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.

The Grand Trunk Hotel

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

What was so grand about the Grand Trunk Hotel in Turners Falls? The hotel, once sited next to today’s Center, was built in 1872 and demolished in 1968. Join DCR staff as we use our imaginations, old photographs, and testimonials, to piece together the story of the grand old days in Turners Falls. For youth […]

Free

Forgotten Immigrants: The Bohemians of Turners Falls

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

Beginning in the 1870s, drawn by the promise of work at the John Russell Cutlery factory, almost 300 Bohemian immigrants left farms in central Europe to start life anew in the industrial village of Turners Falls. This illustrated talk by local historian Jim Bridgman, based on over 35 years of research and his new book, […]

Free

The Secret Lives of Turners Falls Germans

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

After the canal was rebuilt in 1869, German immigrants were among the first to move to Turners Falls and first to witness the planned village’s growing pains. Join DCR staff as we use photos, news clippings, and oral history to figure out how they built their community and traditions through mutual aid and hard work. […]

Free

Postponed until March 1st: A Bridge Too Far

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

We are postponing our program 'A Bridge Too Far' until March 1st, 2-3 p.m. See you then!  Here are the details:What about building new bridges in Gilded Age Turners Falls drove neighbors and whole towns against each other? How do these dramas and debates that played out in newspapers and town meetings still impact us […]

Free

A Bridge Too Far

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

What about building new bridges in Gilded Age Turners Falls drove neighbors and whole towns against each other? How do these dramas and debates that played out in newspapers and town meetings still impact us today? Join DCR staff as we piece together the stories and lessons of these burning questions affecting all five villages […]

Free

To Breathe Freely: Tenements of Turners Falls

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

As the brick blocks went up, the Turners Falls tenements tested every aspect of the town, from its ability to deal with disease to what laborers expected from their lot in life. Join DCR staff as we use photographs, maps and news clippings to step back in time and learn about life in the tenements. […]

Free