1913 Founded by Boston Public School Science teachers, The Children’s Museum opens at Pine Bank in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood.

1914-15 More than two-thirds of students in the Boston school district (297 classes)
visit the Museum.

1918 Coal shortages during the cold winter of 1918 force schools and libraries to close, so visitors come to the Museum in droves in order to keep warm.

1927 Saturday Morning Story Hour and Sunday Afternoon Programs are planned especially for the younger children.

1928 Patterned after The Children’s Museum of Boston, The Children’s Museum of Kyoto is founded in April.

1936 In response to overwhelming crowds, the Museum moves to 60 Burroughs Street in Jamaica Plain.

1945 During World War II, International Friendship Days, along with other programs and exhibits, teach children about cultures different from their own.

1952 During the summer of 1952, “July Jaunters” seek wildlife to study.

1962 New Museum director Michael Spock (1962-1985) is instrumental in founding the American Association of Youth Museums (now Association of Children’s Museums).

1962 "Do Not Touch” is forever removed to reflect Michael Spock’s desire to create a museum where children learn by interacting with the exhibits themselves.

1964 The first interactive exhibit, What’s Inside, allows visitors to take a peek at the inside of a baseball, a Volkswagen and more.  

1972 The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums.

1972 Discarded industrial materials find a second life in RECYCLE, a program that offers unusual art materials at low cost.

1973 Centre Street Project creates a 4-month museum exhibit and one-day street fair out of the real businesses and people in the heart of Jamaica Plain.

1976 An exhibit about disabilities, What If You Couldn’t, is developed by Museum staff to describe a range of special needs.

1978 PlaySpace, the Museum’s exhibit for children 5 and under, opens for children and parents to learn together.

1979 With a need for more space and the desire to be more accessible to the communities of Boston, the Museum moves into an empty wool warehouse on the Fort Point Channel - attendance jumps 250 percent the first year.

1980 Kyo No Machiya, a Japanese silk merchant’s home, is donated by Kyoto, Boston’s Japanese sister city, and becomes a landmark addition to the Museum’s exhibits.

1981 Bubbles, a science exhibit designed to familiarize children with some simple principles of geometry and physics through play and experimentation, opens.

1986 Kenneth Brecher is named the new director and focuses on the Multicultural Initiative to ensure that the Museum is increasingly reflective of a racially, ethnically, culturally and economically diverse audience.

1988 First outdoor exhibit Summer Splash is launched on the Museum’s waterfront deck.

1990 Kids Bridge, a groundbreaking exhibit on cultural diversity and racism, opens at the Museum and later moves to the Smithsonian Institution, where it embarks on a 3-year tour.

1991 Middle School Education Curriculum Topics Development Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, marks one of the first joint efforts between a school system, a community-based organization and a museum.

1993 Opening the Museum, a book written by Museum staff, documents the Museum’s moves towards total diversification and provides a much-needed model for other institutions moving in the same direction.

1994 Lou Casagrande, Ph.D., becomes the Museum’s newest president and CEO.  Casagrande organizes the Museum into three strategic centers – Visitor Center, Teacher Center and Early Childhood Center – to respond to the demands of education reform and the critical needs of the urban community. 

1998 Arthur’s World™ opens to critical acclaim and huge attendance numbers.  While the original stays in Boston, the traveling version is the most successful children’s museum traveling exhibit ever.

2003 The Children’s Museum of Boston celebrates its 90th birthday!

2004 The Children’s Museum of Boston officially becomes Boston Children’s Museum and continues its tradition of introducing groundbreaking exhibits with the opening of Five Friends from Japan, access/Ability and Boston Black: A City Connects.

2006 The Museum breaks ground in April on its $47M expansion and renovation project.

2007 In April the Museum opens to the public, breaking attendance records throughout the summer and officially welcoming a new generation of Boston Children’s Museum visitors.

2008 Boston Children’s Museum is recognized as LEED® Gold certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

2010 Carole Charnow is appointed President & CEO. Under her direction, Boston Children's Museum makes a citywide commitment to assisting families in making sure their children are ready for school.

Countdown to Kindergarten! Exhibit opens providing a model classroom environment for young children and parents to explore together.