The Mapparium

Located in the Christian Science newspaper building, this is a walk-through glass globe that shows the world’s countries as they were in the 60s. Kinda colourful and somewhat interesting. You have to take a 20 minute tour, for a small fee, and honestly 15 minutes of this is wasted – 5 minutes inside the globe and you’ve seen it. To get there once inside the building, you walk through other exhibits first and are encouraged to enter into discussions with staff.

Stumbled across this attraction on Trip advisor, and as it was only a 10 min walk from hotel thought I would give it a go.

Wow what a great place to visit, the building is beautiful to start with, then you go inside the enormous stained glass globe built in the 1930’s.

There is a bridge across it and the effect of the whispering gallery is astonishing. The tour is only short 20 mins at most and lucky me was the only one on my tour so it might as well have been a private visit.

Defiantly would recommed

Though the main attraction of the Mapparium is the walk through the the interior of the great glass globe, the building containing the globe is also worth exploring. It is full of Art Deco styled adornments within its classical atrium, one can easily spend time there waiting for the tour to begin.

The Mapparium can only be explored as part of a tour, and photography is not allowed, but it is well worth doing the tour. Inside the globe one will see the countries of the world as they were known in the 1930's painted on glass panes which surround you in a 360 degree panorama.
This unique structure also works like a whispering gallery, so one can hear and speak with others at the opposite in end despite speaking softly.

This is a fantastic place to visit, I will not hesitate to explore it again when I return to Boston

I’m honestly surprised that this is not more well-known. It is truly a hidden gem and a must visit when in Boston. I was hesitant at first, as it’s something that can only be visited as part of a guided tour, and that is something I really do not enjoy doing. However, the tour was excellent and upon entering the Mapparium I understood the value and necessity of the guided tour. The history is very thoroughly explained and the acoustics are crazy!

Guide was lovely, but the stained glass globe could be fully viewed and appreciated in about 3-5 minutes (at most). The “light show” not really anything but some sections being illuminated for a few seconds and “talk” were a lot longer than necessary, we felt a bit captive in that room . If I had no own, I wouldn’t have made the trip to see this

It was really a good surprise. The Mapparium is bigger than I thought and you can see how the world was divided back in 1930. It is cool to compare with the map we know now and see how the world has changed ever since. Surely a pleasent visit. The building is also quite something.

This exhibit is truly a teachable moment. Located in The Mary Eddy Library, it was fascinating to see the countries of the world in a three dimensional perspective. Where could you ever have the opportunity to be at the center of the world ?!

Be aware that you are in a whispering gallery as glass doesn't absorb sound. If you are at the edge of the exhibit, you can whisper softly and someone else on the other side can hear you. Since this exhibit was based on a 1935 Rand McNally map, country and border names have changed since then.Persia to Iran, Siam to Thailand, French Indochina to Vietnam and so on.

We wasn't too sure what to expect before entering, but once we got inside the entire tour group went speechless for a moment.

The glass panes refract the light so finely it almost feels like you are inside a rainbow.

It is also interesting to look at how the world was viewed when it was created decades ago.

The 'Seeds of Hope' wall was also a nice touch on the way out, where you could write something to be grateful for or something along those lines.

No photos allowed inside due to a copyrighting issue.

Being inside this glass created globe was awe-inspiring. There was a narration about how the creator brought about the design and constructed it. We were on a glass walkway in the middle of the globe, about the equator level. The narrator described how country boundaries have changed and pointed out the environmental changes. No photographs are permitted. I highly recommend this activity. You need to obtain a ticket and go at an assigned time. The rest of the Eddy Museum is very interesting as well and very well designed.

The entire place was immaculate, very well coordinated and admission very reasonable ($5 for Seniors). You walk inside a huge stained glass globe of the Earth as it was in 1935. So, you are seeing the countries and continents from inside out, and it gives a unique perspective. Africa is huge, as are Russia and China. Europe is relatively small. Nice experience. After this, we walked over to the shops on Newberry Street