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 – Winter Birds

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

Nice & Easy Walk

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

Easy-paced, 1 to 2-mile guided walk, along the Canalside Rail Trail or downtown Turners Falls, geared for seniors, but open to all. Enjoy natural and local history along the way. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. Inclement weather cancels. Meet at the main entrance.

Free

Author Reading with Astrid Sheckels

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

All ages. Local author, Astrid Sheckels, reads Hector Fox and the Map of Mystery. Look for animals from the story with a Map of Mystery scavenger hunt! Sponsored by the Montague Public Libraries. Meet in the Great Hall.

Free

A French/Breton Jam Session

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

All ages. An informal group of musicians gathers to play the enchanting traditional dance music from France and Brittany, commonly known as bal folk. This is not a performance but rather a coming together of musically minded friends. The event is free and open to the public to come and go at will. Meet in […]

Free

Kidleidoscope Story Hour – Beavers

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

Nice & Easy Walk

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

Easy-paced, 1 to 2-mile guided walk, along the Canalside Rail Trail or downtown Turners Falls, geared for seniors, but open to all. Enjoy natural and local history along the way. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. Inclement weather cancels. Meet at the main entrance.

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

Nice & Easy Walk – Tenements of Turners Falls

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

Easy-paced, 1 to 2-mile guided walk, along the Canalside Rail Trail or downtown Turners Falls, geared for seniors, but open to all.    Enjoy natural and local history along the way. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. Inclement weather cancels. Meet at the main entrance. Special topics—March 7: Turners Falls Tenements; March […]

Free

First Friday: Big Night for Beginners

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

Every First Friday of the Month, Turners Falls businesses and organizations stay open late for activities. On a mild, rainy night in early Spring, thousands of frogs, toads, and salamanders move across Massachusetts to reach their vernal pools and start the next generation of amphibians. But the journey across roads and lawns can be deadly. […]

Free

Saturday Matinee Documentaries: Millers Falls Tools & Martin Machine Co.

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

Join us for two back-to-back documentaries, brought back to life by the Montague Historical Society, about local machine companies. Join Ed Gregory and Chris Clawson from the Montague Historical Society, and Dawn Ward from our Friends Group for Q & A. For teens and adults. Hot chocolate included! Meet in the Great Hall. The Mill […]

Free

Quabbin Obscura: The Swift River in Black-&-White

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

From farm to canvas to camera, artist Burt V. Brooks (1849-1934) captured the landscapes and daily life in the “drowned towns” before the Quabbin Reservoir (today managed by DCR) was filled. Join DCR staff as we look back on Brooks’ work for answers about who he was and what life in the Swift River Valley […]

Free