Exploration

Imagine, Sing & Learn: Wake Up, It's Night!

Come discover the wonder of the nocturnal creatures at Mass Audubons' Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburport! Photo: Neil McIntosh

This parent/child program is designed for the creative, curious, and active preschooler. Each 90-minute session offers a structured series of activities including original songs, movement, dramatic play, hands-on science, and a thematic snack. You'll receive coloring pages, song lyrics, vocabulary, a fun fact sheet, and a suggested reading list in an electronic goody bag! This session focuses on creatures that wake up a nightfall and spend their waking hours in the dark!

When: 
Friday, October 14, 2016 9:30-11am

Downrig or Die!

Celebrate 400 Years of Maritime History at Derby Wharf in Salem Massachusetts! V

Salem Maritime National Historic Site will be celebrating sailing, ships, and our maritime heritage. Details about activities are coming soon. (Sneak peak! Activities will include sails of the Essex built schooners Fame and Ardelle, activities and lectures at St. Joseph Hall, and a social at Victoria's Station from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.) 

When: 
Saturday, November 5, 2016 Noon-9pm

Create a Woodland Creature for Preschoolers

Preschoolers will make their own version of a woodland creature at Mass Audubons' Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburport! Photo: Bill O'Connor

Join Joppa Flats Education Center with your pre-schooler for an adventure to collect acorns, pine cones, lichen, bark, and moss at Newburyport's Moseley Pines. Then, we'll put imagination together with these wonderful natural materials, and you and your child will create a new woodland creature friend with what we find! You'll go home with a new excitement for finding natural treasures and turning them into creative projects.

When: 
Thursday, October 13, 2016 10-11:30am
Location: 

Trail Blazing Trek

Join Mass Audubon naturalists on a hike some of the less travelled trails at IRWS.

Ipswich River Sanctuary invites you to come explore! Looking to get off the beaten path and take "the one less traveled?" Haven't yet hiked alll 12 miles of our sanctuary's interconnected trails? Have a yearning to explore places like Hassocky Meadow or White Pine Loop? Come with us as we trek some of the sanctuary's less frequented trails to discover new sights and sounds in these spectacular habitats.

When: 
Saturday, October 1, 2016 1:30 pm - 3pm

Rail Trail Bike Ride

Bike the Rail Trail from Topsfield to Danvers and back as part of Trails and Sails!

Join ECTA Trail Steward and Topsfield Rail Trail Committee Chairman Joe Geller as he leads us on a bike tour of the Topsfield Linear Common Rail Trail through Topsfield, Wenham, Danvers and Peabody.  We will begin at the Town Hall parking lot in Topsfield at 9 a.m. and ride to Lowell Street in Peabody.  We'll stop for a short break at Karl's Sausage Kitchen off Lowell Street in Peabody for rest rooms for about 20 minutes before returning to Topsfield.  This is a great chance to discover a fantastic and safe multi-use path you never knew was there!!

When: 
Sunday, September 25, 2016 9am - Noon

Maritime Archaeology and Heritage on the Wharf

Celebrate 400 Years of Maritime History at Derby Wharf in Salem Massachusetts!

Join the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and Dr. Calvin Mires, Co-Founder and Instructor of Seafaring Education and Maritime Archaeological Heritage Program (SEAMAHP) in bringing maritime heritage to life through hands-on activities. Although we won't actually be practicing archaeology, visitors young and old will have the opportunity to use the tools and methods of archaeological research, survey and documentation.

When: 
Saturday, September 24, 2016, 11am-4pm (Open Doors)

Imagine, Sing, & Learn 8A: Moths, Caterpillars and Butterflies

Learn about butterflies, where they are going and what they eat at Joppa Flats.

My Oh My Butterfly is an interactive program where your youngster can learn about butterfly habitat, food and migration.  Learn about different kinds of butterflies found on the North Shore, how to spot them and what will attract them.

When: 
Thursday, August 18, 2016 1-2:30pm

Nature Adventures with Picture Books: Butterflies

Learn about butterflies at the MassAudubon Ipswich River wildlife Sanctuary!

Rita Gallant, Lead Field Teacher at IRWS will read Festive Occasions - Special Event Rental Equipment by Joanne Ryder. Let's find out what butterflies live in our area. Using sweep nets and hand lenses, we'll observe butterflies in the gardens and fields of the sanctuary. Become a butterfly as we learn about the life cycles of these fluttering marvels.

When: 
Tuesday, August 2, 2016 9:30-11:00 am

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Brookwood School Summer Program for kids Pre-K through 9 in Manchester Massachusetts

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

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

CraneExplorer: Family Full Moon Hike in the Dunes

Walk through the Crane Wildlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts with the Trustees under the full moon.
There is almost nothing more peaceful than a evening walk at the Crane Estate, and we would like to invite your family to join us for a unique hiking experience. With the full moon rising over the Atlantic, we’ll start with a sunset stroll along Crane Beach admiring this spectacle before heading...
4:00 pm to 6:00 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
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