Massachusetts has a multitude of educational, interesting and adventurous venues to appeal to teens with diverse interests. Local residents and vacationers can visit the Museum of Science, watch a baseball game at Fenway Park, spend the day at Six Flags amusement park or interact with animals at a zoo or aquarium. Mystery lovers can go on a Ghosts & Gravestones Frightseeing Tour, while nature enthusiasts may enjoy a hike through Boston Harbor Islands National Park.
Visitors to the New England Aquarium in Boston can see sand tiger sharks, barracuda, stingrays, moray eels, northern fur seals, anacondas and piranhas. You can watch penguin feedings, an Atlantic harbor seal training session and touch a lobster or sea star at the Edge of the Sea Touch Tank.
The aquarium offers a variety of teen-specific programs, including the WOW Explorers program, where teens can participate in a week-long research project and a Harbor Discoveries Camp, with overnight experiences and behind-the-scenes learning at the aquarium.
Teens can also apply for a paid summer internship at the aquarium, throughout which they receive training in the duties and responsibilities of researchers and aquarium employees, as well as enjoy interactive experiences with the marine animals.
Teens can enjoy a day at Six Flags amusement park in Springfield, Massachusetts. The park opens in mid-April each year and has rides for all ages as well as a water park. Daring kids can ride on the Bizarro roller coaster, the Buzzsaw, Tornado and the Batman Dark Knight rides, while the less adventurous can enjoy family rides, such as Shipwreck Falls, the Kontiki and the Scrambler.
The water park is open from late May until the beginning of September and is equipped with a 1,000-foot Adventure River, the Commotion Ocean wave pool, an older children's water play structure, body slides, such as Cannonball Falls, the Big Kahuna tube slide, and the enclosed Tornado slide that drops riders down a 132-foot long funnel.
Zoo New England operates two zoos: the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. The zoos are open all year round and are home to animals that include crocodiles, capybara, zebra, Amur leopards, kangaroos, hippopotamus and lions. The zoos are divided into habitat exhibits, including the Tropical Forest, with gorillas and mandrills, and the Serengeti Crossing exhibit, with zebras and wildebeest.
Programs include the Wild Adventures education program with interactive animal encounters and age-appropriate activities. The zoos also offer Snorin' Roarin' Sleepovers, which include games, educational presentations, animal interactions, breakfast and zoo admission for the next day.
