The Walk This Way exhibit, running through March 23, is a collection of footwear that spans the ages and various nations. Wise curators recognized how the coverings we put on our feet often reflect unique details about the society in which they exist.

To take advantage of this reality, the MFA has arranged Walk This Way collection items throughout the museum in essentially an interactive manner, placing footwear near artwork that is clearly related. Consequently, as the museum states, visitors might encounter “a pair of contemporary wedges with rococo carved heels … alongside eighteenth-century carved and gilt furniture” or “a pair of Venetian chopines next to a painting of the city by Canaletto.” If I were a shoe addict, I imagine that would be pretty close to a heavenly experience for me.

MFA patrons can enjoy the unique Walk This Way exhibit daily during the museum’s regular hours, which are Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10am to 4:45pm, and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10am to 9:45pm. Admission for non-members of the museum ranges from $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and students over 18, and $6.50 for young people aged 7 to 17. Children 6 and under and MFA members are admitted free, as are 7–17-year-olds on weekends, public school holidays, and weekdays after 3pm.

If you’d like a taste of the exhibit before heading over or simply can’t get to the museum, visit the Walk This Way website and click the red TOUR button in the middle of the page for an online sample of the footwear featured, complete with multiple images and a wealth of pertinent details.

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The museum’s Butterfly Garden overlooking the Charles River is unlike any other exhibit and as such, it provides a true respite for visitors seeking some natural relief from the artificial climates we’re subjected to while staying indoors so much. A 1,000-square-foot conservatory featuring 400 free-flying butterflies and moths, the tropical garden filled with exotic plants allows visitors to leisurely experience one of the few species of insects that many individuals actually like due to their colorful beauty and eye-catching forms.

The Butterfly Garden houses butterflies and moths native to New England and other regions worldwide. Various displays permit a firsthand view of butterfly and moth behavior at different stages of their development. For instance, the emergence box contains hanging chrysalids — protective coverings or cocoons that enclose butterflies during their earliest developmental stage — that lucky and observant viewers may be able to see transform into adult butterflies.

Additional displays spotlight the insects’ special ability to protect themselves in the wild through the unique color properties of their wings. And, others clarify the four stages of development that butterflies go through in a life cycle as they advance from an egg to a caterpillar to a chrysalid and finally to an adult.

Although tickets are required for the Butterfly Garden, the exhibit is one of the most well-priced activities available at the Museum of Science. Full-price admission for non-members to the garden alone (and not the other museum exhibits) is just $4.00 for adults, $3.50 for seniors, and $3.00 for children. If you’re a member, subtract two dollars from the full price that applies.

The Butterfly Garden is open during normal museum hours, with entry granted for 25-minute sessions every 15 minutes from opening to closing time. Take a look at a PDF copy of the Butterfly Garden Take-Home Guide to learn more about what the exhibit entails.

Note: The Museum of Science recommends advance reservations for the Butterfly Garden, and strollers are not permitted inside the exhibit.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

The Cambridge Art Association has hosted an annual celebration of the Art of Love for two decades. What makes this event unique is the artwork it showcases, all of which is created by the talented hands and minds of special needs children from numerous schools in the Greater Boston area.

Today from 2pm to 4pm EST, the Cambridge Art association will hold a reception just for the yearly Art of Love exhibit. Children are welcome to the free event, and attendees will be served refreshments and will enjoy a performance by the Cambridge School of Weston’s Pocket Players, a touring children’s theatrical troupe that presents works in American Sign Language and spoken English. There will even be face-painting for the truly bold and playful.

The Art of Love exhibit runs through February 26 at University Place Gallery (124 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, 617-876-0246). The hours are Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm and Saturdays from 9am to 1pm.

Post from: The Boston Traveler