Toddlers

Meet Backyard Birds

What birds come to your yard in the winter? Find out at Joppa Flats Education Center!

Drop in at Joppa Flats for an up-close winter wildlife experience! On select weekend and school vacation days, Joppa Flats volunteer Deb La Roy presents demonstrations on bird research and banding. After capturing wild birds in the Joppa backyard, Deb brings them inside to measure, weigh, examine, and then release them. The unique band that Deb places carefully on each bird’s leg connects other bird researchers with the data she’s collected. You’ll learn about your own backyard birds and why they’re here while watching scientific research in action.

When: 
Fridays, January 13 & 20, 2017 10:30-1:30

Vacation Family Treks & Trails: Hawks, Owls & Eagles

Come explore the world of predatory raptors and birds on the North Shore!

What raptor is that flying overhead? How do birds stay warm all winter? Do you know how to identify an animal's tracks? Come find out as we guide you on a winter walk to keep minds and bodies active with group games, family challenges, and lots of great wildlife and bird sightings. We'll meet at Joppa Flats, then hop into our cars and head out for the day's adventure. All field equipment will be provided. Join us for one or more of these fun family programs during the holidays!

When: 
Wednesday December 28, 2016 1-3pm

Imagine, Sing & Learn: Ready for Winter!

Kids will learn about how animals get ready for Winter months at Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport

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 week we'll be focusing on how animals and other creatures keep warm in the wild.

When: 
Friday, December 10, 2016 9:30-11pm

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

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: 

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

Birds of the Shore Cruise

The River to the Sea Shorebirds Cruise aboard the Yankee Clipper will focus on t

Join Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center for an exciting exploration of the lower Merrimack River ecosystem aboard Newburyport Harbor Tours Inc.'s Yankee Clipper! Teacher Naturalist, Lisa Hutchings will provide her expert pair of eyes to help your family find all the exciting sights and sounds of the marshes and varied habitats of  the Merrimack estuary as you cruise along the Merrimack River.

When: 
Saturday, July 9, 2016 8:45-10:45am

Imagine, Sing, & Learn 6C: Hermits, Sea Stars & Snails

What lives in the tidal pools?  find out at Joppa Flats Education Center!

This parent/child program is designed for the creative, curious, and active preschooler who loves animals. 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!

When: 
Friday, June 24, 2016 10-11:30am

Tide Pool Explorers at Sandy Point

Low tide is the perfect time for tide pooling at Sandy Point Reservation!

Join the Interpreter too explore the tide pools at SSandy Point! We will be looking at ddifferent organisms that inhhabit the pools such as crabs, sand dollars, starfish, periwwinkles, and many more! Meet at the first parking lot near thee beach entrance. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Parking at Sandy Pooint is limited. All prograams are free and open to the public, and are being run as drop-in programs. Coantact Taylor Beaton for more information at 617.372.6730.

When: 
June 21-24, 2016 8-11am

Pages

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

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Boston Bruins Annual Pajama Drive

Drop off new pajama donations at libraries across the North Shore of Massachusetts as part of the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
The Boston Bruins will be hosting their 19th annual PJ Drive with the goal of collecting 10,000 pairs of pajamas from February 1st - March 15th, 2026. The drive will benefit Cradles to Crayons and Wonderfund MA, two non-profits that ensure positive living conditions for children. Local businesses...
7:00 am to 9:00 pm

Read to a Dog at APL

Kids are invited to read to a dog at Amesbury Massachusetts Public Library. Image generated with AI.
The Amesbury Public Library invites kids to come read to a dog at the Library! Read to a dog to help improve reading skills and get comfortable with reading aloud with only a very cuddly dog to hear you! This program will have Gus, a certified reading dog, and his caretaker at the library in our...
3:45 pm to 4:30 pm

Dungeons & Dragons at the G.A.R. Library

Dungeons and Dragons at the GAR Memorial Library in West Newbury Massachusetts
Come to this ongoing campaign using The Dragon of IceSpire Peak. Bring your own character, play one of ours,  or we can help you create one. All are welcome.
4:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Stargazing at Mendel Observatory

Mendel Observatory, with the support of volunteers from the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club, hosts public stargazing every Wednesday night
The Observatory, with the support of volunteers from the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club, hosts public stargazing every Wednesday night (weather permitting) starting at dusk or 7:30 pm, whichever is later.  When special astronomical events of interest occur (total lunar eclipses, etc.) the Obs
7:00 pm

Thursday, February 26

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Afterschool Chess Club at Abbot Library

Kids can play clocked chess matches against each other each Wednesday at the Abbot Public Library in Marblehead Massachusetts
Students in grades 2-5 are welcome to come to this informal chess club to practice by playing with others also interested in developing their skills and sharing an interest in chess. The class will be held on Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. with facilitator Ben Konoff and his daughter,...
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

LEGO Club at Danvers Library

LEGO club at Danvers Library Massachusetts
Peabody Institute Library - Danvers invites kids to an afternoon of building and fun! Activities will include free build, themes and instructional design. All structures will remain on display in the Children’s Room till the following weeks's session
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Friday, February 27

Boston Bruins Annual Pajama Drive

Drop off new pajama donations at libraries across the North Shore of Massachusetts as part of the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
The Boston Bruins will be hosting their 19th annual PJ Drive with the goal of collecting 10,000 pairs of pajamas from February 1st - March 15th, 2026. The drive will benefit Cradles to Crayons and Wonderfund MA, two non-profits that ensure positive living conditions for children. Local businesses...
7:00 am to 9:00 pm

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Kidleidoscope at Breakheart Reservation

Kidleidoscope is a program designed for preschoolers at Breakheart Reservation in Saugus Massachusetts
Come join our park interpreter for a story time and nature walk! Complete a small craft and explore the woods! Walks are gently paced and approximately 1 mile, though not accessible for strollers. Appropriate for families with children 3-5 years old. Meet at the Visitor Center.
10:30 am to 11:30 am

Saturday, February 28

Boston Bruins Annual Pajama Drive

Drop off new pajama donations at libraries across the North Shore of Massachusetts as part of the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
The Boston Bruins will be hosting their 19th annual PJ Drive with the goal of collecting 10,000 pairs of pajamas from February 1st - March 15th, 2026. The drive will benefit Cradles to Crayons and Wonderfund MA, two non-profits that ensure positive living conditions for children. Local businesses...
7:00 am to 9:00 pm

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: The Castle Hill Hike

CraneOutdoors: The Castle Hill Hike at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachusetts
Come explore the lesser-visited corners of Castle Hill and its surroundings with us this season. This hike is a CraneOutdoors guide favorite because it’s got a little bit of all the things that make the Crane Estate such a special place…
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Maple Stroll at Appleton Farms

Appleton Farms has their own sugar maple syrup production facilities to service their abundant suplly from their many sugar maples
Visit the historic maple stand and sugar shack at Appleton Farms and learn all about maple sugaring, its history at the farm and in New England, and how you can try your hand at it at home!
11:00 am to 2:15 pm
Subscribe to Toddlers