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Boston's Best Exhibits To Visit This Summer

With the kids all out of school, there are plenty of fun ways to spend your days in Boston. This summer, there are some great exhibits offered by the city's many museums, which are nearly all a walk away from other city sights. Visitors can enjoy exhibits featuring history, art and even a completely revamped aquarium.

Dead Sea Scrolls: Life In Ancient Times
Museum of Science
1 Science Park
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 723-2500
www.mos.org

Date:  May 19

Travel back 2,000 years in human history to Biblical times by visiting pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Museum of Science. Among the most important literary pieces in the world, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 in caves by the Dead Sea. This exhibit has more than just fragments of these scrolls, though those in and of themselves make this the exhibit of the year for history buffs. It also contains a number of Israeli artifacts, such as a piece of Jerusalem's Western Wall.

museum-of-fine-arts-boston

Samurai!: Armor From The Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection
Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 267-9300
www.mfa.org

Date: through Aug. 4

Samurai! is one of the coolest exhibits Boston has this summer. It features close to 150 pieces from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection from the 12th century CE all the way up to the 19th. Visitors with an interest in military history, Japanese culture or just skillful art will enjoy this exhibit at the MFA. The pieces of armor, particularly the head and face pieces, can be both intimidating and beautiful at the same time. They certainly show the amount of thought and tradition that went into the protection of these warriors.

New England Aquarium
1 Central Wharf
Boston, MA 02110
(617) 973-5200
www.neaq.org

Date: Early Summer 2013

The New England Aquarium construction is due to end at the start of the summer and will bring the city not only new exhibits, but revamped exhibits as well. The popular Giant Ocean Tank is being completely redone. The establishment has already completed a harbor seal exhibit outside of the museum. What's more, the penguins are coming back from their construction hiatus. There is a lot to see and do at the New England Aquarium this summer.

Related: Offbeat Museums In Massachusetts

Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things
MIT Museum
265 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 253-5927
www.web.mit.edu

Date: through Sept. 1

Everyday, people go through their lives in a way that is vastly different from those even 100 years ago. Little things they pass all the time make huge changes in how they go about doing things, but these objects are still rarely noticed. Hidden Heroes shines a spotlight on the little innovations that people take for granted and what makes them so special. There are 36 objects in the exhibit. The museum will demonstrate to visitors what these objects are and why they are heroes.

The Tea Party Ships
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
306 Congress St.
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 338-1773
www.bostonteapartyship.com

The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum opened last year after a drawn out struggle to get a lasting, engaging museum on the topic in the city. Now, guests can explore two replicas of the ships involved in the incident -- The Eleanor and The Beaver. This is a great way to get out over the water and enjoy a museum at the same time. This exhibit lets guests be a part of one of the biggest events leading to the American Revolution and to get closer to the reality of it than people have been able to in centuries.

Related: Must-See Photography Exhibits In Boston

Shelly Barclay is a professional freelance writer and amateur author. She writes on a variety of topics from food to mysteries. She loves to share the culture and rich history of her birthplace and home, Boston, with the rest of the world. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

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