As a lover of all thing history, especially when it comes to American history, I was super excited about paying to walk through the Boston Tea Party Museum.
Visiting Boston for the first time, again if you love history, is absolutely an incredible experience. So many things the shaped are country took place right in the heart of the city, including the famous Boston Tea Party.
When you first pay admission, you start by jumping into a live action story as if it's the night that these events are taking place. Live actors interact with you as your make your way down to the dock on the first real boat. Once on the boat, and after a bit of history has been given, you get a chance to chuck your very own crate of tea off of the boat (of course there is a rope attached to pull the box back ashore so no waste or pollution is actually going into the harbor). From there you are able to explore the ship and see what these early patriots might have seen as they search for cargo. As you continue through the experience, you do learn more in depth info regarding that night and the surrounding events that took place both before and after that night. After another quick tour of an additional boat, you eventually make your way into a final room to see one of the coolest American History artifacts.
In the final room, you get to bestow the last and only surviving tea crate from the night of the Boston Tea Party. As all the men were ordered to destroy every bit of tea cargo they could find without exception, one managed to survive by either being snuck out or floating in tack down the river. Long story short, you can see that someone gained possession of this said crate and it was passed down through their family for many generations until finally being donated to for the purpose of preserving history.
Once finished with this room, you are able to exit and visit the gift shop OR you can pay an additional $5.00 to partake in what I thought the best experience of this museum was, which was an unlimited tea tasting of the 5 different teas thrown overboard that night,
For an average individual, this may not sound exciting. However, for a history buff wanting to sock in any bit of authentic experience I could get, I thought it was a fun and special way to immerse yourself in that time period. The teas are really good, however there was a tea called Bohea tea which was outstanding (nice smokey flavor that reminds you of sitting around a campfire).
Overall, if I could give it 4.5 stars I would. I opt for 4 stars because the actors are a hair cheesy and the museum, while very fun and interactive, only has a small handful of things to physically read about and view.
For history loves and families especially, this is certainly a must do stop when you come to Boston. At least if it's once in your life. Some might think history is boring, however the immersive experience brings it to life giving you a real life lesson normally read in black and white.