Events

The Great Falls Discovery Center hosts community programs and events, rotating art exhibits in our Great Hall and a Coffee House hosted by the Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center.

  • Ongoing – Great Hall Exhibit: Home

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    From forest floor to canopy, Will Close’s exhibition of original watercolor and mixed media paintings invites viewers to rediscover the beauty and complexity of the natural world that surrounds us. Accompanied by thoughtful text and quotes from experts and longtime New Englanders alike, each piece reveals the hidden stories, characters, and connections that shape the […]

    Free
  • Art Naturally: Felting Life Under the Snow

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    Discover nature through story, poetry and art in our series of free art programs. Create a wintry landscape “painting” with wool, fleece, pre-felt and water. Learn how different animals adapt to snow, whether foraging or waiting out the cold. For teens, adults and children ages 6 and up (accompanied by an adult). All materials provided. […]

    Free
  • Art Naturally: Gel-Printing Snowflakes

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    Discover nature through story, poetry and art in our series of free art programs. Get inspired by the story of Vermont’s Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley. Build your own blizzard with paper snowflakes through instruction and gel-printing techniques. For adults, teens, and children ages 6 and up accompanied by an adult. All materials provided. Meet in the […]

    Free
  • Artist Reception and Nature Journal Demonstration

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    From forest floor to canopy, Will Close’s exhibition, Home, of original watercolor and mixed media paintings invites viewers to rediscover the beauty and complexity of the natural world that surrounds us. Join Will Close for an artist reception and for a demonstration on nature journaling. Refreshments include hot chocolate and cookies! For all ages.

    Free
  • Ongoing – Great Hall Exhibit: Maps of River History by Joe Kopera

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    Come see the secret histories of your favorite rivers! Geologist and cartographer Joe Kopera has studied the New England landscape for over 25 years. View the land like a geologist: Maps of River History, reveals the hidden details in the topography of rivers and their floodplains, clues to the past 15,000 years of their work […]

    Free
  • First Friday: Zine on the River

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    Drop in and make a Connecticut River zine! Zines are small booklets usually made from a single piece of paper. Share your message about the Connecticut River or keep it as a unique nature journal. For teens and adults, and children with a solid grasp of scissors. Meet in the Great Hall.

    Free
  • Art Naturally – Watershed Mosaics

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    Discover nature through story, poetry and art in our series of free art programs. With instruction and technique, you create an art piece to take home from tile, pebbles, marbles and glue, inspired by nature in wintertime. For adults, teens, and children ages 6 and up (accompanied by an adult). All art materials provided. Meet […]

    Free
  • Art Naturally – Paper Quilting Migrations

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    Discover nature through story, poetry and art in our series of free art programs. With instruction and technique, you create an art piece to take home from fabric, paper, needle and thread, inspired by the spring bird migrations. Or, keep it simple with quilting using paper only. For adults, teens and children ages 6 and […]

    Free
  • Artist Reception: Maps of River History by Joe Kopera

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    Come see the secret histories of your favorite rivers and meet the artist who made them: geologist and cartographer Joe Kopera! View Joe’s exhibit Maps of River History and learn to see the land and our rivers like a geologist. Light refreshments.

    Free
  • Ongoing – Great Hall Art Exhibit: All Our Relations – To Honor the Wampanoag Supreme Sachem Pometacomet on the 350th Anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    This exhibit in the Great Hall, features work by Deborah Spears Moorehead, Seaconke Pokanoket Wampanoag, and Robert Peters, Mashpee Wampanoag, focusing on pre-colonization, the 350th Anniversary of Metacomet’s (King Philip’s) War and the Great Falls Massacre of 1676. Learn about Indigenous history and their continued presence here and throughout the Northeast. Sponsored by Friends of […]

    Free
  • National Poetry Month Author Reading Featuring Bob McNeil

    Great Falls Discovery Center 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, United States

    Join us in celebration of National Poetry Month with Bob McNeil, writer, editor, cartoonist, and spoken-word artist, who recites with special guest musician Steve Koziol. In Bob's single author anthology Compositions on Compassion and Other Emotions, he explores the importance of love and hope in healing from the pandemic and endemic violence. Proceeds from this […]

    Free