Information from a source that helps us test a claim.
source
A document, object, image, or account we can examine.
inference
An explanation based on clues; it still needs checking.
migration
Moving from one place to another to live.
immigrant
A person who moves to another country to live.
estimate
An approximate amount, based on available information.
oral history
A recorded interview about someone’s memories and experiences.
community
People connected by a place, relationships, or shared activities.
ancestry
Family origins across generations.
primary source
Evidence created by someone who experienced a time or event.
Choose · notice · investigate
Museum explorer
Choose a museum by its subject. Look for an object, a story, and a question you want to investigate.
Showing 12 of 52 resources
Paul RevereMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston, via Wikimedia Commons Image source ↗
Art
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Boston
Compare paintings, sculpture, textiles, and objects from many places and times. Museum labels help us ask who made an object and how it reached the collection.
A question to investigate
What can one object reveal about its maker and its journey?
El JaleoIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Commons file sourced from Bridgeman Art Library Image source ↗
Art
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Boston
Explore an art collection arranged inside a palace-like building around a garden courtyard. Look for connections among paintings, furniture, architecture, and plants.
A question to investigate
How does the room around an artwork change your experience of it?
The ICA’s waterfront building in Boston, with its projecting upper gallery and glass walls.Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston; photographer or artist credit not identified in the image tag. Image source ↗
Art
Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
Boston
Discover art made in our own time, including works that use unusual materials, film, and performance. Artists ask questions about the world around them.
A question to investigate
What materials would you choose to express an idea about today?
Visitors looking at paintings in the Harvard Art Museums’ galleries.Harvard Art Museums; photographer or artist credit not identified in the image tag. Image source ↗
Art
Harvard Art Museums
Cambridge
Three museum collections share one building. Paintings, sculptures, and objects offer ways to compare cultures and learn how conservators study and care for art.
A question to investigate
What clues might careful examination reveal beneath a painting’s surface?
The light-filled atrium and glass roof at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.Peabody Essex Museum; photographer or artist credit not identified in the image tag. Image source ↗
Art and culture
Peabody Essex Museum
Salem
Art, maritime collections, historic houses, and Yin Yu Tang connect Salem with the wider world. Ask how trade, travel, and collecting shaped a museum.
A question to investigate
What journeys connect a museum in Salem with places across the ocean?
The stone exterior of the Worcester Art Museum.Worcester Art Museum; photographer or artist credit not identified in the image tag. Image source ↗
Art
Worcester Art Museum
Worcester
Art from many periods invites close looking. Paintings, sculptures, and armor let learners compare beauty, materials, craftsmanship, and the purposes objects served.
A question to investigate
How could an object be both useful and a work of art?
Former factory buildings now hold contemporary art and performances. Large rooms let artists create works that surround visitors and change their sense of space.
A question to investigate
How can an old factory find a new role in its community?
Andrea della Robbia’s Portrait of a Youth, about 1470–1480, glazed terracotta; The Clark, gift of Aso O. Tavitian Foundation, 2025.1.7.Andrea della Robbia, Portrait of a Youth, c. 1470–1480. The Clark, gift of Aso O. Tavitian Foundation, 2025.1.7; image published by the Clark Art Institute. Image source ↗
Art
Clark Art Institute
Williamstown
Explore European and American art, architecture, and outdoor grounds in the Berkshires. Look closely at how artists use color, light, and composition.
A question to investigate
How does a painted landscape compare with a landscape outside?
Study original illustrations and learn how pictures told stories to magazine readers. Compare the details artists select with the details they leave out.
A question to investigate
Whose point of view does an illustration ask you to share?
Roberto Lugo’s portrait vessel Melting Pot (II), featured by Fuller Craft Museum.Roberto Lugo, Melting Pot (II); image published by Fuller Craft Museum. Photographer not identified in image tag. Image source ↗
Craft
Fuller Craft Museum
Brockton
Contemporary craft explores what artists can make with clay, glass, fiber, metal, wood, and other materials. Look for both familiar techniques and surprising inventions.
A question to investigate
How does a material shape what an artist can make?
An aerial view of deCordova’s museum building, wooded grounds, and neighboring pond.deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum; photographer or artist credit not identified in the image tag. Image source ↗
Outdoor art
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
Lincoln
Outdoor sculptures share a landscape with trees, paths, and a pond. Walk around an artwork to see how its shape and surroundings change your view.
A question to investigate
What changes when you view a sculpture from a different side?
Sources checked September 23, 2026. Open the source for current programs, hours, access, and map updates. Historical maps may contain outdated language or incomplete representations of Native homelands.
Boston Children’s Museum