At PEM, we want to make it easy for you and your family to connect with art and culture.
Our Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center has a variety of hands-on activities, discovery drawers, games and computer stations. Whatever you choose to do while you’re here — listen to a story during PEM Pals, make a drawing or check out The Pod — we want your visit to be relaxing and enjoyable.
Family Amenities
- Youth 16 and under are free
- The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center and The Pod, located on the ground level, are easily accessible for strollers.
- The Atrium Café offers several delicious child-friendly food options.
- The coatroom is just inside the museum entrance. A limited number of strollers are available for use.
- Key-operated storage lockers are available in the museum for small bags and personal items.
- Baby-changing stations are located in most restrooms on the ground level.
- A room for nursing parents is located in the Art & Nature Center.
PEM is Certified Sensory Inclusive™
The Peabody Essex Museum partners with KultureCity to promote an accessible and positive experience for visitors with diverse sensory needs. Sensory sensitivities or challenges with sensory regulation are experienced by 1 in 6 individuals, including people with autism, dementia, PTSD and other conditions.
The annual KultureCity certification process ensures that PEM staff members are trained on how to recognize and best serve guests with sensory needs, including how to appropriately and safely handle a sensory overload situation. A limited number of sensory bags, equipped with noise canceling headphones, fidget tools and verbal cue cards, are available at the coatroom for any visitors who may feel overwhelmed by the museum environment. Prior to your visit, adults and children can download the free KultureCity app to view the available sensory features and how to access them.
Family-friendly events
Drop-In Art Activity
Mini Cabinets of Curiosity
Fridays in March | 3–4:30 pm
Drop-In Art Activity
Paper Flower Wreaths
1–3 pm Saturdays + Sundays and holiday Mondays in March
PEM Pals
Here We Are
Friday, April 4, 2025 from 10:30–11:30 am
Drop-In Art Activity
Wildflower Paper Making
Fridays from 3-4:30 pm | April 4, 11 and 18
Drop-In Art Activity
Earth Kokedamas
1–3 pm Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays in April
Drop-In Art Activity
Wooden Tiger Painting
1–3 pm Saturdays + Sundays and holiday Mondays in May
Keep exploring
Learn & Play
Art
The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center
Exhibition
The Pod
Ongoing
Blog
Curator Jane Winchell outlines the art, science and surprises on view in Bats!
5 Min read
