New Year, New Stuff To Do

Museums
With the mercury hovering around freezing, why not start the new year with some culture? It’s the perfect time to visit some of Boston’s renowned art museums. The Museum of Fine Arts has nearly 450,000 works of art, and more than one million visitors each year come to experience art from ancient Egyptian to contemporary, special exhibitions, and innovative educational programs. Be sure to check out the Art of the Americas wing, which opened in November. The new wing, designed by iconic architect Norman Foster, features 53 new galleries showcasing 5,000 items from North, Central, and South America spanning 13 centuries.

If modern art is more your thing, head to the Institute of Contemporary Art to see the exhibition of Los Angeles–based artist Mark Bradford’s layered collaged paintings, sculptures, and videos. The institute’s permanent collection includes work by well-known artists such as Shepard Fairey and Josiah McElheny.

Isabella Stewart Gardner was one of the nation’s preeminent art collectors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Now her eclectic, spectacular collection of mostly European art is on view in the 15th-century Venetian Renaissance palace she had reconstructed in the Fenway. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is built around a stunning interior courtyard filled with flowering plants and contains over 2,500 objects from ancient Rome, Renaissance Italy, and 19th-century France and America.

Admission to the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, is free for students with a BU ID. Admission to the Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave., Boston, is $10 for students and free for everyone on Thursday evenings, 5 to 9 p.m. Admission to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston, is $5 for students with a college ID and free for life for anyone named Isabella.

Theater
Want to catch a Broadway play, but can’t make it to New York? You’re in luck. Broadway Across America’s production of Jersey Boys is in town this week, at the Colonial Theatre. The stage show, which won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical, is based on the lives and career of iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Four Seasons. Come hear American classics like “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)” and “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You.” The show is a steal with student rush tickets.

Performance dates and times for Jersey Boys, playing at the Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston, are listed here. Student rush tickets can be purchased for $25, one per student ID, cash only and subject to availability, and you must arrive one hour before the performance. Student rush tickets are not available for Saturday performances.

Ice Skating
If you prefer physical activity, think about braving the frigid temperatures and heading over to the Boston Common Frog Pond for some festive ice skating. Lace up your own skates or rent a pair for $8, and take to the ice. Refreshments can be purchased at the Lily Pad Café.

The Frog Pond is on the Boston Common, on Beacon St. between Park and Charles. Admission is $4 and locker rentals are $1. Public skating hours are Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Terrier Teams
Even though classes are not in session, Terrier athletics are in full swing. The men’s basketball team hosts the University of New Hampshire on Tuesday, January 4, at 7:30 p.m., and the University of Vermont on Sunday, January 9, at 1 p.m. The wrestling team faces off against the University of Maryland on Friday, January 7, at noon. And the women’s hockey team takes on Providence College on Sunday, January 9, at 3 p.m.

The Terrier men’s basketball team plays at the Case Gymnasium, 285 Babcock St., Boston. Tickets are $5 for faculty, staff, and students without a Sports Pass, no charge for students with a Sports Pass, and $10 for the general public. The BU women’s hockey team plays at the Case Center’s Walter Brown Arena, 285 Babcock St., Boston. Tickets are $3 for faculty, staff, and students without a Sports Pass, no charge for students with a Sports Pass, and $5 for the general public. The BU wrestling team competes at the Case Gymnasium. Admission is free. Ticket information for all athletic events is available here.

Brendan Gauthier can be reached at btgauth@bu.edu.