Whether it's a first date or a typical Friday evening with your significant other, it's often hard to think of original plans for a night (or day) out.
While dinner-and-a-movie is always an option, there are so many other alternatives to take advantage of in Boston as well — even for the typical car-deprived, underage college student with a borderline bank account balance. Take advantage of your liberal arts repertoire and explore the real world:
Intro to Art History: In an informal poll of Tufts students (read: nine random people I stopped in Tisch Library), 78 percent still haven't taken advantage of our free admission to the MFA with a Tufts ID. Done deal. Alternatively, the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) is free on Thursdays and within a long-conversation-length walk from the North End, the ultimate dinner date locale. And if those two options don't satisfy your weird art fix, the Museum of Bad Art (MoBA) in the Somerville Theatre is pretty entertaining and entrance is included when you buy a movie ticket.
Wanderers in Space: Maybe that natural "science" requirement will actually come in handy: Here's your chance to impress your date with your knowledge of the stars. Boston University's observatory is open to the public for free on Wednesday evenings, Harvard's is open on the third Thursday of each month and the Gilliland telescope at the Museum of Science is open on Fridays. And if you're looking to stick a little closer to campus, I hear the Robinson roof has a pretty good view on a clear night.
Plants and Humanity: Tufts tour guides report that students take advantage of our quick 30 minute commute into the city, but did you know that you can escape to a number of natural refuges in about the same time? Take your scruffy, Nalgene-toting, Tufts Mountain Club date out hiking at the Fells. Explore the relaxing, gorgeous Arnold Arboretum, but make sure you're conversation-comfortable enough with your date for a long stroll in the park, plus transportation time (disclaimer: Orange Line). If you've got bikes, pack a picnic lunch and tackle the bike path behind the Davis T stop to take a ride into the ‘burbs.
BIO 13: The aquarium. Enough said.
Gourmet Engineering: I know, I know, the last thing you'd want to do on a Friday or Saturday night after a long week of classes is attend umm, more class… But I promise these lessons don't assign homework and have much tastier results than concoctions in chem lab. The Cambridge Center for Adult Education offers a bunch of different one-time cooking lessons (Friday nights are especially good) and they're some of the cheaper ones that I've found (although still on the expensive side). There are plenty of other cooking courses in Boston as well, and my cousin who goes to Tufts said that a cooking class in the North End was the best date he'd ever been on.
Revolutionary America, 1763-1815: I've heard so many suggestions to "act like a tourist for a day" in order to have good date. Despite the fact that I've really never been to half of the tourist spots in Boston, I can't imagine taking a date on a Duck Tour (or paying $30 each on top of it). Still, walking the Freedom Trail on your own can be interesting and low-key enough. Plus, after a little stroll, you can veer off the path for a picnic around the Boston Harbor.
P.E. Independent Study: Ice-skating on Frog Pond in Boston Common is a well-known classic, but Kendall Square also offers skating for when it's really cold out (and an excuse to get closer to stay warm … OK, major cliché). And although it's not exactly the most affordable date and more for the (really) adventurous types, the Boston Trapeze School offers flying trapeze lessons, which just seems like the coolest idea ever (but hey, maybe that's just me).
Intro to Western Music: Honestly, dressing up for an orchestra concert in the city always seemed like a pretty formal date to me. But after buying Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) tickets on a whim with a guy from Intro to Western Music, the two of us had a relaxed and classy Thursday night in the city. Although a symphony concert might be intense for any random first date, an upcoming all-Mozart performance can make for a pretty convenient "field trip" with that girl or guy in your MUS 08 class. The BSO offers $20 tickets for the under-forty crowd, but if your boyfriend or girlfriend is a music major or symphony-lover, the BSO College Card, $25 for up to 25 concerts, might make a good investment.
English 1: It's not everyone's cup of tea, but if you can embrace a little of your inner nerd, bookstores can make for interesting dates and can provide a little personal insight upon finding out your date's genre preference (Um, so he's into alien science fiction?). If you're planning to make a bookstore a destination rather than a layover after digesting dinner, I'd recommend going on an event night (for an author lecture, book signing, etc.). Harvard Square is great for a number of bookshops that offer events, not to mention that Finale, Herrell's Ice Cream and Burdick are conveniently nearby for dessert.
These ideas are just a start — you can find out a lot more by doing a little research online. Boston hosts tons of weekend events too that are worth checking out. My favorite sources are Boston.com, bostonmagazine.com, dailycandy.com, somervillescout.com, thephoenix.com and a couple of Boston events' Twitter.com accounts.
