Discovery Museum, Acton: Hours, Address, Discovery Museum Reviews: 4.5/5
Discovery Museum
Discovery Museum
4.5
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
About
Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum for families that blends science, nature, and play. The museum and its Discovery Woods accessible outdoor nature playscape and 550 sf treehouse blend the best of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning on a beautiful 4.5-acre campus abutting 180 acres of conservation land in Acton, MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. Originally founded in 1982 and expanded to two museums in 1987, the museum reopened in a single, 16,000sf accessible building after a complete renovation and expansion in early 2018. Hands-on, open-ended exhibits developed by professional educators inspire curiosity and exploration, providing a fun and engaging experience for children and adults to discover their world together.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
42 reviews
Excellent
34
Very good
4
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Tanadi
Bangkok, Thailand41 contributions
Nov 2020
I brought my 2.5 years old to this place for the first time. I was impressed by the friendly staff and amazed how a small place would have so many stuff to keep us fun and educating. The Covid-19 measures are pretty good but I would recommend to go on weekdays as there would be even less visitors. It's worth noting that they would allow only 2 hours per visit so that they can let a new group of people coming in.
Written December 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
SouthEndTraveler
Boston, MA55 contributions
Jul 2021
This is a great place to spend a few hours with the kids. The Discovery Museum has great exhibits and lots of hands-on activities for kids. It has similar themes to other children's museums: water, gravity, electricity, art, music/sound, etc. Their facility is in great shape and easy to get around. All the staff we met were helpful and professional.
We also greatly appreciated the mask policy (required for anyone 2 or older as of July 2021). After all, who wants to be in a building full of unvaccinated people (all children) with no masks at this point...not us, thank you very much! Price is not cheap, but right in line with other museums.
We arrived in the morning, spent about 90 minutes inside, ate our own picnic lunch on a table outside and then spent another hour or so with the kids playing outside. Fun day for kids ages 6 and 8.
We also greatly appreciated the mask policy (required for anyone 2 or older as of July 2021). After all, who wants to be in a building full of unvaccinated people (all children) with no masks at this point...not us, thank you very much! Price is not cheap, but right in line with other museums.
We arrived in the morning, spent about 90 minutes inside, ate our own picnic lunch on a table outside and then spent another hour or so with the kids playing outside. Fun day for kids ages 6 and 8.
Written August 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Donna M
Kittery, ME3 contributions
Jul 2019
I visited this museum by myself on a Free Fun Friday. It was fun seeing the hoards of children enjoying the various activities. It would be more fun with a child of elementary school age. This is geared to that age group and would probably be somewhat boring to older children.
Written March 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Debbie S
North Andover, MA61 contributions
Dec 2019 • Family
Fun place to spend the day. Great spot though can get very crowded. Fun water area and building area. We like the outdoor space as well. The only thing missing is a cafe or tables to sit. Perhaps there are some outside for warmer weather, I’m unsure. Would be nice to have a place to sit and eat inside.
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Tim
Cambridge, MA697 contributions
Feb 2019 • Family
We had a great time. Despite visiting on a Saturday and it being a bit busy, there was more than enough space to try all the different attractions. Our son especially loved the installations with water and golf balls. Cannot wait to go back and check out the tree house when temperatures warm up.
Written February 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Sunnyvale, CA23 contributions
Jan 2019 • Family
We live nearby and continue to be members. My four year old son visits there about every two weeks. He got excited and didn’t want to leave for every visit. I would say it’s a perfect place to learn STEM for 2-8 year olds.
Written January 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Ron N
Boston, MA75 contributions
May 2018 • Family
This jewel of a discovery ‘museum’ was very good before, but limited by its space. With the opening in February and with the terrific adjacent treehouse and playground, it has moved up to top notch.
The creativity of the huge variety of interactive exhibits offers endless play/learn time for any age from 3 to 93. As an adult, I know I am not their target demographic, but I would be happy for hours even without he kids!
The wonderful staff (volunteers?) are everywhere and are delighted to help with any activity.
This third-generation version of this 35-year-old institution merits world-class listing. It is so much more intimate and accessible than the larger museums in Boston (Childrens Museum and Science Museum) and it’s exhibit stations are frankly more creative. They must have reviewed ideas from around he country to curate the activities.
The creativity of the huge variety of interactive exhibits offers endless play/learn time for any age from 3 to 93. As an adult, I know I am not their target demographic, but I would be happy for hours even without he kids!
The wonderful staff (volunteers?) are everywhere and are delighted to help with any activity.
This third-generation version of this 35-year-old institution merits world-class listing. It is so much more intimate and accessible than the larger museums in Boston (Childrens Museum and Science Museum) and it’s exhibit stations are frankly more creative. They must have reviewed ideas from around he country to curate the activities.
Written May 16, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
happy2go6
Nashville, TN32 contributions
Aug 2019
We visited our son and his family for a weekend and were fortunate to babysit our 22 month old grandson while there. The Discovery Museum was the first place we took him and were amazed at this great find! It was PACKED (the week before school started in August) and we were a bit concerned at first that the activities were a little beyond his capability. But once he overcame his initial shyness with all the commotion (it was LOUD!) he had a BALL! Yes, there are a lot of activities that are over the head of a toddler but there are just as many wonderful places to explore for little ones. The water area (what baby doesn't love playing with water?!) with all the pvc pipes, the large padded blocks to build with and roll in, the behind-a-gate area for 'under 3' with the climbing set and slide and the padded circle to jump into, the bubble machines, and giant ball mazes - it was all amazing. So much to do! He loved it and so did we. We will definitely return when we visit our baby again!
Written September 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Larissaandkids
Needham, MA152 contributions
Dec 2018 • Family
Took my 3,5 and 5 month old to museum. Museum very small, not a lot of parking around. We went at 9:10, it was already a lot of people. Rooms are small, not enough activity for so many families who came there. Hour later you can’t go room to room, kids can’t go to tables they want it is other kids with parents. Now I understand why you can’t take stroller. It was hard to go from even one floor to another. Outside it is tree house, swing and something else, but still everything on small side. When we left hour after came it was huge line of families and more were trying find parking.
Written December 31, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Lynn N
Concord, MA11 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
I have been a financial supporter of the children's museum when my children were young. Now that I have a two year old grandson, I once again, find it a perfect museum to stop by near the end of the day and enjoy all the outdoor activities. The activities are thoughtful, challenging and have several stages of understanding the concepts behind them.
Or simple enjoy the tree shade to get a relief from the sun. The are many places for "thinking moments."
The staff is thoughtful and works on knowing the name of the children passing through.
Or simple enjoy the tree shade to get a relief from the sun. The are many places for "thinking moments."
The staff is thoughtful and works on knowing the name of the children passing through.
Written July 14, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
bbunny910
Atkinson, NH
How much does it cost?
Hi! Admission is $12.50 for adults and kids, $11.50 for seniors 60+. Children under 1 are free, as are teachers.
Also, we are open with free admission every Friday night during the summer months, June 23 through September 1. Then beginning in October, we go back to free admission on the 1st Friday night of each month.
We offer other free admission times and discounts, visit the Ways to Save page on our website for more info.
shirley w
Woodstock, CT
Having a 12 yr old girl visiting from NC. Is this museum age appropriate for her? I only took my little ones there many, many years ago. Thanks
bratface
Massachusetts61 contributions
Yes it is! Skip the house near the road and go straight up to the science building. Even if she's as smart as a high schooler you could challenge her with how she would translate the topics she is learning in class into a hands-on exhibit. In the science area younger children 'play' but older, curious kids start relating what they are learning is school to what they are seeing.
For example: The popular Harmonograph Table is a giant compound pendulum suspended by four cables. Visitors gently swing the 110-pound table and a colored marker records the complex path. The tracing creates a one-of-a-kind poster for the visitor to take home and display. At this exhibit and others, visitors discover for themselves important concepts: What happens when the direction of a push is changed? How do the paths traced by one- and two-point sand pendulums differ? Does the length of a pendulum change the time it takes for each swing?
Little kids get a cool spirograph lie picture. Older kids think about the energy decrease over time....
There is reading material available on all the topics in the room with legos.
Does she like science? What is she exploring right now in class?
Look over the list of hands on exhibits at their website - posting guidelines prohibit a web link.
That may help you decide!
Frequently Asked Questions about Discovery Museum
- Discovery Museum is open:
- Fri - Fri 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
- Sat - Thu 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
- Hotels near Discovery Museum:
- (0.07 mi) The Fitzhugh-Beers House
- (5.42 mi) North Bridge Inn
- (6.26 mi) Hawthorne Inn
- (6.12 mi) Courtyard by Marriott Boston Littleton
- (3.48 mi) Best Western At Historic Concord
- Restaurants near Discovery Museum:
- (0.33 mi) Benjarong Restaurant
- (0.33 mi) Dunkin'
- (0.87 mi) Not Your Average Joe's
- (0.63 mi) Sorrento's Brick Oven Pizzeria
- (0.83 mi) TC Landos Sub Pizzeria