Science

Sailbot 2013

Robots come in all shapes and sizes, but in Gloucester this June you'll be able to see demonstrations of one-of-a-kind sail boat robots! SailBot 2013 is an international robotic sailing regatta open to student teams wishing to design, build and compete robotic sailboats. SailBot 2013, the North American competition for robotic sailboats will be held in Gloucester Harbor, Massachusetts. This year's event is hosted by Olin College and the City of Gloucester and includes 19 teams, including Gloucester High School, seven other high school teams and teams from several universities.

When:

June 9-13, 2013

Location:

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Touch Tank Time

You can look at, AND touch the creatures in Joppa Flats touch tank!

Summer beach days are over, but our 110-gallon tide pool touch tank is still filled with marine life! Drop in for this free program at Joppa Flats and examine the critters you might have discovered on your own visits to the shore. Sea Urchiins, Moon Snails, Sand Dollars, hermits, Horseshoe Crabs, and more! This free programming for folks of all ages includes special features for little ones.

When:

Weekends September 8-23, 2018 12:30-3:30pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Backpack Babies at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

Backpack Babies is a program that encourages caregivers to explore the natural world with their babies and toddlers. Photo: Sharon Grimes

Backpack Babies is a program that encourages caregivers to explore the natural world with their babies and toddlers. Bring your backpack/frontpack or jogging stroller and explore the meadows, forests, and wetlands with your baby in this four-session series. Each class will begin indoors with a nature book and a few lap rhymes, songs, and games about the topic of the day. Then we'll go outside for a closer look at nature's gifts with our:

Location:

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

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Seabirds and Whales Cruise

Learn about sea birds while whale watching aboard the Privateer IV out of Gloucester, Massachusetts!

Have a wonderful time watching for whales and seabirds on a trip with naturalists from Joppa Flats Education Center out of Gloucester aboard the Privateer IV. Aside from marine mammals, we will look for storm-petrels, gannets, jaegers, terns, gulls, and phalaropes. Most trips will head to the productive Stellwagen Bank.

When:

Monday, September 17, 2018 1-5pm

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CoastSweep: Annisquam River

Some coastal trash is accidental like this lobster pot washed up by a storm.

As part of COASTSWEEP Beach Cleanup, volunteers are encouraged to come to Gloucester to help in the statewide effort to keep our coastline clean along the Annisquam River. Trash collected will be measured and analyzed, and the data will be sent to Washington DC to aid the government in creating legislation to minimize trash in our oceans! This specific cleanup is coordinated by Jamie Mathison and the Gloucester Clean City Commission.

When:

Saturday, September 15, 2018 9am

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Bound for Butterflies

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

Join the park interpreter and special guest Russ Hopping on a walk to view and identify various butterfly species at Maudslay. Russ is an active member of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club and enjoys sharing his knowledge of butterflies with others. Russ is the Ecology Program Director for The Trustees of Reservations. He has worked for The Trustees since 1997, overseeing the stewardship of ecological resources at The Trustees’ more than 26,000 acres.

When:

Saturday, August 11, 2018 10am-Noon

Location:

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Butterflies & Bugs Free-for-All

Drop in at Joppa Flats and meet live caterpillars, moths, and butterflies! You’ll learn smart practices to attract birds and wildlife to your own yard as well as how to 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:

Sunday, July 22, 2018 10am-3pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Imagine, Sing & Learn: Coral Reefs

Coral Reefs are the subject of the next Imagine, Sing and Learn at Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport!

These fun-filled morning programs are perfect for you and your active preschooler! Our structured activities include hands-on science, music and movement, a thematic snack, and an outdoor adventure if the weather complies. Keep learning with coloring pages and follow-up activities to continue the fun at home! This week we'll focus on coral reefs and the special creatures that live there!

When:

Friday, July 20, 2018 9:30-11am

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Eco-Art: Turtle Time

Learn about turtles through art at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary.

Turtles like to live in ponds surrounded by cattails, reeds, and shrubs. We'll take a walk to a pond and observe the different types of turtles living there, and then create our own turtles out of clay.

When:

Thursday, July 19, 2018 9-11 am

Location:

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

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Exploring Science Together: Bugs!

Kids and families are invited to learn about bugs at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Take a closer look and explore the world of minuscule bugs! Learn together through hands-on activities designed to show you how to classify and identify these numerous and diverse creatures! Participate in activities in our incredible arthropods gallery. Observe and touch live invertebrates, and then go outside and collect some of your own. Dig in the dirt and learn how invertebrates help people compost food waste into soil. Create your own scientific equipment that will help you continue the study of entomology at home. All activities are designed to be fun and interactive experiences for elementary age students and their families to participate in together.

When:

Saturday, July 7, 2018 10:30-Noon

Location:

Harvard Museum of Natural History

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Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!

Where: Halibut Point State Park

7:00 am to 6:00 pm

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Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.

Where: Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site

7:00 am to 7:00 pm

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Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Pingree School hosts the 15th annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit on their campus in South Hamilton, MA. Pingree . The exhibit will open in early September with more than 50 temporary works on display in addition to the 20 pieces in the permanent collection of Pingree School. The exhibit ...

Where: Pingree School

8:00 am to 6:00 pm

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Corn MAiZE and Haunted Attractions at Connors Farm - Danvers

Come to Connors Farm to find your way through this year's maze and enjoy many family fun activities! After completing the maze, stay and have some fun around the farm. Children enjoy apple and pumpkin picking, hayrides, and most of all, visiting the barnyard animals.

Where: Connors Farm

9:00 am to 6:00 pm

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Crescent Farm Corn Maze

Imagine the biggest puzzle you’ve ever seen. Now imagine a day in the sunshine with your friends or family. Now add an adventure that takes teamwork and memory skills. All these things and more can be found at Crescent Farms Corn Maze. Crescent Farm Corn Maze trails cut into 9 acres of corn. Inside...

Where: Crescent Farm

9:00 am to 9:00 pm

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Sing & Dance with the Music Man

Come join the fun at Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at 10am for 30 - 45 minutes of great music with Brian Doser! Sing and dance with the Music Man during a family concert, featuring familiar and original tunes, performed by local dad and musician,...

Where: Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham

10:00 am to 10:45 am

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Hallowed Harvest Salem

Salem's only Jack-O'-Lantern festival, known as "Hollowed Harvest: Wicked Labyrinth", returns for its 4th season with even more Jack-O'-Lantern magic than ever before! Prepare to be blown away by hundreds of intricately carved Jack-o'-Lanterns, an epic spider web tunnel, hands-on pumpkin carving,...

Where: Shetland Park

12:00 pm to 10:00 pm

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Saturday, November 9

Harvest Market at Appleton Farms

Join The Trustees in celebration of the harvest season at a special farmers market, featuring a bounty of Appleton organic produce along with a selection of other local edibles & gifts from area artisans, crafters, and producers of fine foods. The Appleton culinary team will have sweet &...

Where: Appleton Farms

12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

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CraneOutdoors: Castle Neck Hike in the Dunes

While just about everybody on the North Shore has probably been to Crane Beach, the dunes of Castle Neck are a much less explored world unto themselves. Offering one of the most accessible dune ecosystems north of Cape Cod, Castle Neck has over six miles of trails, traversing the dunes, maritime...

Where: Crane Wildlife Refuge on the Crane Estate

1:00 pm to 3:30 pm

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Sunday, November 10

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.

Where: Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site

7:00 am to 7:00 pm

♦ Read More →

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!

Where: Halibut Point State Park

7:00 am to 6:00 pm

♦ Read More →

Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Where: Pingree School

8:00 am to 6:00 pm

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Newburyport Farmers' Market

The Newburyport Farmers Summer Market celebrates local fresh produce every Sunday morning rain or shine! Start your Sunday browsing fresh North Shore local produce, meats, cheeses, and seafood in an open air market atmosphere! Food and beverage vendors offer fresh hot coffee, breakfast treats and...

Where: Tannery Marketplace

9:00 am to 1:00 pm

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CraneExplorer: Shipwreck Scholars

Coastal views with a side of shipwreck! Families will be guided on a Castle Hill hike through the salt marsh, dunes, and beach, while learning about local nautical history, including the role of Fox Creek Canal and Robinson Boat Yard in the area’s shipbuilding legacy, and the fascinating tale of...

Where: Crane Wildlife Refuge on the Crane Estate

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

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Cat's Meow at the Crane Estate

Our imagination is one of our greatest assets. Imagine living in 1929 and visiting the Crane family at their summer home in Ipswich. The house is so big and Mrs. Crane’s kitty, Ptolemy, has gone missing just before the party! Can you help a family servant find our mischievous Siamese? Once he’s...

Where: Castle Hill on the Crane Estate

10:30 am to 11:30 am

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Foraged Fall Wreath Workshop at Long Hill

Bring the energy of the season into your home or onto your door with our Fall Wreath Workshop, partnered with bioregional herbalist and foraging instructor, Iris Weaver. In this hands-on workshop, create a 8” to 12” unique wreath using foraged dried plant stalks, pine cones, nuts, acorns, and more...

Where: Long Hill and Sedgwick Gardens

10:30 am to 12:30 pm

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