April School Vacation Week Events in Boston

During April School Vacation Week 2015, check out free baseball at Fenway Park, Earth Day fun, and more.

Spotted Dolphins

This photo of spotted dolphins by New England Aquarium lecturer Brian Skerry appears in the May issue of National Geographic magazine / Courtesy photo © Brian Skerry and National Geographic

Shake off that residual cabin fever, kids. There are plenty of things to do this week, indoors and out, rain or shine:

Cambridge Science Festival at Museum of Science

The Cambridge Science Festival, already underway, continues through April 26, and the Museum of Science is keeping the party going with hands-on activities, a live “Spontaneous Fantasia” performance by J-Walt, and kiddie rocket science. If you haven’t seen the museum’s “Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed” exhibit yet, get over there soon—it closes May 3.

$23 adults, $20 kids, Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, 617-723-2500, mos.org.

“Let It Grow” at Peabody Essex Museum

The Peabody Essex loves all things maritime, but they’re down with dirt, too. To get into the Earth Day spirit, the museum is hosting art activities all day, including mural-making, paper crafts, and an artist demo called “Tree Eavesdropping.”

$18 adults, $10 students, youths 16 and under free, April 23, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St., Salem, 978-745-9500, pem.org.

Art for April Vacation 2015 at deCordova Museum

Spring’s the perfect time for a stroll through the deCordova’s wondrous Sculpture Park. This school vacation week, the museum’s taking the opportunity to celebrate both Earth Day and the spirit of Henry David Thoreau (who wrote Walden just a skippy-stone’s throw away from the museum grounds). Kids can try journaling, take a “sock walk,” and check out the museum’s Walden, Revisited exhibit before it makes its exit.

$14 adults, $10 students, children 12 and under free, April 22-25, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, 51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln, 781-259-8355, decordova.org.

Mini Maker Week at Children’s Museum Easton

“Create! Build! Engineer!” is the battle cry of the Easton Children’s Museum, where kids have a chance to make textiles that morph into musical instruments, Picasso-inspired light doodles, and squishy circuits. Plus, they can get an in-person look at the robots of Steve Norris, whose ButlerBot and RoboStool boast bit parts in Transfomers: Age of Extinction.

$9 per person, children under 1 free, April 20-24, Children’s Museum in Easton, 9 Sullivan Ave., North Easton, 508-230-3789, childrensmuseumineaston.org.

Earth Day at Boston Children’s Museum

It may come as no surprise that the Boston Children’s Museum has Earth Day on the brain—after all, Fort Point is so vulnerable to rising sea levels, futurist design committees are already envisioning its aquatic destiny. This week, in between exploring the climbing sculpture and the bubble troughs, kids can make recycled art, including recycled-paper flowers and plastic bag balls.

$14, children under 1 year free, April 22, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Boston Children’s Museum, 308 Congress St., Boston, 617-426-6500, bostonchildrensmuseum.org.

“Dream, Invent, Create: Be an Artist” at Museum of Fine Arts

In addition to treating visitors to the works of Katsushika Hokusai and Leonardo Da Vinci’s “most beautiful drawing in the world,” this week, the MFA is hosting free drop-in activities for kids.

$25 adults, youths under 17 free, April 22, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, 617-267-9300, mfa.org.

Vacation Week at Institute of Contemporary Art

As part of the special family-friendly events taking place at the ICA all vacation week long, Boston Urbanity Dance perform new work and Making Place artist Ekua Holmes invites visitors to create their own masterpieces.

$15 adults, youths under 17 free, April 18-26, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave., Boston, 617-478-3100, icaboston.org.

Earth Day at Ecotarium

This Friday, Worcester’s indoor-outdoor Ecotarium museum gives kids a multitude of ways to connect with the Pale Blue Dot we call home. Budding mad scientists can invent their own machines on a giant gear board, build wolf-proof Three Little Pigs’ houses, and tromp around in their Nature Explore area.

Earth Day admission $7 adults, $5 children, children under 2 free, April 24, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Ecotarium, 222 Harrington Way, Worcester, 508-929-2700, ecotarium.org.

“Luminous Seas” at New England Aquarium

It’s no secret that the New England Aquarium is one of Boston’s most enthralling places for young’uns, so with that in mind, be prepared for big crowds during school vacation week. In addition to crowd-pleasers like the touch tank and seal training demos, older kids (and adults!) can enjoy a free lecture on Thursday. Don’t miss your chance to see a presentation with the Aquarium’s explorer-in-residence Brian Skerry, whose underwater photography graces the pages of National Geographic.

$27 adults, $18 children, children under 3 free, April 23, 7 p.m., New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, 617-973-5200, neaq.org.

Open House at Fenway Park

At Fenway Park—where a lobster roll costs $29 and even a non-premium ticket can be eye-wateringly expensive—the word “free” doesn’t come up a whole lot. But this week, they’re throwing the doors open, and giving the public the chance to take a free look at the historic park. At 2 p.m., catch a game between Florida A&M and North Carolina Central University. Red Sox alumni will be making an appearance and signing autographs, too.

April 25, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Fenway Park, 4 Yawkey Way, Boston, 877-733-7699, redsox.com.