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.
This exhibition in the center’s Hallway Gallery explores products currently made in Montague. Some of these products have a long local history and others are on the cutting edge of technology. Curated by Anne Harding and Michaela Henry for our Food, Farms, and Factories project in collaboration with Exploded View. * Food, Farms, & Factories […]
Artist Mark Majeski takes photographs of birds and plants and arranges them into collages as a guide for his drawings. Using this process, he emphasizes the coloration and behavior of commonly seen Massachusetts birds.
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.
Enjoy a story, fresh air and exercise! Join us on the center’s grounds for a free self-guided StoryWalk® featuring the children’s picture book Call Me Tree, Llámame Árbol by Maya Christina Gonzalez for readers ages 5-9 years old and everyone who celebrates trees. Follow the path to book pages posted along the route. The StoryWalk® Project […]
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. Our September walks focus on community and industrialization in Turners Falls. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. Inclement weather cancels. Meet […]
As part of our Food, Farms, and Factories project, join DCR staff, the Friends of the Center, and Western MA Master Gardeners to learn about soils, soil testing, and pollinators. The Great Falls Farmers Market is located between 6th and 7th streets along Avenue A at Peskeompskut Park. Includes family-friendly activities - make your own pollinator! Bring […]
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. Our September walks focus on community and industrialization in Turners Falls. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. Inclement weather cancels. Meet […]
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. For ages 3-6, accompanied by an adult. Meet in the Great Hall.
Join us for the Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center’s concert series featuring local talent. Enjoy a tapestry of songs expressing the richness of human experience. Refreshments available. Sliding scale suggested donations, all in support of educational programming at the Center. For all ages. Meet in the Great Hall.
At the Great Falls Farmers Market at Peskeompskut Park learn about “Three Sisters” and other traditions practiced by the Abeneki Nation. Dan Shears discusses his collection of traditional handmade baskets and dried native foods. For all ages. The Great Falls Farmers Market is located between 6th and 7th streets along Avenue A at Peskeompskut Park. […]
At the Shea Theater, Dr. Marge Bruchac discusses research on Native medicinal plants and practitioners, the approaches she uses to make these histories visible, as part of our Food, Farms, and Factories project, in collaboration with the Nolumbeka Project. In 19th century New England, “Indian Doctors” and “Indian Doctresses” treated Native and non-Native neighbors alike. […]
An informal group of musicians gathers to play the enchanting traditional dance music from France and Brittany, commonly known as bal folk. Please note, 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. All ages. […]
As part of our center’s Food, Farms, and Factories project, we are excited to announce that the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) are kicking-off Climate Week with a free showing of the movie Common Ground. The movie includes investigative journalism and personal stories from those in the food […]
For older youth and adults. Join us at the Montague Center Library, in celebration of the Harvest Moon. A curated selection of 5-10 local authors share their poems or short pieces on the theme of the harvest. Join us for refreshments, inspiring readings, and to celebrate the season! The Montague Center Library is located at […]
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. Our September walks focus on community and industrialization in Turners Falls. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. Inclement weather cancels. Meet […]
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. For ages 3-6, accompanied by an adult. Meet in the Great Hall.
Montague Public Libraries is joining in our Food, Farms, and Factories fun with summer visits to the Farmers Market, with books and activities about growing food. The Great Falls Farmers Market is located between 6th and 7th streets along Avenue A at Peskeompskut Park. *Food, Farms, and Factories In 2024, the Friends of the Great […]
Discover nature and history through story, poetry, and art in our series of free art programs. Using words and images, instruction and techniques you create an art piece inspired by this place to take home. Honor Turners Falls’ long history of making book & specialty papers by trying your hand at suminagashi paper marbling and […]
Check out the annual draining of the Turners Falls canal, take a stroll along the Canalside Rail Trail, and absorb local history with Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center staff and DCR staff. Meet at the entrance of the Center for this free two mile walk on flat terrain. Meet at the Main Entrance. *Food, […]
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. Our September walks focus on community and industrialization in Turners Falls. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. Inclement weather cancels. Meet […]
Hard work, real fun, true impact: the annual fall trash cleanup of the Connecticut River and its tributaries. Join DCR staff to clean-up the Canalside Rail Trail. To register, visit SourcetoSeaCleanup.org/event/Canalside-rail-trail, or contact DCR staff at 413-863-3221 for more information. Meet at the main entrance.
Discover us at Unity Park! Celebrate “Good Neighbor Day” with an afternoon of free family activities and learn about local community organizations. Join DCR staff at the fair to learn all about our mammal neighbors at our activity table with mammal pelts and crafting. The fair has light refreshments, music, and fun activities for all […]
Our Great Hall building here at the center was once a machine shop for the Montague Paper Company. This exhibit examines the critical supporting role that metalworking and machining had in launching industrialization in Turners Falls. High quality newsprint and book paper would not have been made here were it not for the knowledge, skills, […]
Enjoy refreshments starting at 2 p.m., and then at 2:30 p.m. Jim Terapane from the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage talks about the origins of some of Franklin County’s most influential industries and how this heritage endures today. Learn about how the descendants of these early pioneering industries are surviving and how our creative culture […]
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.
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.
As part of our Food, Farms, and Factories project, join DCR staff, and Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center to embrace the changing season. An exploration of fall leaves at the Great Falls Farmers Market, located between 6th and 7th streets along Avenue A at Peskeompskut Park. Includes family-friendly activities—all about leaves! *Food, Farms, […]