Let's celebrate our beaches, tide pools, and salt marshes with a full day of fun outdoor/indoor activities! Handle live tide pool animals from our 110-gallon touch tank, go on a guided salt marsh walk, and enjoy a virtual whale watch trip.
On this excursion kids will be ponding with Joppa Flats Education Center at Mill Pond in West Newbury! Come explore the pond habitat and learn about the creatures that live there! We will be exploring the edge of a pond with safe shore access using nets, scoopers, strainers, cups, bowls and spoons. We’ll examine the water, leaf litter and plants with hand lenses and magiscopes. We’ll walk along the edge of the meadow near the pond looking for signs of life and spotting birds. We’ll give out binoculars to all participants. Each participant will take home coloring packets!
Come to the Emma Andrews Library and Community Center to enjoy a painting demonstration by local artist Anne Recchia. A member of the Newburyport Art Association, Anne has worked for many years in watercolor and has recently started working in oils. Known for painting evocative scenes of the New England coast, her work is in many private and public collections. Join her during Clothing Drive to Benefit Wellspring for a painting demonstration, hopefully outdoors, of the facade of the Emma Andrews Library.
Lisa Hutchings Teacher-Naturalist from Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center and the crew of Newburyport Harbor Tours Inc.'s Yankee Clipper invite you and your family for an exciting exploration of the lower Merrimack River ecosystem. Hands-on science and interactive props are on hand to make this learning experience a fun adventure as attendees search for waterfowl, seals and other marine life.
Emma Andrews Library and Community Center invites everybody to their Ice Cream Social! Actually, this year is a frozen yogurt social thanks to Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt! Please call or write to us to tell them you'll be coming!
Emma Andrews Library and Community Center welcomes Kate Yeomans and her crew from the Merrohawke Nature School, for a fun hands-on live animal demonstration! Kids will learn about different sea creatures and their habitats, and have a chance to handle them to solidify their learning experience! Come at 12 noon with a picnic, make a craft project and at learn from the Boat Camp Crew starting at 1pm!
Every Tuesday June - August, Plum Island Kayak offers tours for families with special pricing, and kids 10 and under tour for free! These three hour tours are great for families to explore the Meerimack River and its extuary, see the wildlife and experience settings that your can't reach in larger boats! Take the opportunity to explore with family and create memories that will last a lifetime!
Come to Joppa Flats Education Center where adults and children can learn about the transitional habitat of the mud flats at Joppa and spend quality family time in the great outdoors finding, observing, and admiring local wildlife. Excursions include a group game to burn off some steam, an on-the-water scavenger hunt, or a guided tour. We'll observe, investigate, and compare coastal environments and their inhabitants, both on- and offshore.
Late spring is a great time to experience on-the-water ecology, and kayaking is the perfect way to capture every moment. From wading birds to waterfowl, the salt marshes provide the backdrop to sights and sounds that are uniquely available from the water. Kayaking quietly on the calm waters of the Plum Island Sound, we'll visit secluded areas where we can witness wildlife without disturbing their activities. We may even see horseshoe crabs mating!
Flowers are for kids, too! Children ages 6 – 10 can accompany their parents and the park interpreter to learn about the fabulous flowers at Maudslay, one of the premier viewing locations in Massachusetts. Meet at the park headquarters on Curzon Mill Rd. Wear comfortable clothing and walking shoes. Children must be accompanied by an adult!
