Friends of The Great Falls Discovery Center

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.

Stewardship

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  2. Stewardship

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Today

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 invites you to the Great Falls Discovery Center to lend a hand during this day of volunteer service to our state parks. For any special accommodations or needs you may have for the day, please call (413) 863-3221. Bring your own water and snack. Registration:  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/dcr-park-serve-day. For ages 6 […]

Free

StoryWalk® — Ruby’s Birds

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

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 […]

Free
Featured

Make Your own Meadow*

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

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, […]

Free
Featured

Wild and Cultivated Edible Plants: A Show ’n Tell *

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

Many invasive plants, like garlic mustard and goutweed, are tasty and nutritious additions to our diet. Author/illustrator Blanche Derby brings samples of her wild and cultivated plant friends for this indoor presentation in the Great Hall. In collaboration with Exploded View and our 2024Food, Farms, and Factories project. For ages 12 and up. Meet in […]

Free
Featured

Art Naturally Series: Felted Fish*

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

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 […]

Free

Featured

Find us at the Farmers Market: Soils and Soil pH Testing*

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

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 […]

Free
Featured

Fields & Forests – What do Bees Need? *

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

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 […]

Free

Featured

Rots to Riches * 

Carnegie Library 201 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA

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 […]

Free
Featured

Postponed to Sept. 7th due to Thunderstorms- Find Us at the Farmers Market: All About Pollinators *

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

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 […]

Free

Smokey Bear’s 80th Birthday Party!

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

Free and for all ages. Join Wildland Firefighters from the DCR Bureau of Fire Control & Forestry. Hear a reading of the Smokey Bear Story at 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. Learn about campfire safety. Tour a Wildland Fire Engine, try a scavenger hunt, and at 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. meet Smokey Bear himself! Take home […]

Free
Featured

Art Naturally Series: Painting with Inks from the Garden *

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 Naturally programs. Using words and images, instruction and techniques you create an art piece inspired by the natural world to take home. Learn how to make ink from cabbage and more! For adults, teens, and children ages 6 and up (accompanied by […]

Free

Kidleidoscope Story Hour – Coyotes

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