Boston is the bastion of American historical past and the place many guests come trying to study extra in regards to the historic occasions that led as much as the American Revolutionary War. Many will stroll the two.5-mile Freedom Trail, however a enjoyable and interactive means to absorb the pre-Revolutionary historical past is with a Boston Tea Party Museum tour.
One of the sights on the Boston waterfront, the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum takes an in depth take 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 Party Museum gives an immersive expertise that lays out the occasions that led as much as the Battle of Lexington, the primary battle of the Revolutionary War.
Not each historical past museum is kid-friendly, however this one was actually designed with children in thoughts. Visiting the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum with children will get them hands-on with historical past in a means that’s relatable and enjoyable.
Read on to see what it’s like to go to the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum with children and the perfect ages to go to with children. See what else must be in your Massachusetts bucket record!
What was the Boston Tea Party?
Let’s begin with the fundamentals. The Boston Tea Party came about on December 16, 1773, when a few hundred Colonial males (also referred to as Patriots — therefore the title of the soccer staff) dumped 340 chests of British East India Tea Company into the Boston Harbor. Those 92,000 kilos of tea would have been value roughly $1.5 million at this time!
So why would they do such a factor? It all comes right down to “taxation without representation.” 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 have 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 party” in secret, below the quilt of darkness. They had tried to dam the supply of the tea and pressure 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 have been, simply not in the best way deliberate! This is the act that spurred a revolution.
Visiting the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum with Kids
Note: Our go to was hosted by the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum for the needs of this overview. All opinions are our personal.
Today, over that very same physique of water, guests can board the Beaver, a historically-accurate reproduction of one of many three tall ships which have been part of the occasions of the Tea Party. Your go to begins first within the Meeting House, the place dwell actors inform the story main as much as the Tea Party occasions.
The actors contain guests from the very starting, assigning them names of precise historic individuals of the Boston Tea Party. In the Meeting House, “Samuel Adams” provides a speech protesting the tax on tea to awaken the rebels into motion. When we visited, Hannah was assigned a talking position through the presentation, which made her a bit nervous however she did brilliantly. I believed a bonus was that you may maintain these playing cards and feathers as 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. Everyone can take turns tossing the “tea crates” into the water, which is unquestionably a giant hit with the children and it does an excellent 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.
The first cease inside makes use of holographic photographs of a dialog between a Tory and a Patriot lady 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 Party and listen to its historical past and the way it got here to relaxation again in Boston. This half is a bit lengthy and laborious to comply with however true historians can respect the significance of this artifact.
If the children tune out throughout that bit, they may perk again up after they see the “moving portraits” of King George III and Sam Adams debating politics utilizing language from their precise correspondence. (Imagine the portraits within the Harry Potter motion pictures and you’ll get a good suggestion of what that is like.)
The remaining cease within the museum is a brief movie, Let It Begin Here, that recounts the occasions and individuals that led as much as the American Revolution and the “shot heard round the world.”
Abigail’s Tea Room
The Boston Tea Party museum tour ends with a go to to Abigail’s Tea Room, named after the second First Lady 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.
They additionally serve 5 teas, a few of which have been the identical blends thrown overboard through the Boston Tea Party.
Is the Boston Tea Party Museum Good for Kids?
Before I went, I wasn’t positive if the Boston Tea Party Museum could be good for tweens or simply youthful children so I enlisted the assistance of my almost twelve-year-old to be the choose. 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 verdict: she handed with flying colours and shortly caught on to my questioning with one in every of her personal…”Is this like a quiz?” She truly remembered rather more than I anticipated…okay, I admit, she remembered greater than I did just like the dates and names of all three ships.
When I requested her opinion on the perfect ages to go to the Boston Tea Party Museum she stated, “under twelve if you are ‘meh’ on history and all ages if you like history.” So there you will have it, from a child’s viewpoint.
Planning a Visit to the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
- The Boston Tea Party Museum is positioned at 306 Congress St. on the Congress Street Bridge on the Fort Point Channel, simply steps away from the Boston Children’s Museum and a brief stroll from the New England Aquarium and Faneuil Hall — making it an excellent addition to visits to both of these sights.
- A go to to the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum takes about an hour, longer should you keep for the tea.
- The museum hosts a reenactment yearly on December sixteenth with lots of of re-enactors.
- The museum is open every day from 10 am – 4 pm (5 pm in the summertime)
- Massachusetts residents are eligible for a free ticket after they deliver alongside somebody who buys a full-price grownup ticket as a part of the “Hometown Pass” program after they join the program on-line.
- Museum guests can obtain discounted parking at Farnsworth Street Garage at 17 Farnsworth St. or Stillings Street Garage at 11 Stillings St. with a validated parking ticket.
- They have one of many best-curated present retailers I’ve seen at a historic attraction — value trying out!
Visiting Boston? Read extra:
PIN THIS FOR LATER
