stipulated in her will that things couldn’t be moved or labeled, so going through the museum \is a real experience.
So did Albert Barnes. Basically, he created an educational institution, not a museum. Access was limited, the painting couldn’t be moved or go on tour. However a petition to Orphan’s Court threw that all out; eventually the museum was moved from the suburbs into Philadelphia’s museum row.
For a different experience Sunday morning, climb up International Place, to benefit Cystic Fibrosis - [race website](http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/Climb/74_Massachusetts_RI?fr_id=4210&pg=entry).
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### Author:  [@MmeRose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MmeRose)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2015, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/16 "2015-10-02T12:32:14Z")
If you like gross stuff, there is the Warren Anatomical Museum on the 5th floor of the Countway Library at Harvard Medical School. It is small but has the skull of Phineas Gage and other creepy things eg. Skeletons of conjoined twins, Gyn instruments from ancient Egypt (the only difference between them and modern is the material - brass instead of plastic), weird stuff found in people’s stomachs etc.
“Mortui Vivos Docent; The Dead Teach the Living.” So said Dr. John Collins Warren.
Good luck with Jeopardy auditions!
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### Author:  [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/17 "2015-10-02T13:29:07Z")
[Brooklyn Boulders Somerville](http://brooklynboulders.com/somerville/) is an enormous, fantastic rock climbing gym, if that sort of thing interests you.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/18 "2015-10-02T13:34:36Z")
If you’re into art, go to the main branch of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. There’s a Map Room exhibit, there are the paintings of the Quest for the Holy Grail by Edwin Austen Abbey, _the Triumph of Religion_ by John Singer Sargent, numerous galleries and murals, there’s the Rare Book Room, and there are rotating exhibits in various places. There’s the central courtyard with its Dancing Bacchanalian with infant Faun, and there’s even a place to get a bite to eat.
> **[Boston Public Library](https://www.bpl.org/)**
>
> Find information about library events, classes, and services, and search the catalog for books, movies, music and more.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/19 "2015-10-02T14:28:32Z")
> [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](#):
>
> [Brooklyn Boulders Somerville](http://brooklynboulders.com/somerville/) is an enormous, fantastic rock climbing gym, if that sort of thing interests you.
And there’s a [brewery](http://www.aeronautbrewing.com/) right in the building.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-stuff-to-do-in-boston/733160/20 "2015-10-02T14:30:41Z")
> [@MmeRose](#):
>
> If you like gross stuff, there is the Warren Anatomical Museum on the 5th floor of the Countway Library at Harvard Medical School. It is small but has the skull of Phineas Gage and other creepy things eg. Skeletons of conjoined twins, Gyn instruments from ancient Egypt (the only difference between them and modern is the material - brass instead of plastic), weird stuff found in people’s stomachs etc.
>
> “Mortui Vivos Docent; The Dead Teach the Living.” So said Dr. John Collins Warren.
I was just there a month ago; interesting, but damn hard to find.
The Museum of Science has a temporary exhibit on Pixar. I’m going today, will let you all know if it’s any good.
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