Live Animals

Snakes of Massachusetts and the World at Halibut Point

Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team 'Snakes of Massachusetts' presentation at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport!

Come to a Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team presentation of  'Snakes of Massachusetts and the World' at Halibut Point State Park! Afraid of snakes? You won’t be after learning about and seeing a variety of local snakes and a few exotic ones! Snake fans will enjoy safe handling. Rick Roth, herpetologist, and Executive Director of the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team will bring some of his favorite snakes to Halibut Point State Park. Bring your camera!

When: 
Sunday, August 4, 2024 11am-1pm

Cow Connection at Appleton Farms

Join The Trustees of Reservations at Appleton Farms for Cow Connection in Ipswich Massachusetts

Immerse your family in the heartwarming experience of being up close and personal with one of our favorite farm animals – cows! Cuddle, brush, and sit with our hand-raised cows at Appleton Farms. Visit our scenic and historic farm and enjoy Family Cow Connection session with our two Jersey Dairy Cows, Gray and Jasmine. This class is designed for young children alongside their parents to get up close and personal with our friendly cattle in their paddock or pasture guided by an Appleton Livestock Farmer. Come learn all about cattle and how we raise livestock for food at Appleton Farms.

When: 
Thursdays, July 18-October 31, 2024 4-4:45pm
No Session July 25, August 8, September 12
Location: 

Friday Family Farm Chores at Appleton Farms

Join The Trustees of Reservations at Appleton Farms for our special, hands-on Family Farm Chores program held on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays

Every day has a full list of barnyard chores we need to accomplish to make sure our farmyard friends are happy and healthy. Let’s get to work! Join us for our special, hands-on Family Farm Chores program held on Fridays and Saturdays! Get on your muck boots – your whole family will get to be farmers together. Help feed the rabbits, Violet and Vanilla, the goats, Morgana, Maeve, Merlin, and Mordred, and the dairy cows, Gray and Jasmine. Collect eggs from our flock of chickens, muck and bed the stalls, scrub buckets, fill hay managers, and more.

When: 
Fridays, July 12 & 19, 2024 3:30-4:30pm
Fridays, August 2, 16, 23 & 30, 2024 3:30-4:30pm
Location: 

Tide Pool Exploration at Halibut Point

The tide pools at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport Massachusetts are some of the best in New England!

Halibut Point State Park invites families to join them on a tide pool adventure! See a great diversity of life at the rocky shore. Discover and identify different tide level zones and the unique creatures that cat these habitats their home. Learn about how salinity and exposure facilitate different creatures to live in these zones. Heavy rain cancels.

When: 
Saturday, June 29, 2024 11am-Noon
Saturday, July 13, 2024 10-11am

Olde Fashioned Sunday

Find out what "In the old days..." really means in at Olde Fashioned Sunday!

Olde Fashioned Sunday in Downtown Newburyport will be a great day to remember the beginnings of our Yankee Homecoming celebrations. Come enjoy some “new” events to help make future memories for the current younger generations as the past has given some of us the “good ole’ days” to remember.

When: 
Sunday, July 28, 2024 10am-4pm
Location: 

Feed the Beach Creatures at Joppa Flats

You can look at, AND touch the creatures in Joppa Flats touch tank! Feeding time is a lot of fun!

It's time to feed our touch tank animals! Assist our animal husbandry intern team with sorting, identifying, and actually feeding our live marine creatures. Feed periwinkles and rock crabs from the rocky shore, horseshoe crabs and minnows from the salt marsh and hermit crabs and shrimp from the sandy beach. Sign up for one or more and learn all about our creatures fascinating behaviors.

When: 
Wednesdays, June 12 & 26, 2024 4-5:30pm
Wednesdays in July 2024 4-5:30pm

Meet Beach Creatures and More!

Discover and explore the facts of the creatures you find at the beach at Joppa Flats Education Center Newburyport

Come to Joppa Flats this summer to enjoy some live animal encounters both outdoors in our riverside yard and indoors in our air conditioned lobby! You'll rotate through different live animal stations at your own pace and stay as long as you like!

When: 
Fridays, June 28 - July 26, 2024 10am-3pm

Turtle Time at IRWS

Kids and families will explore IRWS wetland in search of painted and snapping turtles.

As late spring transitions to early summer, one thing is for sure: it's turtle time! Join us to explore our wetlands in search of these fascinating reptiles. We'll visit areas where turtles like to nest and bask in the sun, look at and touch real turtle shells, and, with a little luck, get an up-close look at a Painted Turtle. We'll conclude with a trip to the Rockery to see if we can summon our resident Snapping Turtle, Godzilla.

When: 
Saturday, May 25, 2024 10-11:30am
Saturday, June 8, 2024 10-11:30am

Let's Go Outside!

Head to Parker River Wildlife Refuge for a full day of FREE family fun that's focused on outdoor activity!

Join park staff from the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for a full day of FREE family fun that's focused on outdoor activity! The Parker River National Wildlife Refuge hosts a free family event, "Let's Go Outside." The event features various outdoor activities such as archery, surf fishing, kayaking, and bird watching. Additional activities include crafts, bike tune-ups, live raptor programs, and more. The event is designed for all ages and abilities, providing a fun and educational experience focused on nature and outdoor activities.

When: 
Saturday, June 15, 2024 10am – 3pm

Pages

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Deck The Halls: Hammond Castle

A holiday themed tour of Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Massachusetts
Come to Hammond Castle for the 6th annual Deck The Halls holiday celebration. Hammond Castle Museum will be dressed for the holidays inside and out. Delight in the enchanting ambiance of Christmas and White Birch trees, meticulously arranged garlands, festive wreaths, and the warm embrace of...
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

A Colorful Christmas at Castle Hill

A Colorful Christmas by the Sea is a weekend of festivities hosted by the Trustees of Reservations at Castle Hill in Ipswich Massachusetts
Visiting Castle Hill at Christmas is a time-honored tradition. Don’t miss this year’s Travels with the Cranes. Each room in our 1920s mansion is decorated for the holidays drawing inspiration from Crane travels around the world, including Paris, Japan, Egypt, and New York.
10:00 am to 8:00 pm

Music Together - Friday

Marblehead, Beverly Farms, Hamilton, Salem, Peabody Music Together
Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45 minutes...
10:30 am to 11:15 am

Gingerbread Contest at Wenham Museum

Wenham Museum Gingerbread Contest is free to enter and open to all!
Everyone's invited to enter Wenham Museum’s gingerbread contest! Individuals, families, groups, teams–all are encouraged to create a Gingerbread House for this friendly community competition.
12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

A Christmas Carol Panto

Theater in the Open celebrates the holidays with their interpretation of Dickens' Christmas Carol at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport!
Bah, humbug! Theater in the Open celebrates the holiday season with this Dickens classic, presented in true TITO style. So be prepared for anything to happen!  
3:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Holiday Invitation Nights

Downtown Newburyport Massachusetts is the place to shop during the invitation nights!
Come to Downtown Newburyport, Tannery Marketplace  and the Merrimac Placefor Newburyport’s Holiday Invitation Nights and shop for the holidays in style! Mark your calendars, book a babysitter, and call your friends to make plans for three great nights in Newburyport! Enjoy merchant hospitality,...
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Saturday, December 21

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Rockport's Annual Christmas Pageant

The Rockport Christmas Pageant is a wonderful tradition hosted by the Rockport A
Come to downtown Rockport Ma for a torch-lit live reenactment of the Nativity - a long standing community tradition in Rockport Massachusetts! Each year hundreds of spectators gather to watch the live re-enactment of the story of baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Bethlehem inn and the stable. The...
5:00 pm

Sunday, December 22

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

A Colorful Christmas at Castle Hill

A Colorful Christmas by the Sea is a weekend of festivities hosted by the Trustees of Reservations at Castle Hill in Ipswich Massachusetts
Visiting Castle Hill at Christmas is a time-honored tradition. Don’t miss this year’s Travels with the Cranes. Each room in our 1920s mansion is decorated for the holidays drawing inspiration from Crane travels around the world, including Paris, Japan, Egypt, and New York.
10:00 am to 8:00 pm

Deck The Halls: Hammond Castle

A holiday themed tour of Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Massachusetts
Come to Hammond Castle for the 6th annual Deck The Halls holiday celebration. Hammond Castle Museum will be dressed for the holidays inside and out. Delight in the enchanting ambiance of Christmas and White Birch trees, meticulously arranged garlands, festive wreaths, and the warm embrace of...
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Sunday Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Join the Trustees of Reservations at dlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts in search of the Snowy Owl!
Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge.
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

A Christmas Carol Panto

Theater in the Open celebrates the holidays with their interpretation of Dickens' Christmas Carol at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport!
Bah, humbug! Theater in the Open celebrates the holiday season with this Dickens classic, presented in true TITO style. So be prepared for anything to happen!  
3:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Monday, December 23

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm
Subscribe to Live Animals