For the first time, the The Trustees of Reservations will open the Great House at Castle Hill for tours on Patriots Day. Grab the family and take the Guest of the Cranes tour on the hour and our roof tour, Cupola with a View, at 11:30 AM and 1:30PM. Unique gifts are available at our gift shop with 10% off for Trustees members. Last tour of the day is at 3PM.
May is Historic Preservation month and we are celebrating by offering Preservation focused programs throughout the month. May 4th and 14th, join the The Trustees of Reservations with your family for a NEW tour offering of the Stevens-Coolidge House. This hands-on family friendly tour will bring the past to life for you and your child. Stories, photos, and objects allow kids to consider differences and similarities between the past and today. Please note that space is limited and pre-registration is required!
Join us among the flowers to hear a story, make a craft, and explore the gardens with your pre-schoolers and early elementary students. Each week, a new theme will tie together stories with accompanying activities that will enliven imaginations and deepen connections to the natural world.
Step back into the 1920s during this season’s monthly Open Houses at The Stevens-Coolidge Place. Curious to see the full house? Join the Trustees for full house tours being offered every half hour from 10am to 2pm on a first come, first serve basis. The last house tour will begin around 1:30. The tours will bring you through the whole house and will lead you in the story of Helen and John Coolidge.
See the Museum through the eyes of a child with this animated family tour of paintings, sculpture and maritime objects. Learn to think and see like an artist, a fisherman or quarry worker. Created for children ages 3–12 with their caregivers. This 30-minute tour ends in the Activity Center for art projects and play. Free for CAM members or with Museum admission. Space is limited, registration required.
Enjoy a guided tour of Halibut Point State Park around the Babson Farm Quarry, unearthing the granite industry era followed by a traditional hand-tool stone splitting demonstration. One hundred years ago, the Rockport Granite Company quarried granite stone here. Learn about the buildings, bridges, and breakwaters built to last. Touch tools of the trade. Find out how they moved these large, heavy stone pieces and how they “paved” dirt streets in our Nation’s
growing cities—and around the world!
Get outside with your family this Mother’s Day and celebrate Mom with a picnic at The Stevens-Coolidge Place surrounded by the peak of lilac season. Enjoy live music by Julianne and Barry Johnston of the Brookline Music School. Explore the garden with your little ones. Play croquet, bocce, ring toss, and other lawn games that will be set up throughout the garden. Take a family photo among the beautiful gardens.
Fresh from the garden, learn the skills to assemble a petite but dramatic posy arrangement that allow its ingredients to shine, featuring the ultimate queen of spring – the peony. Learn how to create a beautiful posy arrangement that combines both traditional and whimsical ingredients for a beautiful and unexpected combination.
Each year during Earth Week, DCR invites volunteers to Massachusetts state parks to take part in stewardship activities to prepare for the busy spring and summer recreation season. Celebrate by being part of Park Serve on April 23! Use the links below to find a Park Serve Day near you!
Rolling grasslands, grazing livestock, agricultural fields, stone walls, and historic farm buildings are part of this 1,000-acre pastoral landscape – a rare glimpse into New England’s agricultural past. A gift of Colonel Francis R. Appleton, Jr., and his wife Joan, Appleton Farms is one of the oldest continuously operating farms in the country, established and maintained by nine generations of the Appleton family.
