Friends of The Great Falls Discovery Center

Nice and Easy Walk
2026-03-26 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 older adults, 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.

Postponed to a later date: Montague Public Libraries Presents: Favorite Storybook Character Day
2026-03-28 13:00 - 15:00 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Our apologies. This event is postponed to a later date.

Whether you want to channel your inner hero, K-pop singer, or a beloved blue heeler pup, we can’t wait to see your favorite stories come to life. Take home themed art inspired by classic and contemporary storybook characters. Costumes are highly encouraged but not required. This is a fun, family-friendly event perfect for book lovers of all ages! Sponsored by Montague Public Libraries.

Ongoing - Great Hall Art Exhibit: All Our Relations – To Honor the Wampanoag Supreme Sachem Pometacomet on the 350th Anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre
2026-04-02 - 2026-05-28 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
This exhibit in the Great Hall, features work by Deborah Spears Moorehead, Seaconke Pokanoket Wampanoag, and Robert Peters, Mashpee Wampanoag, focusing on pre-colonization, the 350th Anniversary of Metacomet’s (King Philip’s) War and the Great Falls Massacre of 1676. Learn about Indigenous history and their continued presence here and throughout the Northeast. Sponsored by Friends of the Center, the Nolumbeka Project, and funded by the Montague Cultural Council. a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council. For all ages. Accessible during open hours.

Nice and Easy Walk
2026-04-02 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. Note: there is no walk on April

Ongoing - Indoor StoryWalk® — One Earth
2026-04-03 - 2026-04-30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Enjoy the indoor StoryWalk®, One Earth by Eileen Spinelli, an invitation to celebrate our planet and honor it through stewardship. For ages 4 and up, accompanied by an adult. Meet at the welcome desk.
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.

First Friday Flight Path Program: Nesting Birds Investigation Station *
2026-04-03 15:00 - 17:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Come learn about nests, eggs, and feathers at our nesting birds investigation station. Meet at the welcome desk to see a wide range of egg replicas from a hummingbird to a bald eagle, and more! Co-sponsored by Montague Public Libraries as part of Flight Path bird programming all month long. For all ages.
* 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
2026-04-09 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. Note: there is no walk on April 16.

Kidleidoscope Story Hour - Chipmunks
2026-04-10 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.

Great Falls Coffeehouse Presents: The Uncles with special guest Eveline MacDougall
2026-04-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Join us for the Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center’s concert series featuring local talent. The Uncles with special guest Eveline MacDougall perform a delightful mix of Folk, Rock, Country, and Jazz with several stringed instruments and four voices. Refreshments available. Sliding scale suggested donations, in support of educational programming at the Center. Meet in the Great Hall. For all ages.

National Poetry Month Author Reading Featuring Bob McNeil
2026-04-11 15:00 - 16:00 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Join us in celebration of National Poetry Month with Bob McNeil, writer, editor, cartoonist, and spoken-word artist, who recites with special guest musician Steve Koziol. In Bob’s single author anthology Compositions on Compassion and Other Emotions, he explores the importance of love and hope in healing from the pandemic and endemic violence. Proceeds from this work fund the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Steve Koziol, best known for playing in the bands Dingo Roi and Span of Sunshine, is a songwriter and musician, who has contributed guitar, keyboard, bass, alto sax, and vocal harmonies to many bands and performers throughout Hampshire and Franklin Counties. From youth to adults, all are welcome at this event, sponsored by the Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center and RiverCulture.

Kidleidoscope Story Hour - Osprey *
2026-04-17 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.
* 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.

Ongoing: Earth Week Investigation Station and Indoor StoryWalk® — One Earth
2026-04-18 - 2026-04-26 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Join us at the welcome desk during school vacation week for activities to inspire taking care of where we live. Enjoy indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts, crafts, and activities to honor the Earth, our shared home. Includes the indoor StoryWalk® — One Earth by Eileen Spinelli, which is an invitation to both celebrate our planet and honor it through stewardship. For all ages.

Ongoing - Outdoor Story Walk®— Ruby’s Birds *
2026-04-18 - 2026-05-12 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Ongoing, April 18 – May 12
Enjoy a story, fresh air and exercise! Join us on the Discovery Center’s grounds for a free self-guided StoryWalk® featuring Ruby’s Birds. For ages 3 and up and anyone who loves migratory birds! Co-sponsored by Montague Public Libraries as part of Flight Path bird programming all month long.
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.
* 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.

Flight Path Program: Bird Scavenger Hunt *
2026-04-18 10:30 - 11:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Let’s go find birds! Learn about common local bird species and join us on a quest to find birds both inside our habitat dioramas and outside on the Center’s grounds and along the Canalside Rail Trail. We’ll practice using binoculars, being quiet, and read the story Ruby’s Birds together. Wear clothing for mud season – sturdy shoes and layers. Meet in the Great Hall. For ages 4–9 and their families. Co-sponsored by Montague Public Libraries as part of Flight Path bird programming all month long.
* 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.

Art Naturally – Bird Zines *
2026-04-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
Discover nature through story, poetry and art in our series of free art programs. Design a zine to celebrate ongoing bird migrations. Learn how to make an 8 or 16-page booklet from a single piece of paper, finding out how birds migrate along the way. For adults, teens, and children ages 6 and up (accompanied by an adult). All materials provided. Meet in the Great Hall at 10:30 a.m. for complete instructions.
* 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.

A French / Breton Jam Session
2026-04-19 14:30 - 16:30 | Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376, United States
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. For all ages.

Flight Path Program: Montague Public Libraries Presents Window Decals for Bird Safety *
2026-04-21 14:00 - 16:00 | Carnegie Library, 201 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA, 01376
Design your own window decals, inspired by local and migratory birds, and apply them to windows to reduce bird collisions. For all ages. Meet at the Carnegie Library at 201 Avenue A, Turners Falls. Sponsored by Montague Public Libraries as part of Flight Path bird programming all month long.
* 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.

Earth Day and Flight Path Bird Migration Program: Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? *
2026-04-22 15:00 - 17:00 | 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 | 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

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.
