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.

Talk

Events Search and Views Navigation

Event Views Navigation

Today

Where We Live: Sense of Place Concert and Writers Showcase with Erica Wheeler *

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

Singer-songwriter Erica Wheeler performs a concert of place-based songs and invites participants from her NEA Big Read workshop series to share their writings with the audience. The event is free and open to all, refreshments provided. To learn more about taking a workshop visit: https://deerfield-ma.org/nea-big-read-2025-events/. Meet in the Great Hall. Free Copies of Ross Gay's […]

Free

“The Extincts” Event and Drawing Demo

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

Join the Montague Public Libraries and the Great Falls Discovery Center for a program and drawing demo with graphic novelist and illustrator Scott Magoon! This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Mass Center for the Book. For ages 7 and up, accompanied by an adult. Meet in the Great Hall.

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

Nolumbeka Project Day of Remembrance

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

Commemorate the 349th Anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre, outdoors weather permitting, or in the Great Hall. Tribal members and non-Tribal public are welcome. Honored guests include: Liz Coldwind Santana Kiser, Elder, Council Woman, and Tribal Historical Preservation Officer for the Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuck Indians and others. For more info visit: www.nolumbekaproject.org. Free and […]

Free

The Six Navigational Canals of the Connecticut River

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

Robert Comeau of Historical Tours of Greater Holyoke presents this illustrated talk, part of a series called “Canals in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts.” In the 1800s river transportation of goods on the Connecticut River was once possible from Old Lyme, Connecticut, to Barnet, Vermont, through the aid of six navigational canals - Enfield […]

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

JAMB-O-Ree: A Jurassic Armored Mud Ball Unveiling and Celebration

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

Join us in celebration of the arrival of an ancient boulder full of Jurassic Armored Mud Balls! Enjoy refreshments, a multi-media presentation by Professor of Geology, Richard Little, and meet our new favorite geologic sedimentary structure right here on the grounds of the Center. Learn about our Friends Group in a brief annual meeting, the […]

Free

DINO TRAIL WEEK TALK: Climate Cycles and Volcanic Singularities During the Dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs

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

Join us for a dynamic presentation on climate, volcanos, and dinosaurs by Dr. Paul Olsen. The ancient Connecticut Valley rift basin is filled with spectacular, fossil-bearing alternations of deep and shallow water lake sediments that provide a timeline for the beginning of dinosaur dominance 200 million years ago. A huge volcanic event then set off […]

Free

Great Hall Artist Talk and Reception: Ways of My Ancestors — We Are Still Here  

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

Starting at 2 p.m. Native American photographer Scott Strong Hawk Foster presents a talk about his exhibit, Ways of My Ancestors—We Are Still Here, which captures his travels throughout the ancestral homelands of the Native American Peoples of New England. Come early to see the photography and stay for the talk and refreshments. All ages. […]

Free

Presentation and Walk: Wildlife out Your Window

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

Join us on a leisurely, family-friendly combined wildlife presentation and walk by Brad Timm, wildlife ecologist and founder of the Northeast Wildlife Team. This program is inspired by Brad’s book Wildlife Out Your Window: Fascinating Facts About 100 Animals Commonly Seen in the Northeastern U.S., which is full of interesting facts about common wildlife all […]

Free

National Public Lands Day Celebration

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

Join conservationists from New England to celebrate National Public Lands Day and learn about public wildlands in the region by pitching in with the Source to Sea River cleanup from 10:00 a.m. — noon, enjoy lunch, then dive into teach-ins and workshops to learn how you can protect wild nature and public lands in New […]

Free

First Friday: Planned Industrial Community Walk

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

What makes this mill village unique? Get an introduction to downtown Turners Falls as we walk its historic streets and answer why the village was designed this way. Meet outside the main entrance for a 1.5-mile walk over flat, paved terrain. For ages 8 and up.

Free