Earth Day and Flight Path Bird Migration Program: Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? *
2026-04-22 15:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Take a moment on Earth Day to explore and compare the different survival strategies of seasonal birds vs. year-round residents in this drop-in program. Learn how the activities of people impact bird migration and how you can make a difference! Enjoy both an outdoor StoryWalk® Ruby’s Birds and play an outdoor migration challenge game. Co-sponsored by Montague Public Libraries as part of Flight Path bird programming all month long. For ages 6-12 and their families. Meet in the Great Hall.
* Special “Flight Path” Programs
Look for the asterisk! Those bird programs are a special collaboration with the Great Falls Discovery Center, thanks to a Flight Path Grant from Star Net Libraries. For more information visit www.starnetlibraries.org.

Nice and Easy Walk
2026-04-23 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-30 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-05-07 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-05-28 13:00 - 14:00 | 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 older adults, but open to all. Enjoy some 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 - Who Lives in a Tree?
2026-04-24 10:30 - 11:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, 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.

Webinar Talk With the Artists: All Our Relations – To Honor the Wampanoag Supreme Sachem Pometacomet on the 350th Anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre
2026-04-25 19:00 - 21:00 | MA
The Nolumbeka Project presents a talk via Zoom with Deborah Spears Moorehead (Seaconke Pokanoket Wampanoag), and Robert Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag), our Spring artists. Facilitated by David Brule. Deb and Robert speak about their art and share history about their ancestor Metacom. Meet them in person at the Great Falls Discovery Center where they will be Honored Guests for the Day of Remembrance proceedings on Saturday, May 16. Sponsored by the Nolumbeka Project. For Zoom registration visit nolumbekaproject.org/events. For youth and adults.

Great Hall Guest Speaker: King Philip’s War in Your Backyard 1675-76
2026-04-26 14:00 - 15:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
David Brule reviews the events that happened nearby in the central Connecticut River Valley starting in August 1675 and continuing into May 1676 and beyond. David focuses on the latest results of the National Park Service-sponsored study of the massacre at Peskeompskut falls and the Native counterattack over a 7-mile route through Greenfield. Learn from statements about the lasting impacts on local Tribes by modern-day Tribal participants in this 12-year study. For youth and adults. Sponsored by the Nolumbeka Project.

First Friday: Turners Falls Tenement Tour
2026-05-01 16:00 - 17:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Discover how tenements tested every aspect of the town, from sanitation to wages. On this May Day tour, learn about the storekeepers and laborers who made this planned industrial community. Meet DCR staff outside the Great Hall for a 1.5-mile guided walk through downtown Turners Falls. Ages 8 and up.

Historic Boston Virtual Event: What Really Happened at Turners Falls? The Story of a Massacre
2026-05-06 19:00 - 20:30 | MA
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-really-happened-at-turners-falls-the-story-of-a-massacre-tickets-1980596687007?aff=oddtdtcreator
Overview

Captain Turner’s forces killed 300 Native people and his monument proclaimed victory. What really happened? Join this deeply informed panel.

This monument to Captain William Turner sums up an old and perhaps familiar telling of history. We have a colonial hero, later slain in battle. Small but mighty colonial forces overcome the odds. Apparently passive “Indians” are taken by surprise. Nameless Native people are “destroyed.”
How accurate is this picture of history? Not very, according to this unique panel discussion led by David Brule of the Nolumbeka Project, with archaeologist David Naumec and Liz ColdWind Santana Kiser, tribal historic preservation officer of the Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuck Indians. All three panelists were at the heart of a remarkable 13-year, National Park Service-funded project investigating the true story of the Turners Falls massacre. David Brule chaired the project from its inception in 2013.
Since the 1670s most historians have told the story of Turners Falls/Peskeompskut as a remarkable, heroic colonial victory. With the findings from this investigation, as our panel shows, we now know the story is far more nuanced.
Three hundred and fifty years ago on May 19, 1676, William Turner’s colonial forces attacked a camp of Native elders, women and children – noncombatants who had taken refuge after fleeing fighting in the south – and slaughtered hundreds. A Native coalition counterattacked the following day in an underreported decisive Indigenous victory. But what remains in memory is the Turners Falls massacre, one of the worst atrocities in a war of atrocity.
This panel discussion will reveal what really happened, based on findings from battlefield terrain technologies and archaeology. The panelists will share Indigenous and archaeological/anthropological perspectives, and discuss this unique study – an on-going collaborative investigation by battlefield experts, local historical commissioners, and tribal historic preservation officers from the Nipmuck community, as well as from the Aquinnah Wampanoag, the Elnu Abenaki, and the Narragansett tribal historic preservation office.
This new historical perspective is crucial to Indigenous communities in revealing the truth about the past, contributing to healing that place, addressing certain multi-generational trauma, and, in a small way, beginning to help heal Northeastern tribal descendants.
David Brule has been project coordinator for the study of the Battle of Great Falls/ Wissatinnewag-Peskeompskut May 19, 1676 funded by the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program from its inception in 2013 to publication of its final report in 2025. He is also president of the Nolumbeka Project, a tribal non-profit organization that promotes education and awareness of Indigenous histories and cultures of the middle Connecticut River Valley and beyond. He is a featured speaker in numerous educational programs and presentations throughout the Connecticut River Valley.
David is the author of several books comprising his series on regional history, local culture, and the natural world: West Along the River. He serves as chairman of the Nehantic Tribal Council and the Nehantic Nation Cultural Conservancy.
David Naumec is a historian, archaeologist, and museum consultant who is collaborating with several Connecticut institutions to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution while also serving as an adjunct history professor and working in the field of cultural resource management. Dr. Naumec is a graduate of UConn Storrs, holds a master’s degree in history and museum studies from Tufts University, and completed his doctorate in early American history at Clark University. His professional and personal research interests include Native American history, colonial North America, the history of Connecticut, and conflict archaeology. Dr. Naumec was co-investigator with Dr. Kevin McBride of the University of Connecticut for the Battle of Great Falls/Peskeompskut NPS-funded project from 2018-2025, where he served as military historian and battlefield archaeologist.
Liz Cold Wind Santana-Kiser is an elder, council woman and tribal historic preservation officer for the Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuck Indians. She is married with six children, and many grandchildren. For more than five decades, she has worked at the forefront of improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous People.
She founded the Nipmuck Women’s Health Coalition, a disease-prevention and health promotion coalition to support Nipmuck and other tribes throughout New England. Liz has also collaborated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School to coordinate the first major conferences on health disparities affecting Nipmuck peoples. She also worked with the Great Brook Valley Health Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, and co-founded the Nipmuc Family Dental Clinic.
Liz currently serves on the 1676 Battle of Great Falls Advisory Board in Turners Falls, Mass., Harvard Alumni Committee on Developing Educational Module on Ethics in Public Health, the Stolen Relations Project on Indigenous slavery at Brown University, Worcester Arts Museum community and cultural groups for reinstallation of American art galleries.
She has earned many prestigious awards including the prized Eagle Feather for her years of work and dedication to the revitalization and wellbeing of indigenous Nipmuc people and beyond.

Kidleidoscope Story Hour - Fish
2026-05-08 10:30 - 11:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, 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 are welcome. Meet in the Great Hall.

Great Falls Coffeehouse Presents: Lara Herscovitch & The Highway Philosophers
2026-05-08 19:00 - 21:00 | MA
Join us for the Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center’s concert series featuring local talent. Lara Herscovitch & The Highway Philosophers offer a rich tapestry of songs with themes that will stay with you. Refreshments available. Sliding scale suggested donations, in support of educational programming at the Center. All ages.

Battlefield History Walking Tour with David Brule
2026-05-09 10:00 - 11:00 | MA
May 19th marks the 350th anniversary of the massacre at Peskeompskut. Join David Brule, local historian and coordinator of the Battlefield Advisory Committee (a National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP)-funded study), to learn about this attack and its significance within the King Philip’s War. This program will take place along the bike path where new interpretive panels (going up this month) detail the findings of the Battle of Great Falls/Wissantinnewag-Peskeompskut study. David will provide further context and develop more on the stories highlighted in the panels.
We will meet outside the Great Falls Discovery Center at 10am to walk to the panels as a group. Registration is not required, but is encouraged for planning purposes.

Park Serve Day: Pick a Park, Give a Day, Make a Difference
2026-05-09 10:00 - 12:00 | MA
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. Bring your own water and snack. For registration visit mass.gov/info-details/dcr-park-serve-day. For ages 6 and up. Meet at the main entrance.

Nice and Easy Walk
2026-05-14 13:00 - 14:00 | MA

Ongoing - Chill Out Indoor StoryWalks® - We Are Water Protectors
2026-05-16 - 2026-06-16 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
StoryWalk®: We Are Water Protectors, by Carole Lindstrom
Come on inside and Chill Out with DCR! You can find “COOL” activities for kids and families inside, including indoor StoryWalk® all summer long! Meet at the welcome desk. Accessible during open hours.
This story honors Indigenous-led movements across the world to protect water. For ages 3–7 and everyone ready to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm.
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.

Ongoing - Outdoor StoryWalk® — We All Play
2026-05-16 - 2026-06-30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Enjoy a story, fresh air, and exercise! Join us on the Discovery Center’s grounds for a free self-guided StoryWalk® featuring We All Play by award winning Cree artist Julie Flett. For all ages 0–7 and anyone who loves to play, this story is a beautiful ode to the animals and humans we share our world with.
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.

Artist Reception: All Our Relations - To Honor the Wampanoag Supreme Sachem Pometacomet on the 350th Anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre
2026-05-16 11:00 - 12:30 | MA
Enjoy conversation and coffee with Wampanoag artists Deborah Spears Moorehead and Robert Peters in the Great Hall to view and learn more about their shared exhibit. Sponsored by Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center, the Nolumbeka Project, and funded by the Montague Cultural Council. a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. For all ages.

The Nolumbeka Project Presents: Day of Remembrance
2026-05-16 12:30 - 15:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
A commemoration of the Great Falls Massacre, May 19, 1676, and Metacom’s Resistance (aka King Philip’s War) 350 Years Ago, 1676-2026. Tribal members and non-Tribal public are welcome. Honored presenters include: Eastern Medicine Singers, Strong Eagle Many Feathers’ Daly, Liz Coldwind Santana-Kiser, Roger Longtoe Sheehan, Dr. Margaret M. Bruchac, Martín Espada, Deborah Spears Moorehead, Robert Peters, Jose Ite’ Santana, Diane Travis, Pat Allen, Carol Letson, and David Brule. For more information visit nolumbekaproject.org. Free and open to all. Held rain or shine.

Nice and Easy Walk
2026-05-21 13:00 - 14:00 | MA
Easy-paced, 1- to 2-mile guided walk, along the Canalside Rail Trail or downtown Turners Falls, geared for older adults, but open to all. Enjoy some 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. Note: there is no walk on April 16.

Find Us at the Farmers Market!
2026-05-23 10:30 - 13:00 | MA
Join DCR staff for family activities at the Great Falls Farmers Market, located between 6th and 7th streets along Avenue A at Peskeompskut Park. For all ages.

Eyes on Owls Presents: Owls Up Close
2026-05-23 13:00 - 14:15 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Everyone loves owls! Come see them up close and enjoy a slide presentation and introduction to six live owls including hooting lessons. Learn about field marks, owl pellets, tips on how to protect owls, and the importance of owls and other birds of prey in the ecosystem. For adults, youth, and children ages 5 and up (accompanied by an adult). Free. Sponsored by the Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center and Rescue Franklin County Wildlife, a group of community volunteers committed to raising awareness about the harms of pesticides to birds of prey and encouraging the use of wildlife safe alternatives.

Art Naturally: Tissue Paper Blooms
2026-05-24 10:30 - 12:00 | MA
Discover nature through story, poetry and art in our series of free art programs. With instruction and technique, you create an art piece to take home from tissue paper, pipe cleaners and jute. All art materials are provided but feel welcome to use your own. Meet in the Great Hall at 10:30 a.m. for complete instructions. For adults, teens and children ages 6 and up (accompanied by an adult).

A French / Breton Jam Session
2026-05-24 14:30 - 16:30 | MA
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. For all ages.Find Us at Música Franklin’s Fun Fest! Saturday, May 30, 12:30-5 p.m.Música Franklin has all the fun, and we want to join in! Find us at Unity Park on First Street in Turners Falls at our River’s Edge investigation station. Fish sustain life throughout our valley, from eagles to otters, even other fish. See how your wingspan compares to that of an eagle’s. Learn how you can be part of this year’s fish migration through games and more. Learn more about the festival by visiting musicafranklin.org/fun-fest. For all ages.

Montague Plains: Enjoy a moonlit bird walk with MassWildlife
2026-05-29 19:00 - 21:30 | Montague Plains, Montague, MA, United States
The walk is scheduled for 7:15 – 9:15 p.m. at the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area. The restored habitats of Montague Plains offer the perfect place to experience the iconic whip-poor-will call, along with American woodcock peents, firsthand. Birders of all experience levels are welcome. Participants should be prepared for a ~1.5 mile walk and dress for the weather and walking on uneven ground.
Limited spots available. Registration is required. Register using Mass Wildlife’s bird walk form: MassWildlife 2026 Spring Bird Walks | Mass.gov

Moved to Rain Location: Find Us at Musica Franklin's Fun Fest!
2026-05-30 13:00 - 17:00 | MA
Musica Franklin has all the fun, and we want to join in! Find us the rain location for this event at Greenfield Middle School (195 Federal Street) to see our River’s Edge investigation station. Fish sustain life throughout our valley, from eagles to otters, even other fish. See how your wingspan compares to that of an eagle’s. Learn how you can be part of this year’s fish migration through games and more. Learn more about the festival by visiting musicafranklin.org/fun-fest. For all ages.

Nice and Easy Walk
2026-06-04 13:00 - 14:00 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States

Ongoing - Great Hall Art Exhibit: Nature’s Colors
2026-06-05 - 2026-06-28 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Kate Marion Lapierre in her exhibit of paintings, Nature’s Colors, emphasizes the colors and beauty of landscapes and flowers particularly during the Spring and Summer season. Kate’s paintings are abstract and expressionistic, created with acrylic on canvas or watercolor on paper. Please come enjoy the colorful beauty that nature brings through Kate’s artwork. An artist reception is held on June 7, from 12–2 p.m. For all ages.

First Friday: Turners Falls Brick-by-Brick Tour
2026-06-05 16:00 - 17:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Under every cornice is a building with a story. This First Friday, learn about the brickmakers, builders and businesses behind the designs of the village blocks. Meet DCR staff outside the Great Hall for a 1.2-mile guided walk through downtown Turners Falls. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. Ages 8 and up. Meet at the main entrance.

19th Annual Free Family Fishing Day!
2026-06-06 10:00 - 14:00 | Barton Cove Day Use Area, Barton Cove Road, Gill, MA, United States
19th Annual Free Family Fishing Day!
At Two Locations.
Our annual Family Fishing Day, at Barton Cove, with additional activities at the Great Falls Discovery Center. Join us for a day of FREE fishing fun. Adults and children of all ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Event is held rain or shine. Parking is free. Free shuttle bus between sites.
At Barton Cove Campground: Barton Cove Road in Gill.
§ Free fishing from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. All ages welcome.
§ Fishing equipment provided – limited supplies available. Bring your own pole if you have one. No MA fishing license needed.
At Great Falls Discovery Center: 2 Avenue A.
§ Fly lure tying demonstrations.
§ Come see an impressive guest fish from the USGS Conte Anadromous Fish Research Lab.
§ Fish printing: The art of Gyotaku, 11 am –2 pm.
§ CATCH THE FISH BUS HERE! Free shuttle bus to and from Barton Cove, as needed, 10 am –2 pm.
For information call 413-863-3221.
