Gloucester

East Gloucester Elementary School is hosting the 2013 Cape Ann Summer Activities Fair. Speak with summer program directors and get your kids signed up for a summer full of fun.

The Open Door invites you to bowl painting session! Bring the kids to come paint bowls for the annual The Open Door Empty Bowl Dinner 2014 in May where painted bowls will be auctioned off to the highest bidder! This free session is an opportunity to express yourself artistically while helping The Open Door raise funds to aid North Shore families and individuals in need. Please RSVP if you can.

Come to a Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team presentation of 'Snakes of New England' at Manchester Public Library! Learn all about the habitat and lives of snakes from New England from Rick Roth, Executive Director of the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team . Live local and exotic animals will be presented, and those who attend will have the opportunity to see these creatures close up! This is a great chance to see and learn more of the fascinating reptiles. Please register, call Sara Collins, Head of Youth Services.

Forces of nature formed Ravenswood’s landscape. Thousands of years ago ice chunks from melting glaciers created kettle ponds, bogs, and swamps. As a matter of fact, most of New England was buried under an enormous ice sheet that was more than a mile thick!

The Gloucester Area Astronomy Club invites you to a presentation on the benefits of taking up astronomy! Come learn about the telescopes, how to use them and where to buy them. This presentation is geared toward the general public and is meant to be an orientation for first time astronomers or people who want to up their game. If your child has been bugging you for a telescope or you are interested in trying it out for yourself - take advantage of this opportunity, and you'll be well on your way to a fulfilling hobby that the whole family can take part in!

Kids are invited to Ravenswood Park to explore the wonder of snowflakes during this hands-on winter workshop. Attendees start inside to learn how to make ice crystal models and paper flakes and view the famous snowflake photographs of Wilson Bentley, who discovered that no two snowflakes are alike. Then, we'll get outside to explore the wintry landscape in person and catch some real snowflakes, if we're lucky!

Maritime Gloucester invites kids in pre-k through first grade to a vacation week session about Plankton - part of a week full of educational sessions during February vacation! What is plankton? Many sea creatures begin their lives as tiny, floating beings.  Children will be introduced to the plankton found right in Gloucester Harbor, from miniscule lobsters to high-speed copepods.

The Cape Ann Families program at Pathways for Children will present Nicolette Nordin Heavey, storyteller and teaching artist, in three performances. The event is free and open to any family in the community.

Maritime Gloucester invites kids to a vacation week workshop on microphotography - part of a week full of educational sessions during February vacation! What does a penny look like under a microscope?  What about grains of sand?  Take a closer look with microphotography!  Using our digital microscope lab, children will get to view and photograph various natural and manmade objects using video microscopes. 

Hammond Castle will be open during most of February Vacation, so pack up the knights and maidens and voyage to this medieval castle for a vacation adventure that your kids are sure to remember! Weather permitting, visitors will enjoy exploring this eclectic collection of Roman, medieval, and Renaissance artifacts in a castle setting complete with a great hall, courtyard and secret passages! Guided tours are available daily, and a knighting ceremony will take place on Friday, February 22!