Boston science museum: a guide

© williamcho (Flickr) Yet another view from the ArtScience Museum… overlooking Marina Bay
© williamcho (Flickr)
History and development
Background
After having numerous temporary exhibits, the enthusiasts decided that it was time to have a settled home, so they opened the New England Museum of Natural History in 1864.
Rightly proud of their museum, Boston residents later fully embraced the change of name to the Museum of Science shortly after the second world war.

Later developments
In 1951, an owlet called Spooky was donated to the museum and it went on to become an enduring symbol, for he lived to be 38 years old, the oldest known living bird of his species.

Over the next twenty years, the museum expanded both its collection and exhibition space.
The Charles Hayden Planetarium opened in 1958 and the committee also successfully lobbied for the Science MBTA station which even today, brings visitors to within 200 yards of the museum.

In recent years, an increased number of interactive exhibits have been added by incorporating The Computer Museum.

The year 2004 saw the museum launch the National Center for Technological Literacy to inspire the next generation of engineers and innovators.
Location and facilities
Facilities
The museum caters for the widest possible audience by constantly improving access for people with disabilities.
It also provides American sign language facilities and closed captioning stations for visitors that are hearing impaired.

Podcasts, videocasts and virtual exhibits are all available on their website and although these are of an excellent quality, they do obviously have their limitations.

Location
The location of MOS means it is sometimes mistaken as the MIT museum.
This is perhaps not surprising, bearing in mind that a number of exhibits and lectures are presented by fellows of the Institute.

The full address for the museum is:
Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, MA 02114.
If you intend to go there by train, it may be prudent to check there are no works being completed on the line.
In such instances, the museum usually lays on shuttle buses between stations.

Final word
For more information visit the Museum of Science‘s excellent website at Mos.org.