Exploration

Family Open House: Butterflies & Bugs

Joppa Flats will have Free indoor and outdoor activities for kids and families!

Joppa Flats Education Center invites families to drop in to meet live caterpillars, moths, and butterflies! Learn how to attract birds and other wildlife to your own yard and safely identify insects. Enjoy a Backyard Bug Hunt with our naturalists, join in a Monarch Migration Relay Race, and take home a fun craft or two.

When: 
Saturday, July 22, 2023 10am - 3pm

Family Nature Series - Pond Habitat

Families will learn about the pond habitat with ECGA at Bailey Reservation!

Get to know the residents of a beaver pond! From tiny insects, to the beavers themselves, we'll use all our senses to look for signs of life! Join Greenbelt and Northshore Nature Programs to learn all about a pond habitat! Who lives there? What do they eat? How do they get around? We'll use our senses to find some answers to those questions and more!  Meets at Bailey Reservation in Haverhill.

When: 
Saturday, August 5, 2023 3-4:30pm

Plein Air Painting for Kids at Halibut Point

Kid ages 7-15 are invited to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport Massachusetts for a a Plein Air painting session!

Plein air painting is experiencing painting and drawing in the landscape. The practice goes back for centuries but was truly developed as an art form by the French Impressionists. Their desire to paint light and its changing, ephemeral qualities, coupled with the creation of transportable paint tubes and the box easel—the precursor to the plein air easels of today—allowed artists the freedom to paint “en plein air,” which is the French expression for “in the open air.” Space is limited to 15.  Rain cancels.  Co-Sponsored by Friends of Halibut Point State Park.

When: 
Thursday, July 13, 2023 10am-Noon

Castle Hill Butterfly Encounter

Come to the Butterfly Encounter in the gardens at Castle Hill in Ipswich Massachusetts!

The Trustees of Reservations hosts the Butterfly Encounter in the gardens at Castle Hill Estate in Ipswich Massachusetts.  You will hear directly from a giant monarch butterfly puppet, who will recount the adventures growing up in the milkweed patch, metamorphosis and then the amazing journey across continents.

When: 
Saturday, July 15, 2023 1-1:45pm

Sketching to See at Halibut Point

A Free lesson on Sketching by Artist Jess Yurwitz of Slow River Studio at Halibut Point State PArk in Rockport, Massachusetts.

Capture the beauty of Halibut Point State Park on paper! Join Jess Yurwitz from Slow River Studio for a beginner sketching lesson in the Park. No artistic experience necessary. Learn easy techniques to help you “see” the park in new ways by sketching. Supplies are included and this lesson is free! for Kids 8 and up.

When: 
Saturday, June 24, 2023 1-3pm

CraneOutdoors: Riverboat to Choate Island & Hike

Tour the waters of Essex Bay estuary aboard the Trustee's pontoon boat Osprey followed by a hike on Choate Island!

There are few places on the North Shore that more reliably enjoy spectacular views than the back side of Crane Beach, overlooking Essex Bay. On this riverboat outing into the heart of the Essex River basin, we will be setting sail in the protected waters of the Crane Wildlife Refuge, one of the most scenic sections of the Great Marsh—the largest contiguous salt marsh in New England.

When: 
Saturday-Monday, May 27 - June 26, 2023 12pm-3pm
Wednesdays, June 7, 14, 21 & 28, 2023 12pm-3pm
Fridays, June 9, 16, 23 & 30, 2023 12pm-3pm

Pages

Art Academy Summer Program at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly MA

Music Together - Saturday

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...
9:15 am to 11:15 am

Family Open House: Winter Wildlife Wonders

Stop by as part of Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport for a family oriented open house! Photo: Eastern Bluebirds © Cheryl Rose
Drop in to learn what mammals, birds, insects and sea creatures do in the winter! Test your knowledge and skills at a science station, examine natural objects with our new bioscope, and take home a fun nature craft or two. Family presentations with Miss Lisa at 11am and 2pm. Great for families and...
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Guided Tour | When Granite Was King!

Find out the story behind the history of granite quarrying at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, Massachusetts!
Halibut Point State Park is also a granite quarry with a history that goes back billions of years! Over one hundred years ago, the Rockport Granite Company quarried granite stone here.
11:00 am to 12:30 pm

Befriend the Barnyard

Befriend the Barnyard is a hands-on barnyard experience at the Trustees of Reservations' Appleton Farms in Ipswich Massachusetts
Discover our special barnyard animals! Our Angora rabbits Violet, Mabel, Oiver and Charles; Nubian goats Maeve, Morgana, and Mordred; dairy cows Gray, Jasmine, their calves Gigi and Joanie and our friendly flock of heritage chickens will take center stage as we learn about what makes them so unique...
11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Winter Carnival Fundraiser

Come to the Winter Carnival, a fundraiser for Sweet PAws Rescue, at Barewolf Brewing in Amesbury Masssachusetts
Sweet Paws Rescue's 2nd Annual Winter Carnival is back at BareWolf Brewing in Amesbury, Massachusetts! Try your luck at their ticketed games: Ring Toss, Nerf Shots, Snowball Baskets, Claw Machine, & more! Enjoy other activities for kids: crafts, face-painting, photo booth, raffle. ALL TICKET...
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Dungeons & Dragons Club at Essex Library

The Essex Massachusetts Library hosts a Dungeons and Dragons club for local kids.
Enjoy a the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons on Mondays, 5:30-7pm with Student Dungeon Master, Gus Hall. Spaces are limited, register early!
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Nice n' Easy Hike at Breakheart Reservation

Nice and Easy winter hike at Breakheart Reservation in Saugus Massachusetts
Join the Park Interpreter for this weekly guided hike! Each trip will highlight natural and historic features unique to Breakheart. Hikes are moderately paced and range from 2-3 miles over sometimes uneven and rocky terrain. Best for ages 8 years and up. Meet at the Visitor Center.
9:30 pm to 11:30 pm
Subscribe to Exploration