The MassQ Ball 2022: Origin will feature the diverse artistic expressions of Boston’s communities of color. Interact with the landscape in new and creative ways, transform into a walking work of art through the practice of MassQing (a ritual application of paint to the face derived from ancient traditions of body decoration), and enjoy performances and art work by Boston cultural artists including:
Bradley Rosaceous Collection, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Led by Castle of our Skins’ Director of Education Taylor Lena McTootle, “Making a Mythos” focuses on the creative power of storytelling. Young participants will experience firsthand how fictional tales can reflect our cultural values and create them.
Join us for the first Lilac Sunday since 2019! We’ll be celebrating 150 years of Arboretum history and 112 Lilac Sundays.
Experience the springtime bloom of our renowned collection of nearly 400 lilacs. Visit for tours with Arboretum experts, hands-on children’s programming, and more.
Repeats every week every Saturday until Sat Apr 30 2022 .
10:30am to 12:00pm
10:30am to 12:00pm
10:30am to 12:00pm
10:30am to 12:00pm
Location:
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
On Saturdays and Sundays in April, join us for a 90-minute walk through the Arboretum! Tour seasonal plant highlights and learn about Arboretum history from a trained docent.
Repeats every week every Sunday until Sun Apr 24 2022 .
1:00pm to 2:30pm
1:00pm to 2:30pm
1:00pm to 2:30pm
1:00pm to 2:30pm
Location:
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
On Saturdays and Sundays in April, join us for a 90-minute walk through the Arboretum! Tour seasonal plant highlights and learn about Arboretum history from a trained docent.
Arnold Arboretum (125 Arborway, Boston) & American Repertory Theater
Visitors are invited to experience the natural beauty of the Arnold Arboretum on an outdoor, self-guided journey that centers resilience, healing, wellness, and joy. This collaboration between the American Repertory Theater and the Arboretum features multi-genre audio plays for various ages, interactive movement maps, and pop-up performances, all set against the 281-acre backdrop of one of the jewels of Boston’s Emerald Necklace.
The Arboretum is open daily, sunrise to sunset. Visitors entering via the Arborway, Bussey Street, Forest Hills, Centre Street, Walter Street, Peters...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join us for a free, 90-minute walk through the Arboretum! Tour seasonal plant highlights and learn about Arboretum history from a trained docent. The walk is geared toward adults, and starts from the kiosk in front of the Hunnewell Building at 125 Arborway.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join us for a free, 90-minute walk through the Arboretum! Tour seasonal plant highlights and learn about Arboretum history from a trained docent. The walk is geared toward adults, and starts from the kiosk in front of the Hunnewell Building at 125 Arborway.
Participate in the Arnold Arboretum’s 2021 Tournament of Trees! Get to know this year’s Sweet Sixteen contenders (March 3–9) and cast your votes in this fun bracket style tournament. Let the March Tree Madness games begin.
Shed the winter blues and head outdoors for a new season of exploration and nature noticing. EverydayNature Tasks, a calendar with daily activities to try outdoors, resumes its offerings on March 1. Do something natural every day! Free and open to all.
A plant that generates heat and attracts pollinators with its stink? Learn more about skunk cabbage in the Arnold Arboretum’s newest winter Wonder Spot, at the Arboretum meadow’s edge or online. Free and open to all.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Winter is the barest of times in the Arboretum; however, there is much to see and much happening in the landscape. Join a docent for a walk on the bare side—notice shapes, textures, even the personalities of plants that are often missed when the land is heavy with green. You will see buds already forming and the dried seeds that are more visible when leaves are gone.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Families need nature at all times of the year! Meet inside the main gate at the Visitor Center. We’ll learn how Arboretum animals get ready for winter. Go on a StoryWalk, get a tattoo, and make a winter home for your favorite animal!
Free and open to all, this event is most suitable for children ages four through ten.
Bradley Rosaceous Collection, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join the Arnold Arboretum for tours, family activities, and festivities inviting you to discover the diversity of the rose family (Rosaceae) which includes more than four thousand species. Many of the rose family taxa are of great importance to humans and the agricultural economy, and are vulnerable to extreme weather that is becoming the new norm. Come learn more about the many fruits of the rose family, a welcome buffet for our local wildlife.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
The Caterpillar Lab, from Keene, New Hampshire, comes to the Arnold Arboretum for 5 days of astonishing exhibits. Explore the amazing world of caterpillars on a whole new level. There will be live caterpillars, cocoons, hatched eggs, shed skins, and much more. Visitors of all ages will be amazed!
Hunnewell Lawn, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
This is part of the new Science in Our Park Series. Come to the Arnold Arboretum and be a scientist! Get your hands onto scientific tools, use your observation skills, and share your findings with others.
Catch Some Rays! will let you harness the power of the sun. Help to create solar ovens, test the ability of various garden bed coverings to keep roots cool, and plant a sunflower seed that will follow the sun.
Please note: One adult may bring a maximum of three children; suitable for children ages five and up.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Sarah Cross, the Arnold Arboretum's exhibiting artist of Between the Leaves, will hold a cyanotype printing workshop for families. Join Sarah to make beautiful blue prints of leaves and blooms found at the Arboretum, while you learn about this alternative printing technique. After making your own unique cyanotype photogram, you will be able to take it home. All materials will be provided.
Please note: This free drop-in activity is appropriate for ages 7 and up.
Arborist Station: Meet an Arboretum arborist and see them in action. Try on arborist protective gear and get up close and personal with the special tools used by arborists.
Watercolor Station: Become inspired by the beauty of the Arboretum and use...
Enjoy hundreds of fragrant lily flowers at the 72nd Annual International Lily Show. You will be amazed by the vibrant colors and diversity of scents on display. Discover the genus Lilium!
Enjoy hundreds of fragrant lily flowers at the 72nd Annual International Lily Show. You will be amazed by the vibrant colors and diversity of scents on display. Discover the genus Lilium!