Friends of The Great Falls Discovery Center

Nice & Easy Walk
2025-02-21 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-02-14 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-02-07 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-01-31 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-01-24 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-01-17 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-01-10 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, 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.

Kidleidoscope Story Hour - Winter Birds
2025-02-21 10:30 - 11:30
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.

Postponed until March 1st: A Bridge Too Far
2025-02-16 14:00 - 15:00
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 today? Join DCR staff as we piece together the stories and lessons of these burning questions affecting all five villages in Montague during the late 1800s. For youth and adults. Meet in the Great Hall.

Building a Blizzard: Snowflakes in the Great Hall!
2025-02-15 13:00 - 15:00
Get inspired by the story of Vermont’s Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley and his obsession with snowflakes. In this drop-in program make your own unique snowflake art. Keep it simple making paper snowflakes or use gel printing techniques. All art materials provided. Along the way learn just what makes each snowflake unique. Families welcome! For adults, teens, and children ages 6 and up who have mastered basic scissor skills. Meet in the Great Hall.

Investigation Station: Amphibians and Reptiles in Winter
2025-02-15 - 2025-02-23
What are amphibians and reptiles up to during the winter? Join us at our investigation station by the Welcome Desk to find out. Explore through touchable artifacts and habitat diorama scavenger hunts. For ages 4 and up.

Kidleidoscope Story Hour - Porcupines
2025-02-14 10:30 - 11:30

Ongoing - Indoor StoryWalks® - Rabbit’s Snow Dance
2025-02-13 - 2025-02-28
Explore the lives of active and resting winter wildlife through stories. For ages 3 and up, accompanied by an adult. Meet at the welcome desk. At the end of the StoryWalk® enjoy reading more books about snow and winter from our collection.
2/1—2/12: Tracks in the Snow, by Wong Herbert Yee
2/13—2/28: Rabbit’s Snow Dance by Joseph Bruchac.
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Story Walk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson. This StoryWalk® is provided by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Interpretive Services.

Who Do You Love? Valentines for Wildlife
2025-02-09 10:00 - 17:00
For all ages, stop by our Welcome Desk to make Valentines to give to the ones you love, keep for yourself, or give to your favorite wildlife biologist — all in honor of your favorite animal.

The Secret Lives of Turners Falls Germans
2025-02-08 14:00 - 15:00
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. For youth and adults. Meet in the Great Hall.

First Friday: Navigate Your Neighborhood!
2025-02-07 16:00 - 18:00
Every First Friday of the Month, Turners Falls businesses and organizations stay open late for activities. Drop in to learn how to get your bearings with just a compass and map! While you’re here, find out how you can care for the watershed through Leave No Trace. For all ages. Families welcome. Meet in the Great Hall.

Where Are All the Animals Hiding?
2025-02-01 10:30 - 11:30
How do animals stay snug and warm for winter? Come investigate hidden winter animal homes through stories, crafts, and activities. For ages 3–6+ with a parent or guardian. Friends and siblings welcome! Meet in the Great Hall.

Ongoing - Indoor StoryWalks®- Tracks in the Snow
2025-02-01 - 2025-02-12

Kidleidoscope Story Hour - Groundhogs
2025-01-31 10:30 - 11:30

A French/Breton Jam Session
2025-01-26 14:30 - 16:30
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 the Great Hall.

Forgotten Immigrants: The Bohemians of Turners Falls
2025-01-25 14:00 - 15:00
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, Forgotten Immigrants, explores the lives of these intrepid pioneers. Find out what motivated Bohemians to leave their ancestral homes, and what they found once they arrived in Western Massachusetts. Sponsored by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. For youth and adults. Meet in the Great Hall.

Kidleidoscope Story Hour - Winter Insects
2025-01-24 10:30 - 11:30

The Grand Trunk Hotel
2025-01-19 14:00 - 15:00
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 and adults. Co-sponsored by Montague Public Libraries. Meet in the Great Hall.

Bluey Party
2025-01-18 13:00 - 15:00
For ages 3-10, accompanied by an adult. Join us for crafts and activities related to the popular cartoon character, Bluey! This drop-in style event is sponsored by the Montague Public Libraries and hosted by the Great Falls Discovery Center. Meet in the Great Hall.

Kidleidoscope Story Hour - Rabbits
2025-01-17 10:30 - 11:30

Zine on the River
2025-01-12 14:00 - 16:00
Make a small booklet, a habitat zine, from a single piece of paper, then fill it with your nature observations for this drop-in program. Cut and draw in it to recreate your favorite river habitats. If you’d like to use paper you made on January 3, for First Friday’s Make Your Own Paper program, bring it! For all ages. Meet in the Great Hall.

Montague Reporter Fundraiser in Honor of Christopher Sawyer-Lauçanno
2025-01-04 13:00 - 16:00
Celebrate the extraordinary life of Christopher Sawyer-Lauçanno (1951-2024) in the form of a fundraiser for the Montague Reporter. Family, friends, fellow poets, artists, collaborators, community members, and colleagues are welcome and encouraged to share stories, thoughts, and dreams at this event. Christoper fostered and edited the Montague Reporter Poetry Page for many years. Donations to the Montague Reporter are welcomed but not required. Sponsored by family and the Montague Reporter. For all ages. To join the program of speakers please contact: Sarah Pruitt at sarahpruitt58@gmail.com, or Jessica Pruitt at jesprui@gmail.com. Meet in the Great Hall.

First Friday: Make Your Own Paper!
2025-01-03 16:00 - 18:00
Every First Friday of the Month, Turners Falls businesses and organizations stay open late. Join us for a craft night of tin-can papermaking in the Great Hall and see just how creative you have to be to make it in the paper business. Ages 8 and up. Families welcome! Meet in the Great Hall.

Nice & Easy Walks
2025-01-03 13:00 - 14:00

Ongoing: Indoor StoryWalk® — Under the Snow
2025-01-03 - 2025-01-26
Explore the lives of active and resting winter wildlife, in the book, Under the Snow, by Melissa Stewart. For ages 3 and up, accompanied by an adult. Meet at the welcome desk. At the end of the StoryWalk® enjoy reading more books about snow and winter from our collection. The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Story Walk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson. This StoryWalk® is provided by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Interpretive Services.
