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.

Kidleidoscope Story Hour – Frogs

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

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.

Free

Ongoing: Indoor StoryWalk ® — One Earth

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

Enjoy the indoor StoryWalk®, One Earth by Eileen Spinelli, which is an open invitation to both celebrate our planet and honor it through stewardship. Count the reasons to love the planet and ways to protect it. For ages 4—8 and anyone who loves the earth, accompanied by an adult. Meet at the welcome desk. The […]

Free

Vernal Pool Variety Hour: Secrets to Frog and Salamander Survival

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

Why are the still waters and muck of vernal pools the most attractive pieces of real estate for amphibians in the spring? What is a “Big Night”? Join us for this drop-in program exploring the soggy lives of frogs, toads, and salamanders and their dangerous migration journeys. For children ages 7 and up and their […]

Free

Kidleidoscope Story Hour – Chipmunks

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

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. For ages 3-6, accompanied by an adult. Siblings and friends welcome. Meet in the Great Hall.

Free

Ongoing: Earth Week Investigation Station and Indoor Storywalk® – One Earth

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

Join us at the welcome desk during school vacation week for activities to inspire taking care of where we live. Enjoy indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts, crafts, and activities to honor the Earth, our shared home. Includes the indoor StoryWalk® — One Earth by Eileen Spinelli, which is an invitation to both celebrate our planet […]

Free

Kidleidoscope Story Hour – Who Lives in a Tree?

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

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. For ages 3-6, accompanied by an adult. Siblings and friends welcome. Meet in the Great Hall.

Free

Park Serve Day: Give a Day, Make a Difference

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

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) invites you to the Great Falls Discovery Center to lend a hand during this day of volunteer service to our state parks. Bring your own water and snack. Registration: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/dcr-park-serve-day. For ages 6 and up. Meet at the Main Entrance.

Free

First Friday: Bird Migration Madness

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

Birds make incredible journeys each year to find their perfect nesting spot in the North. Come play a bird migration game and see if you survive the many perils along the way. We’ve got a bird and habitat matching game too where you can listen to the sounds of birds common to each habitat. Make […]

Free

Shared Skies: Celebrating Migratory Birds and the Communities They Connect

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

On World Migratory Bird Day, join ornithologist Chad Witko (Birding University) for an inspiring exploration of our avian migrants. Celebrate this year’s theme, Shared Spaces: Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities, highlighting the remarkable journeys of North America’s migratory birds. Through cutting-edge research from across the hemisphere, explore how birds connect people and communities throughout the […]

Free

Find Us at the Farmers Market!

Peskeompskut Park Avenue A between 6th and 7th Streets, Turners Falls

Join DCR staff for family activities at the Great Falls Farmers Market, located between 6th and 7th streets along Avenue A at Peskeompskut Park. In case of rain, you can find our activities inside the Discovery Center’s Great Hall instead. For all ages.

Free

First Friday: Migratory Fish on 3rd Street

Third Street - Downtown Turners Falls 24 - 42 Third Street, Turners Falls, MA, United States

Join us on 3rd Street for RiverCulture’s First Friday event and learn all about migratory fish at our investigation station. During the event 3rd Street, from Avenue A to the Brick House, is open to pedestrians only.

Free

Annette Spaulding Talk: Recent Diving Discoveries in the Connecticut River

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

Join us for a talk by Annette Spaulding, an experienced master scuba diver, whose favorite place in the whole world to dive is in the Connecticut River, one of only 14 rivers in the United States that are designated heritage rivers. Annette is the first person to identify short-nosed sturgeon above dams in the river. […]

Free