The Bunker Hill Museum at Bunker Hill in Boston

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Bunker Hill Main Page

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LOCATION

43 Monument Square, Charlestown

OPERATING HOURS

The Bunker Hill Museum is typically open on Wednesdays through Sundays. Hours vary depending on the season, so before making travel plans, be sure to get the current schedule on the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for Boston National Historical Park.

VISITOR CENTER

In addition to being an actual museum, the Bunker Hill Museum serves as a National Park Service visitor center. On the main floor is an information desk where you can pick up brochures on Boston National Historical Park, the Freedom Trail®, Bunker Hill, and the Charlestown Navy Yard, plus free tickets to climb the Bunker Hill Monument located across the street at the top of Breeds Hill. There is also a book and souvenir store, the largest found in any of the park’s visitor centers. Restrooms are located on the lower floor.

Information desk and gift store at the Bunker Hill Museum across the street from Bunker Hill in Boston

MUSEUM

The first floor of the Bunker Hill Museum contains exhibits that focus on the history of Charlestown and the creation of the Bunker Hill Monument. The exhibit is located in a round room, with the Charlestown information on the outer wall and the monument information in the center of the room. Nearly the entire exhibit is comprised of information panels, so there is a lot of reading involved. Those interested in history may take time to read everything, but it’s not the most appealing way to present information to the general public these days, especially kids.

The history of Charlestown is covered in timeline fashion, starting in the 1600s when Europeans first arrived up through the closing of the Charlestown Navy Yard in 1974.

Information panel about the history of Charlestown on display at the Bunker Hill Museum at Bunker Hill in Boston

The Bunker Hill Monument exhibit also presents the information in chronological order. The only deviation from the information panel format is a display of Bunker Hill Monument memorabilia.

Bunker Hill Monument information panel and memorabilia on display at the Bunker Hill Museum at Bunker Hill in Boston

The upper floor of the museum covers the Battle of Bunker Hill. The exhibits are once again located in a rotunda and consist mainly of information panels, though there are a few more artifacts here than on the first floor.

Battle of Bunker Hill exhibit room on display at the Bunker Hill Museum in Boston

Artifacts connected to the Battle of Bunker Hill include a drum that was captured from the British, a musket, a powder horn, and a sword that was carried into the battle.

Sword used in the Battle of Bunker Hill on display at the Bunker Hill Museum in Boston

There is a second room on the floor with a model of the Bunker Hill battlefield populated with toy soldiers. An 8-minute audio presentation goes along with it—just push a button to start it. The audio discusses the battle, but because the model is stationary, it’s not visually the best way to explain things. I prefer the animated light battle maps where troop movement is simulated by illuminating sequential lights. Here, a spotlight is shined on the area being discussed. The problem is that the same areas play multiple roles in the battle, but the spotlight just highlights the same toy soldiers—they do not move. I suppose it’s better than nothing, and you do get an idea of what the topography of Charlestown was like in 1775, but an animated light map would be the better way to go.

Bunker Hill battle map at the Bunker Hill Museum in Boston

Bunker Hill battle map at the Bunker Hill Museum in Boston

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

While there are many information panels, the Bunker Hill Museum itself is not all that large. I read everything on both floors and listened to the battle-map audio presentation in one hour. Most people won’t spend much more than 15 minutes, if they don’t turn around immediately after realizing they have to read. My 12-year-old daughter won’t give a museum the time of day if it isn’t populated with video and interactive exhibits. I think a lot of people are like that these days.

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