Pre-School

Vacation Week Flyby: Get Ready, Gather, and Go!

Lots of fun activities are part of every Fly-by at Joppa Flats Education Center!

Our school vacation programs offer a wide variety of indoor and outdoor activities while we keep minds active and hands busy during break! Each session offers a different theme, with art activities, experiments, group games, and more. It's free-flow learning for the whole family. Come once or make it a multi-day experience! Fly by for an hour or stay all day for a vacation activity that suits your family schedule.

When:

Thursday, December 28, 2012 10 am - 2 pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Family Flyby: Boats Afloat!

Make your own boat, then see if it floats at Joppa Flats Education Center!

Free-flow learning at Joppa Flats is fun for the whole family. There's simple science fun with coloring pages, crafts, and toys for ages 2 to 6; science experiments and group challenges for ages 7 and up; and outdoor exploration, seasonal live animals, and scheduled family presentations for everyone. Fly by for an hour or stay all day for family time that suits your schedule. There's something different to see and do with every visit! This week, kids are encouraged to be a pirate for the day, learn the skills a sailor needs at sea, and learn about ocean conservation!

When:

Saturday, July 7, 2012 10am - 2pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Family Flyby: Return of the Touch Tank

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

Free-flow learning at Joppa Flats is fun for the whole family. There's simple science fun with coloring pages, crafts, and toys for ages 2 to 6; science experiments and group challenges for ages 7 and up; and outdoor exploration, seasonal live animals, and scheduled family presentations for everyone. Fly by for an hour or stay all day for family time that suits your schedule. There's something different to see and do with every visit! This week we're thrilled to have our touch tank back for the season. Come look AND touch the creature that live in our tank!

When:

Saturday, June 2, 2012 10am - 2pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Family Flyby: Gardening for Wlildlife

What you plant in your yard determines the kid of wildlife that visits!

CANCELED: 5/5 8 a.m. Note to all readers: Lisa Hutchings & Elyssa Davis want to inform you that we had to cancel the gardening family flyby that was scheduled for Sat May 5th.

Free-flow learning at Joppa Flats is fun for the whole family. There's simple science fun with coloring pages, crafts, and toys for ages 2 to 6; science experiments and group challenges for ages 7 and up; and outdoor exploration, seasonal live animals, and scheduled family presentations for everyone. Fly by for an hour or stay all day for family time that suits your schedule. There's something different to see and do with every visit! This week we'll focus on how to make your back yard more inviting to wildlife by choosing the right plants and planting them to create shelter.

When:

Saturday, May 5, 2012 10am - 2pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Family Flyby: Flippered Friends

Learn about animals with flippers, their similarities and differences!

What do whales, dolphins, sea lions, seals, walruses and manatees have in common? They all have flippers! Join us for free-flow learning at Joppa Flats that is fun for the whole family. There's simple science fun with coloring pages, crafts, and toys for ages 2 to 6; science experiments and group challenges for ages 7 and up; and outdoor exploration, seasonal live animals, and scheduled family presentations for everyone. Fly by for an hour or stay all day for family time that suits your schedule. There's something different to see and do with every visit!

When:

Saturday, April 14, 2012 10am - 2pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Family Flyby: Animal Folklore

Brer rabbit and the tar baby is a classic american folktale

When:

Saturday, March 10, 2012 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Family Flyby: Endangered Species Success Stories

Many whales are bouncing back from the brink of extinction!

Come learn about the human impact, the conservation movement, and the local species that have been de-listed in Massachusetts! Lots of hands-on and take-home crafts to enjoy!

When:

Saturday, February 4, 2012 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Family Flyby: Super Birds

This month's Family Flyby will be in conjunction with the Super Bowl of Birding!

This Family Flyby will run in conjunction with the Superbowl of Birding 2024. This competition is a big deal in the birding world, and the Joppa Flats Education Center is going to be brimming with avid birders! What a great opportunity to learn from folks with lots of experience!

When:

Saturday, January 28, 2012 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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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

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Eco-Art: Busy Beaver Builders

Join us as we look for elusive river mammals at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. Photo: American Beaver ©Scott Santino

Experience what life is like as the largest rodent in North America. We will examine a beaver mound up close, and then take a walk to see a beaver lodge, dam, and scent mounds. Discover how beavers continue to change the habitats in which they live and how other species of plants and animals benefit. On our return, we will make beaver dioramas out of natural materials.

When:

Thursday, July 11, 2013 9-11:00 am

Location:

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

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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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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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Shore Country Day School Open House

At Shore Country Day School, joyful learning is the foundation for children’s intellectual and personal transformation. We empower young people to take charge of their own education, and we nurture their commitment to equity and social justice in the world around them. Exceptionally well prepared...

Where: Shore Country Day School

6:30 pm

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Sunday, December 1

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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Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Where: Pingree School

8:00 am to 6:00 pm

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Tree Jubilee at Marini Farm

Come to Marini Farm for the Tree Jubilee fundraiser to benefit The Ipswich Humane Group. Tour the gallery of beautifully decorated trees and wreaths donated by local organizations, families, and businesses then choose the ones you want a chance to win! More than 50 spectacularly decorated trees...

Where: Marini Farm

10:00 am

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Deck The Halls: Hammond Castle

Come to Hammond Castle for the 6th annual Deck The Halls holiday celebration. Hammond Castle Museum will be dressed for the holidays inside and out. Delight in the enchanting ambiance of Christmas and White Birch trees, meticulously arranged garlands, festive wreaths, and the warm embrace of...

Where: Hammond Castle Museum

10:00 am to 4:00 pm

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Amesbury Market Daze

Welcome to Amesbury Market Daze at BareWolf Brewing, a vendor market where local surrounding Amesbury talent and community spirit converge.

Where: Barewolf Brewing

12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

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CraneOutdoors: Sunday Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge.

Where: Crane Wildlife Refuge on the Crane Estate

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

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Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops

Celebrate the Holidays on Thanksgiving weekend with the Cape Ann Symphony conducted by Yoichi Udagawa. The annual Holiday Pops is a musical celebration of the season.

Where: Ipswich High School, Where: Manchester Essex Regional High School

2:00 pm

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Newburyport Santa Parade & Tree Lighting

A Newburyport tradition! As the holiday season approaches, Santa & Mrs. Claus arrive in the most fitting way for this seaport town... by US Coast Guard boat! Welcome Santa on the Sunday after Thanksgiving as he and Mrs.

Where: Downtown Newburyport

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

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Gloucester's Santa Parade & Tree Lighting

Gloucester's Holiday Parade is a great tradition to kick off the holidays! Come enjoy the parade, Santa, and the tree lighting at Kent Circle! Volunteers will line up parade participants at the State Fish Pier on Parker Street at 2:00 PM and will guide them through downtown Gloucester and on to...

Where: Downtown Gloucester

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

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