As fall descends, we will explore the sanctuary forests and wetlands for various fungi and lichens. We will learn what they are and how they are different, and what habitats are common to each. Their beautiful colors, textures, and patterns reveal a beautiful world in all seasons. This can become a wonderful family outdoor hobby, and you will always find new treasures awaiting you if you look closely.
This is a whale watch with a birding twist! Joppa Flats Education Center invites families on a special excursion offshore to discover the wonder of whales aboard the Captain's Lady III! Play the part of a whale researcher and learn about the lives of whales and the habitats they use to feed, live and breed.
This is a whale watch with a birding twist! Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center has teamed up with Newburyport Whale Watch, to create this birding whale watch. This program focuses on seabirds, but we plan on seeing and learning about marine mammals as well.
Have you ever seen a spotted salamander or a mass of frog eggs? Many frogs, toads, salamanders, and macroinvertebrates depend on the vernal pool, a unique seasonal habitat, for their survival. Join us for a fun afternoon exploring the amazing life cycles of the animals of the vernal pool.
Explore the beautiful Ipswich River with your family on a Saturday afternoon. We'll paddle this gentle river to enjoy the early fall foliage, observe the surrounding marshes, and bid farewell to the summer. Along the way, we'll stop to stretch our legs and enjoy some ice cream!
Come venture along the sanctuary trails on a sensory tour. We will explore the magic of the outdoors by using our many senses. Let's see what we can discover using our eyes, ears, nose, hands, and even taste. Using found materials from nature, we will create a nature collage.
We will be exploring the tide-pools of Sandy Point to learn about the relationships between the water, plants, and animals that live in this habitat. We will learn how to search and handle a wide variety of intertidal animals including snails, mussels, crabs, and other small invertebrates. We plan to play a game that shows what life in a tide-pool is like, sing some songs and get a little wet too!
Have you ever seen a water boatman up close? How about a caddisfly larva or water scorpion? If not, then join us for a summer morning of pond dipping. Using hand lenses, microscopes, and strainers, we'll search for turtles and frogs and delight in the sights and smells of a morning on the pond. We will provide sketch pads, pastels, and watercolors so you can recreate your findings in detail.
Preschoolers will Imagine, Sing the Learn about animal groups in this session! This parent/child program is designed for the creative, curious, and active preschooler. This is a 90 minute program for preschoolers and a grown-up all about t ladybugs and honey bees and how they are friends of the garden. Today “Miss Jan” had a full class and had so much fun singing songs, teaching about how insects help the garden and the farmers, and making bug puppets, and eating our “bugs in a bowl” snack made from fresh fruit: see attached photo for a quick sneak peek.
Are you a frog catcher, snake wrangler, dragonfly hunter, or deer stalker? Do you love splashing through mud, crawling under logs, and running through fields with nothing but a net and your sense of adventure? Then catch and release is for you! This session's topic: amphibians. We'll search the wetlands for frogs and tadpoles, the woodlands for toads, and under logs for salamanders. Learn where to look, when it's okay to catch a creature, and when to just follow them and observe, how to hold them carefully so you can take a good look, and how to return them gently and safely to the wild.
