Boston is expanding free museum, zoo and aquarium days to more families
BOSTON - Mayor Michelle Wu has announced that Boston is expanding a program that lets families enjoy trips to the city's world-renowned museums, the zoo and the aquarium for free.
BPS Sundays becoming Boston Family Days
The initiative that began earlier this year as BPS Sundays will be renamed Boston Family Days.
BPS Sundays offered free admission to several attractions for Boston Public School students and their families on the first and second Sunday of each month, and Wu says more than 44,000 students and family members have taken advantage so far. And starting in January, Boston Family Days will allow all students living in the city in grades K-12 or Boston Pre-K to get free admission for themselves and two guests to participating museums and cultural sites.
There was some controversy over the BPS Sundays program, with a few city councilors arguing that it should also include the 23,000 Boston students who attend charter, parochial or METCO schools. Wu had said in March she wouldn't try to make any changes to the public-private partnership in the middle of the pilot program.
What museums and attractions are free for Boston Family Days?
The museums and cultural institutions participating in Boston Family days on the first and second Sundays of each month are:
- Boston Children's Museum
- The Institute of Contemporary Art
- Museum of Fine Arts
- Museum of Science
- New England Aquarium
- Franklin Park Zoo
- Museum of African American History
- JFK Presidential Library and Museum
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
How do you sign up for Boston Family Days?
Boston Public Schools families will automatically be signed up for the program and get a pass via email directly from the school. Other eligible families can keep an eye on this city website for information when sign-ups begin later in December.
Boston Family Days will run through December 2026. Financial backers include Amazon, Barbara and Amos Hostetter, the Barr Foundation, Bob and Michelle Atchinson, and Jim and Cathy Stone.
