Boston families flocked to local museums and cultural institutions for free Sunday during the first Boston Family Days event now open to all local pre-K, elementary and secondary students.

Boston Family Days — expanded from the previous BPS Sundays program — allows all student-age kids living in the city the chance to get free admission to nine museums and cultural institutions on the first and second Sundays of each month through December 2026.

The participating institutions include Boston Children’s Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, Franklin Park Zoo, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, and Museum of African American History.

Two family members may also attend with each child for free. BPS and Boston pre-K students are already registered for the program, but all other school-age kids must register online to receive passes.

The program was previously launched in February 2024 as BPS Sundays, but limited to only BPS students. Following a wave of pushback, Mayor Michelle Wu announced plans to expand the opportunity to include all school-age students in September.

Wu said the goal was “to try to maximize access for everyone in the city” from the beginning in a public announcement of the expansion in December.

Related Articles

Lomborg: How to make the world better in ’25

PAYE and ICR student loan plans reopen: Should you enroll?

Massachusetts ed tech group’s board members resign after ‘dangerous’ anti-Israel, Holocaust comments at conference

Butcher: How U.S. schoolkids can catch up to world

School absences can add up quickly

The pilot BPS Sundays program originally included only six cultural institutions. In December, Wu said, over 44,000 students had participated in the program so far, including thousands of first-time visitors.

“Every child deserves access to enriching cultural experiences, regardless of what school they attend,” City Councilor Erin Murphy said on Sunday. “This expansion reflects a vision I have fought for all year, advocating for inclusivity and equity for students in our charter, parochial, private, METCO, and homeschool programs.”

Zinnia Davis, a BPS senior, and her father Robert Davis chat with Mayor Wu during the launch of Boston Family Days at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)