Brookline Arts Center
Location: 86 Monmouth Street, Brookline 02446
Contact: 617-566-5715 or bac@brooklineartscenter.com

Brookline Arts Center has a wide variety of classes for every age ranging from Moms, Dads and Tots classes for two-year-olds to Kinetic Sculptures for adults. Artists young and not-so-young alike can create and explore pottery, drawing, puppetry, picture books, and more.

Even if your kids don’t take classes at Brookline Arts Center, you won’t want to miss their Annual Crafts Showcase in December, where jury-chosen artists and craftspeople show and sell their work. The Center also offers school vacation programs and birthday parties where younger partygoers make art projects and teens make jewelry.

Peabody Museum 
Location: Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Contact: 617-496-1027

For artsy and edutaining projects, visit the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard University on the third Saturday of the month during the museum’s aptly named “Family Fun Saturdays”. There is often a make-and-take project related to a particular theme, like Mexican Flag Day, boats, music, or the environment. Usually, these afternoon programs are recommended for ages 5 & up and are included in the cost of museum admission.

You may also want to check out the art classes at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum’s neighbor (when I say “neighbor”, I mean like the sister wives in the TV show “Big Love”).

Note: The museums are not located in Harvard Yard – they are about a 10-minute walk from Harvard Station.

Gather Here
Location: 370 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139 (On the corner of Lee and Broadway)
Contact: 781-775-9504 or http://www.gatherhereonline.com/ContactUs

While this stitch lounge is definitely geared toward adults, the kids are alright too.  Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30, Gather Here offers after-school sewing workshops for ages 9-16.  Teachers provide the materials and instruction for different projects each week. The cost is $250 for any six workshops within a six-month-period. Guess what the class is called? Yep, you got it: The Kids Are Alright. The name itself, a nod to the Oscar-nominated film, gives you an idea of what hanging out and making things at Gather Here might be like. It may even inspire you to check out the sewing, knitting, crocheting, or quilting classes for yourself.

Muckykids
Location: 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140
Contact: 617-354-0540 or info@muckykids.com

At Muckykids Art Studio, you are always welcome to stop in with your little one during drop-in studio hours. For $12 per child per hour, the kids can do any of the projects set up that day, like papercrafts, painting, or collaborative construction (materials included). Parents don’t have to pay to make a mess with their children, and they don’t have to do the cleaning up, either!

Muckykids offers a few classes, including one for older kids (ages 7-9) called Science Studio, where creativity and scientific inquiry are nurtured. Muckykids birthday parties are for up to twelve kids and are usually scheduled for a Sunday afternoon.

Parts & Crafts
Location: 155 Powder House Boulevard, Somerville, MA, 02143
Contact: contact@partsandcrafts.org

Parts & Crafts is the place for curious, creative and quirky kids (ages 7 and up). Stop by on a Saturday during their Open Shop to meet other makers and try a project or two, like taking apart printers or creating new stuffed animals from old plush parts(the results can be incredibly wacky, but in a really good way).

In classes at Parts & Crafts, kids make unique and interesting things while learning about science and technology. The place is almost always open when school isn’t in session and payment is based on a sliding scale, so making things at Parts & Crafts might just be a great way for your child to spend the next school holiday. It’s a good idea to join the mailing list if you want timely info on classes and events, because the website isn’t always up-to-date.

Photo: Muckykids Art Studio