Tweens

Children 2-5 and their parents, grandparents, or guardians are invited to play in our Children's Room. The children's room depicts Gloucester Harbor and includes 14 wooden buildings, 6 piers, 5 schooners, a dory, Ten Pound Island Lighthouse and various wooden people. Not surprisingly, a 3-5 year old can play in this room for hours.  One of our educators will also read a seafaring children's book during this weekly event. We hope you can join us.

Flowers are for kids, too! Children ages 6 – 10 can accompany their parents and the park interpreter to learn about the fabulous flowers at Maudslay, one of the premier viewing locations in Massachusetts. Meet at the park headquarters on Curzon Mill Rd. Wear comfortable clothing and walking shoes. Children must be accompanied by an adult!

Walk through history at Ravenswood Park! Ravenswood has changed from a main thoroughfare to a forgotten backwoods, and now to our favorite local refuge over time. See the evidence in cellar holes, stonewalls, and carriage paths. Learn the stories of a colorful cast of characters who transformed it into a such special place. Pre-registration requested.

Join Mary Mansur, Cape Ann Waldorf School Kindergarten teacher and beekeeper at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary for a hands-on workshop to harvest honey and beeswax as we learn about the honeybee, and how humans and honeybees can support one another. Learn how the products of the beehive are utilized at Cape Ann Waldorf School  and how the hive and the honeybee can teach people of every age. Participants will bring home a little bear filled with honey.

What would happen if you built a house for fairies? Chances are high that you would see nature's visitors first. After reading Fairy Houses (The Fairy Houses Series) by Tracy Kane, participants will venture out on the sanctuary to create our own homes using natural nonliving materials.

The Fast Chicks 5k is a community fundraiser race that celebrates active women and raises funds for a selected charity each year.  There's also a FREE kids race - a 100 yard dash! Now in it's second year, the race begins and ends at Patton park and funds raise this year will go to the Community Giving Tree, a North Shore organization based in Boxford that provides gently used children’s clothes, equipment, and basic necessities for families in need.

This program is for pre-K level. This is a basic introduction to the forest and a short hike to acclimate children to the outdoors. Recommend bringing water, insect repellent, sun screen, binoculars and camera.

For one weekend every June, the barns at the Cox Reservation are transformed with color and form as paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolor, monoprints, ceramics and pottery, and sculpture in wood and iron adorn the walls, window sills, tables, stairs and every nook and cranny of our rustic barns. Artists generously donate 50% of their sales to support the land conservation mission of Essex County Greenbelt Association.