This Family Flyby will run in conjunction with the Superbowl of Birding 2026. 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!
Have you ever wanted to paint or draw like a real artist? Or did you ever wonder how artists make their paintings and drawings look and feel so real? If so, then this is the class for you! We'll learn how to make birds look and feel light, soft, and feathery. We'll learn to make sea shells 3-D and make trees look like they are growing and reaching for the sky. We'll also learn to make skies with sunrises and sunsets and how to make sunlight seem warm and shiny. Join the fun of learning how to make your own "wow" works of art.
Children ages 4-6 (and three year olds who are comfortable with the setup) are invited to come and play and learn with us for the next 6 Friday mornings. This class is playful, silly, and all about being a child, or a child pretending to be an animal. Each day, focus on a different one of our senses, and learn about local wild creatures that are really good at using that sense. Play games for using each sense, and imagine what it would be like to have super sense powers. Each day, create something original related to our sense exploration, and take it home.
Join the Firehouse Center for the Arts in their support of our amazing local youth and their incredible talent featuring the incredible young talent of Ipswich High School Honors Chamber Orchestra, and opening up with pianist Rachel Ameen.
Come and build a winter monster out of our library Legos! Or play “unplugged” games from 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm. Children ages 6 and up are welcome to drop in afterschool and enjoy free-building to a monthly theme and board games for creative fun.
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.
Eagles, owls, and hawks, oh my! Beat the winter blahs with a high-energy search for birds of prey on Plum Island. We'll start things off at Joppa Flats with a short PowerPoint presentation and some homemade brownies and fruit. Then, we'll bundle up with radios and binoculars and head out to Plum Island to look for snowy owls, bald eagles, and various hawks over the salt marsh, in the dunes, and along the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge road.
Kids and families are invited to the Newburyport Public Library for a FREE showing of Disney Pixar's Finding Dory on the big screen! This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Newburyport Library.
It’s been 67 years since ski-film pioneer Warren Miller first picked up a camera to capture the wonder, adventure, humor, and beauty that is skiing. Since that time, Warren Miller film crews have traveled the globe—from storied slopes to hidden, snow-covered corners—to celebrate all things snowsports.
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!
