As a former babysitter, I know it can be difficult to keep kids entertained when they aren’t in school. Luckily, there’s plenty of programming at Massachusetts-based museums to occupy their attention this school vacation week. If you don’t have kids, there are also modern dance performances, a brewers festival and more this weekend in Greater Boston.
Free School Vacation Programs
Wednesday, April 23-Saturday, April 26
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will help entertain your little ones during April Vacation Week. Starting at 10 a.m. each day, kids will be able to weave small baskets, learn to cross-stitch, design their own jewelry, decorate candles and create scrimshaw from synthetic materials. There will also be an egg tempera paint making demonstration, a story hour, family tours and an artist demonstration by traditional Penobscot basket maker Erica Nelson Menard. The activities are included with general admission.
The Cape Ann Museum will host activities starting Wednesday in addition to their latest exhibition “Breath of Life – C.B. Fisk, Designers & Builders of Pipe Organs” in the Janet & William Ellery James Center. Some of the programming includes art making like creating simple instruments and going on a musical scavenger hunt. The activities are free and open to the public.
Thursday, April 24-Friday, April 25
The Peabody Essex Museum will celebrate Earth Week by teaching children what it means to be an eco hero and care for the planet. Kids will get to explore the Whalemobile, a lifesize inflatable humpback whale named Nile. They will travel through the creature to learn more about humpback whales and their role in the ocean’s ecosystem. Visitors will also be able to make kokedamas, Japanese garden art where plants are grown in a sphere of soil covered in moss. Environmental economist and educator Pamela Peeters will guide kids in a workshop on becoming eco heroes. Guests will learn about ecology, climate action and environmental preservation and create art in response. This programming is included with general admission. Kids under 16 receive free admittance.
Thursday, April 24-Sunday, April 27
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform at the Wang Theatre this week. The company will look back on their seven-decade modern dance history with old pieces and new works. The show will navigate the experience of being Black in America through dynamic movement. The company will perform “Revelations” — a ballet choreographed by Ailey in 1960 that explores African-American identity. He referred to living as a Black man as “sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful.”
Saturday, April 26
Boston-based composer Hayley Qin launched a spring performance series to honor women of color in the city. On Saturday, new music inspired by the lives of Greater Boston’s women of color will be performed. The music draws from archival materials from local African American communities and Chinese Historical Society of New England’s Chinese American Women Oral History Project. There will be a talkback after the performance.
Other performances in the series will take place on May 19 at the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library and May 31 at the Little Free Library at Rose Kennedy Greenway. The event is free to attend, and those interested can reserve tickets on the Eventbrite.
Saturday, April 26
The Massachusetts Craft Brewers Festival will bring fresh brews to the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts this Saturday. The festival boasts unlimited sips from more than 40 local breweries during two tasting session options at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. The event will offer a range of beers from hazy IPAs to sours. The tastings are for guests ages 21+. Live jazz music will fill the venue and food will be available for purchase. Tickets are $55 for entry and unlimited beer. Designated drivers can buy tickets for $10.
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