Friends of The Great Falls Discovery Center
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.
For this drop-in program, learn about our solar system while viewing the solar eclipse safely! Find out what an eclipse is, make your own sun clock, follow our planetary trail, and while supplies last, get a free pair of safe eclipse viewing glasses. Peak viewing here is at 3:30 p.m. In Massachusetts, we will not […]
Take a literary journey around the world as a storytelling naturalist from the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum shares tales of animals and magic from around the world. With each story, a live animal will visit to bring a natural history piece to the myth and legends! Sponsored by the Montague Public Libraries. For ages […]
Ongoing, May 9—June 25 Enjoy a story, fresh air and exercise! Join us on the Center’s grounds for a free self-guided StoryWalk® featuring the children’s picture book Ruby’s Birds by Mya Thompson, for readers ages 3-7 and everyone who celebrates birds. Follow the path to book pages posted along the route. The StoryWalk® Project was […]
Learn how to create your own pollinator-friendly meadow with landscape designers Tom Sullivan and Peter Wackernagle, and then take a short walk to see pollinator gardens in downtown Turners Falls. In collaboration with Exploded View and our 2024 Food, Farms, and Factories project. For ages 12 and up. Meet in the Great Hall. * Food, […]
Discover nature and culture through story, poetry, and art in our series of free Art Naturally programs. Using words and images, instruction and techniques you create an art piece inspired by the natural world to take home. Learn how the shad’s shape helps it swim upstream. Make a wet-felted underwater scene. For adults, teens, and […]
As part of our Food, Farms, and Factories project, join DCR staff, the Friends of the Center, and Western MA Master Gardeners to learn about soils and soil testing, including family-friendly activities. The Great Falls Farmers Market is located between 6th and 7th streets along Avenue A at Peskeompskut Park. Bring your soil to be […]
Help us kick-off Pollinator Week! Make your own native bee habitat by “painting” with yarn, fleece, pre-felt shapes, and soapy water. Will your bees live in a tree trunk or holes in the ground? Will they build their nests with mud or leaves? Learn how important our native bees are, especially for growing food, and […]
Designed for children and teens. A hands-on interactive 50-minute session about the wonders of compost, and the creatures that help turn old scraps into new plants. Hosted at the Carnegie Library at 201 Avenue A, as part of our Food, Farms, and Factories series. Led by a Hitchcock Center educator, kids and their grown-ups read […]
Postponed to Sept. 7th due to Thunderstorms- As part of our Food, Farms, and Factories project, join DCR staff, the Friends of the Center, and Western Massachusetts Master Gardeners for family activities and information with a special focus on pollinators. The Great Falls Farmers Market is located between 6th and 7th streets along Avenue A […]
Artist Mark Majeski takes photographs of birds and plants and arranges them into collages as a guide for his drawings. Using this process, he emphasizes the coloration and behavior of commonly seen Massachusetts birds.
A free two-day celebration at Unity Park in Turners Falls, sponsored by the Nolumbeka Project and RiverCulture. This festival is the perfect combination of live music, drumming, dancing, storytelling, native crafts and food. On Saturday August 3, 10 a.m.— 5 p.m., families may visit the Northfield Mountain and Great Falls Discovery Center tent to make […]
For ages 3-6, accompanied by an adult. Learn more about our wildlife neighbors in the Connecticut River Watershed. Program includes a story, activities, and crafts. Activities are indoors and outdoors, weather permitting. Siblings and friends welcome. Meet in the Great Hall.