Indoor Things to Do With Kids North of Boston in Winter
Children's museums, an aquarium, art and climbing walls for cold days, with hours and prices from each place's own website.
Around here, winter has a way of arriving all at once: a week of cold rain, a snow day, and a house full of kids who have run out of things to do by 10 am. This is a plan for those days, built from the published hours and prices of indoor spots within roughly an hour of Melrose, Malden, Medford and the North Shore.
Everything below comes from each place’s own website as of November 9, 2026. We have not visited and are not ranking anything. Where a price is not published, we say so, and you should confirm before you drive.
Quick comparison
| Place | Town | Open (as published) | Admission |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Shore Children’s Museum | Peabody | Wed to Sun | Not published on the page we read |
| Wenham Museum | Wenham | Wed to Sun, 9 am to 1 pm | $14 ages 1+; $12 seniors 55+ |
| Peabody Essex Museum | Salem | Thu to Mon, 10 am to 5 pm | Under 16 free; adults $25 |
| Boston Children’s Museum | Boston | Wed to Mon, 9 am to 4 pm | $24 ages 1 to 15 and adults |
| New England Aquarium | Boston | Daily, 9 am to 5 pm (6 pm weekends) | Adult $39.95; child (3-11) $30.95 |
| MetroRock Everett | Everett | Daily, long hours | See its rates page |
North Shore Children’s Museum, Peabody
The North Shore Children’s Museum is at 10 Main Street in Peabody and is run with the city (its contact email is a peabody-ma.gov address). It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Published hours are:
- Wednesday to Friday: 9 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 4 pm (closed noon to 1)
- Saturday: 9 am to 12 pm, 12 to 2 pm and 2 to 4 pm
- Sunday: 12 to 2 pm and 2 to 4 pm
Those split blocks mean you are booking a session rather than wandering in all day. Most programs are included with admission, but the museum asks you to book your spot. The page does not list ticket prices (they are on its Buy Tickets page) or an age range, though it notes the smaller spaces are not overwhelming for younger visitors. Peabody residents can visit free on Saturdays and Sundays in November with proof of residency, while tickets last. The phone is (978) 538-5765.
Wenham Museum, Wenham
At 132 Main Street, the Wenham Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, 9 am to 1 pm, with extended hours (9 am to 6 pm) on the first Wednesday of each month. Admission, as listed starting July 1, 2026, is $14 for adults and children age 1 and up, $12 for seniors (55+) and grandparents, and free under age 1.
The museum says strollers are welcome and every restroom has a changing table, and snacks are allowed in designated indoor areas. It encourages families to visit the Claflin-Gerrish-Richards House, which has hands-on activities for all ages. A “Mornings at the Museum” series is listed for November (the page names a Colonial Life: spice grinding session on November 12 at 10 am). A playground sits across the street, which helps on the rare dry day.
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
The Peabody Essex Museum is at 161 Essex Street in Salem. It is open Thursday to Monday, 10 am to 5 pm, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday and on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Visitors under 16 are free. Adults are $25, seniors (65+) $23 and students with ID $15. Salem residents are free, as are people who work in Salem with a business card or employee ID.
For families, PEM lists hands-on art activities, kid-friendly exhibitions and a nursing room. The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center has art and nature activities for all ages. Strollers can be borrowed at the Visitor Resource Center, and sensory bags are available there too. Program prices are on pem.org/events.
Boston Children’s Museum
Across the river, the Boston Children’s Museum (308 Congress Street) is open Wednesday to Monday, 9 am to 4 pm, closed Tuesdays, and opens at 10 am on the first Saturday of each month. Admission is $24 per person for adults and for children ages 1 to 15, with infants under 12 months free. It recommends buying tickets in advance.
Parking is the part families tend to wonder about. The museum lists four garages that offer validation: Stillings Street, Farnsworth Street, Atlantic Wharf, and Seaport South (weekends only). Validation requires the physical ticket you pull at the garage gate, not an app or QR code. Holiday hours vary; for example, it lists 9 am to 1 pm on Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day. Exhibits named on the page include PlaySpace for ages 0 to 3, the STEAM Lab, Dream it! Build it!, Bubbles and Kid Power.
New England Aquarium, Boston
The New England Aquarium at 1 Central Wharf lists hours of 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday and 9 am to 6 pm on weekends. Standard admission is $39.95 for adults, $30.95 for children 3 to 11 and $37.95 for seniors (60+), with children 2 and under free. Residents of CT, MA, ME, NH, RI and VT save $5 per ticket, with blackout dates; the aquarium says the discount is not available on weekends or summer holidays (Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend in 2026).
The aquarium recommends booking at tickets.neaq.org because weekends often sell out. At the time we read it, the page noted the Atlantic harbor seals were temporarily off exhibit while their habitat was improved. It also mentions 10 percent off aquarium tickets when combined with a whale watch (by phone or at the box office) and discounts on a Boston CityPASS.
A climbing wall for older kids: MetroRock Everett
MetroRock in Everett lists hours of Monday to Friday 10 am to 10 pm and Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 8 pm, with member-only early hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We could not load its day-pass rates or youth rules, so check its Hours & Rates and Waiver & Policies pages before you go. Other local gyms offer scheduled youth climbing lessons, including Boston Rock Gym in Woburn for ages 5 and up, per its listing.
Trampolines and open play
Trampoline parks such as Sky Zone in Danvers and Launch in Woburn advertise open jump and toddler-only sessions, according to local listings. We did not find published prices on official pages, so we are not quoting any. Call or check the park’s booking page, and plan for waivers.
The Museum of Science
The Museum of Science in Boston is a classic snow-day choice, but its website blocked our research, so we are not publishing its prices or hours here. Check mos.org. Several North Shore libraries, including Malden and Salem, lend passes to it.
Planning tips for a cold-weather outing
- Check the day. Several of these museums close Mondays or Tuesdays, or both, and PEM is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- Book timed sessions early. North Shore Children’s Museum and the Aquarium both use ticket booking.
- Look for resident perks. Peabody and Salem residents get free admission at their local museums as of this writing.
Sources
- Peabody Essex Museum: Visitpem.org
- North Shore Children's Museumnschildrensmuseum.org
- Wenham Museum: Visitwenhammuseum.org
- Boston Children's Museum: Visitbostonchildrensmuseum.org
- New England Aquarium: Ticketsneaq.org
- MetroRock Everettmetrorock.com
Details such as dates, hours and prices come from the sources above and can change. Check with the organizer before you go.
