My family’s favorite way to spend a rainy day is at a museum, and this weekend we checked out the Discovery Museum in Acton. We had the best time exploring, learning, and playing. This interactive STEAM museum is for all ages, although it was mostly a younger crowd on the day we went. I brought all my kids (ages 13, 11, 5, and 10 months). Even my oldest was having fun, and it’s honestly pretty enjoyable for adults, too. I think the phrase of the day for all of us was, “That’s so cool!”
You can easily spend hours here; there is so much to do. Each room offers something new to learn and experience. Every room has informative exhibit guides available in multiple languages that offer guidance on how to best support your child as they learn and play. I recommend using these, or printing your own here: https://www.discoveryacton.org/visit/exhibit-guides.
The first floor of the museum has several engaging experiences for kids. The sound gallery has an air harp, tuning forks, and experiments with sound, including an area where you can “feel” the sound. My oldest is a violin player and is into music, so this was a fun one for her.
A favorite for my five-year-old was a huge tube structure where kids can put colorful scarfs in, and it shoots them back out. He got stuck on this for quite a while!
The water gallery was a very popular room when we visited, and it’s helpful that water smocks and hand dryers are provided.
There’s also a room all about experimenting with light and color, and we thought the Phosphor workbench was a fun experiment. A nearby illusions wall reads, “What Do You See?” with optical illusions below. The museum does an excellent job of engaging the senses—sight, touch, and sound—through the different exhibits.
The Caterpillar Lab, which is a short-term exhibit that returns annually, has a lot of fun activities: kids can dress up in butterfly capes and try blending into nearby backgrounds, they can use the “Build A Bug” magnetic board, or hang out in tents. The walls are lined with large posters of information and question prompts, encouraging learning and curiosity.
The second floor is more creative and play-based. It features Bessie’s House, which has a diner, a train room, and a ship room. This was a super busy area, and it’s worth noting that it can be difficult to push a stroller through the museum on a busy day. I recommend using an umbrella stroller or a baby carrier if possible. I had a bulky stroller, and it wouldn’t fit in the crowded Bessie’s House area.
Also on the second floor is a Magna-Tiles table and a sand table. At the sand table, kids use sand pendulums to create a design on a slate. A station called Scoops is a little ice-cream shop play area where kids learn about creating combinations and counting flavors and scoops.
We also made harmonographs, which we’d never heard of or seen before this, plus got a wooden printing press demonstration by a staff member. Kids get to take home their harmonograph and print, which are cool keepsakes. All the staff we interacted with were super helpful and friendly with the kids.
Aside from the museum, there’s also an incredible nature play area outside called Discovery Woods, where kids can learn and play in a treehouse, safely play in a kid-friendly woodsy area, and slide and swing on the various structures. There are play tables and a section on the ground with bowls for imaginative play, plus a large owl display made of sticks where kids can sit inside, which was really neat. The slides are built into the landscape so they are safe; the area also has both adult- and kid-sized Adirondack chairs.
Inside the treehouse, kids can check out the view through kid-safe windows, lounge on beanbags or in rocking chairs, read books, inspect snakeskins and butterflies, and—an especially cool part—see real-life dinosaur footprint fossils. The treehouse is ADA accessible; you access it via a wheelchair- and stroller-friendly footbridge.
Another spot outside is Fairyborough, where there’s a pebble wishing well, a little free library, and a “slap-a-phone,” which is a large musical pipe structure that makes various sounds when you slap each tube opening.
It can sometimes be hard to find a truly engaging children’s play space that is also super educational, but the Discovery Museum checks all the boxes. It is the ideal spot for learning and fun, and it’s a must-visit for all families.
Discovery Museum
177 Main St
Acton MA 01720
978-264-4200
Hours: Open 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM daily during the summer and school vacation weeks, closed Mondays during the school year.
Cost: $19 per person, $18 for seniors. $1 admission for EBT/WIC cardholders. Many local libraries also offer discounted passes, and see the Ways to Save page for additional discount options. Annual memberships available, which offer unlimited visits and special membership perks.
Accessibility: Fully ADA accessible
Holly O'Blenis is a mom of four who loves finding new, exciting things to do to create a fun, happy childhood for them! She is an avid reader and crafter who loves the outdoors.
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