Become More Worldly in Boston

This is probably the coolest thing we've stumbled upon while blogging so far. We have literally never heard of this awesome attraction in all our years of living in Boston! Housed in the Mary Baker Eddy Library (which makes us giggle because we have a friend named Mary Baker), is a world-famous, three-story, stained-glass globe you can literally walk inside! Who knew?

The attraction is called the Mapparium which is a three-dimensional perspective of the world of 1935 is enhanced by A World of Ideas, an original presentation that features a rich orchestration of words, music, and LED lights to illustrate how ideas have traversed time and geography and changed the world. As part of this feature, the Library also shows a complementary exhibit, “The Mapparium: An Inside View,” featuring letters, documents, and artifacts never before made public. These showcase the construction, history, and significance of this magnificent architectural and artistic achievement.

The Mapparium was conceived by the architect of the Christian Science Publishing Society building, Chester Lindsay Churchill, as a symbol for the global outreach of The Christian Science Monitor. Originally called “the Glass Room” or “the Globe Room,” Mapparium comes from the Latin words mappa (“map”) and arium (“a place for”). The Mapparium was three years in the making (1932-1935). It opened to the public on May 31, 1935, and came to a completed cost of $35,000 (at a time when a Hershey bar cost about five cents), including all labor and materials. Originally, Churchill designed the glass panels to be replaceable as the political boundaries of the world changed. Later, a renovation of the Mapparium was initiated in 1998 and took four years to complete. Today it stands as beautifully as it did when it first officially opened in 1935.

Tours of the Mapparium run every 20 minutes, lasting 15-20 minutes, Tuesday-Sunday. The first tour of the day starts at 10:20 a.m., and the last tour starts at 4:00 p.m. General admission is $6. We can't wait to check this exciting exhibit out and hope we got you interested in devouring the details of becoming more worldly right here in Boston!