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Important Information to Visiting the Boston Tea Occasion Museum with Children


Boston is the bastion of American historical past and the place many guests come seeking to be taught extra in regards to the historic occasions that led as much as the American Revolutionary Struggle. Many will stroll the two.5-mile Freedom Path, however a enjoyable and interactive approach to take in the pre-Revolutionary historical past is with a Boston Tea Occasion Museum tour.

One of many sights on the Boston waterfront, the Boston Tea Occasion Ships and Museum takes an in depth have a look at the historic occasion that led to the American Revolution. Boston is steeped in historical past, because the Harbor as soon as was with tea, however solely the Boston Tea Occasion Museum presents an immersive expertise that lays out the occasions that led as much as the Battle of Lexington, the primary battle of the Revolutionary Struggle.

Not each historical past museum is kid-friendly, however this one was actually designed with youngsters in thoughts. Visiting the Boston Tea Occasion Ships and Museum with youngsters will get them hands-on with historical past in a approach that’s relatable and enjoyable.

Learn on to see what it’s like to go to the Boston Tea Occasion Ships and Museum with youngsters and the perfect ages to go to with youngsters. See what else ought to be in your Massachusetts bucket listing!

Boston Tea Party ship

What was the Boston Tea Occasion?

Let’s begin with the fundamentals. The Boston Tea Occasion happened on December 16, 1773, when a few hundred Colonial males (often known as Patriots — therefore the identify of the soccer crew) dumped 340 chests of British East India Tea Firm into the Boston Harbor. These 92,000 kilos of tea would have been price roughly $1.5 million right now!

So why would they do such a factor? All of it comes all the way down to “taxation with out illustration.” In 1773, the British Parliament handed the Tea Act, which taxed the Colonies on tea. There was nice resistance within the Colonies as a result of they had been being taxed by the British authorities, however weren’t given their very own elected representatives in Parliament.

Not everybody agreed with this stance and so the “Sons of Liberty,” led by Samuel Adams, performed this “tea occasion” in secret, below the duvet of darkness. That they had tried to dam the supply of the tea and power the ship to return to England however the Lieutenant Governor had determined that the tea have to be unloaded and the tax have to be paid. And unloaded they had been, simply not in the best way deliberate! That is the act that spurred a revolution.

Visiting the Boston Tea Occasion Ships and Museum with Children

Word: Our go to was hosted by the Boston Tea Occasion Ships and Museum for the needs of this evaluate. All opinions are our personal.

Boston tea party museum with kids - Town Meeting

Right this moment, over that very same physique of water, guests can board the Beaver, a historically-accurate reproduction of one of many three tall ships which had been part of the occasions of the Tea Occasion. Your go to begins first within the Assembly Home, the place reside actors inform the story main as much as the Tea Occasion occasions.

The actors contain guests from the very starting, assigning them names of precise historic contributors of the Boston Tea Occasion. Within the Assembly Home, “Samuel Adams” provides a speech protesting the tax on tea to awaken the rebels into motion. After we visited, Hannah was assigned a talking function through the presentation, which made her a bit nervous however she did brilliantly. I assumed a bonus was that you would be able to maintain these playing cards and feathers as souvenirs.

Boston tea party ships and museum souvenirs

From the assembly home, the Patriots don the feathers handed out as a part of their “Mohawk” disguise and march to Griffin’s Wharf to board the ship. Everybody can take turns tossing the “tea crates” into the water, which is certainly a giant hit with the children and it does a terrific job breaking apart the heavy work of studying historical past with motion. After exploring the ships to see what life was like aboard an 18th-century ship, you then transfer into the museum part.

Throwing tea into the water at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum

The primary cease inside makes use of holographic photos of a dialog between a Tory and a Patriot girl in regards to the occasions of the earlier night time. Then guests get a glimpse of one of many two remaining tea chests nonetheless in existence from the unique Boston Tea Occasion and listen to its historical past and the way it got here to relaxation again in Boston. This half is a bit lengthy and exhausting to observe however true historians can respect the significance of this artifact.

Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum: Robinson tea chest
Photograph courtesy of the Boston Tea Occasion Ships and Museum

If the children tune out throughout that bit, they’ll perk again up after they see the “shifting portraits” of King George III and Sam Adams debating politics utilizing language from their precise correspondence. (Think about the portraits within the Harry Potter films and you’re going to get a good suggestion of what that is like.)

The ultimate cease within the museum is a brief movie, Let It Start Right here, that recounts the occasions and contributors that led as much as the American Revolution and the “shot heard around the world.”

Abigail’s Tea Room

The Boston Tea Occasion museum tour ends with a go to to Abigail’s Tea Room, named after the second First Woman Abigail Adams. The tea room serves drinks, pastries, salads, sandwiches, clam chowder, and a few kid-friendly favorites like PB&J and mac n’ cheese.

In addition they serve 5 teas, a few of which had been the identical blends thrown overboard through the Boston Tea Occasion.

Abigail's Tea Room at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum
Photograph courtesy of the Boston Tea Occasion Ships & Museum

Is the Boston Tea Occasion Museum Good for Children?

Earlier than I went, I wasn’t positive if the Boston Tea Occasion Museum can be good for tweens or simply youthful youngsters so I enlisted the assistance of my almost twelve-year-old to be the decide. After our go to, I requested her a number of inquiries to see if she actually understood the historical past and a few of the displays we had simply witnessed.  

The decision: she handed with flying colours and rapidly caught on to my questioning with certainly one of her personal…”Is that this like a quiz?” She really remembered far more than I anticipated…okay, I admit, she remembered greater than I did just like the dates and names of all three ships.

Once I requested her opinion on the perfect ages to go to the Boston Tea Occasion Museum she mentioned, “below twelve in case you are ‘meh’ on historical past and all ages for those who like historical past.” So there you’ve it, from a child’s standpoint.

Planning a Go to to the Boston Tea Occasion Ships & Museum

Boston tea party museum & ships reenactor
  • The Boston Tea Occasion Museum is situated at 306 Congress St. on the Congress Road Bridge on the Fort Level Channel, simply steps away from the Boston Youngsters’s Museum and a brief stroll from the New England Aquarium and Faneuil Corridor — making it a terrific addition to visits to both of these sights.
  • A go to to the Boston Tea Occasion Ships and Museum takes about an hour, longer for those who keep for the tea.
  • The museum hosts a reenactment yearly on December sixteenth with a whole lot of re-enactors.
  • The museum is open day by day from 10 am – 4 pm (5 pm in the summertime)
  • Massachusetts residents are eligible for a free ticket after they convey alongside somebody who buys a full-price grownup ticket as a part of the “Hometown Move” program after they join the program on-line.
  • Museum guests can obtain discounted parking at Farnsworth Road Storage at 17 Farnsworth St. or Stillings Road Storage at 11 Stillings St. with a validated parking ticket.
  • They’ve one of many best-curated present outlets I’ve seen at a historic attraction — price trying out!

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Tips for visiting the Boston Tea Party Museum with kids -- what to know, what it is like and what to expect before you go.

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