A young boy climbs through a portal of a yellow wall with black vines painted on it

Visit

At PEM, we want to make it easy for you and your family to connect with art and culture.

Our Learning & Community Engagement programs offer a wide variety of fun and engaging activities for children and families. The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center has a number 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

Youths 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.
Baby-changing stations are located in most restrooms. There are two non-gendered family restrooms on the ground level.
A room for nursing parents is located in the Art & Nature Center.

Visitor Resource Center

Check out the Visitor Resource Center, opposite the Admissions desk and just inside the museum entrance, for other helpful amenities:

Cubbies and lockers for storing bags, food and children's artwork
EnChroma glasses for color blindness
Handheld translation devices
KultureCity sensory kits
Rollators and wheelchairs in multiple sizes
A limited number of strollers available for use

Two children looking at a computer screen and a wall full of Art objects 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 visitors 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 Visitor Resource Center for people of any age 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.

Learning & Community Engagement

Learn more