Science

Plankton Safari

Come to Maritime Gloucester and discover what lives near the bottom of the oceanic food chain using digital microscopes! Join Maritime Gloucester’s education and aquarium staff as we take a deep dive into some of the ocean’s smallest, yet most important, organisms. Learn about plankton’s vital role in the marine ecosystem, and look under our microscopes to see what local species you can identify!. Recommended for ages 7 and up.

When:

Tuesdays & Thursdays through August 22, 2024 10:30-3:30pm

Location:

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Owls & Ice Cream at APL

Owls & Ice Cream at the Public Library in Amesbury Massachusetts with Eyes On Owls

Come celebrate summer! Everyone is welcome! Families and kids of all ages! Enjoy free ice cream sundaes from Hodgie's Ice Cream (served by your Library Trustees and funded by the Friends of the Amesbury Library) Enter a raffle to win our summer creature! Play lawn games! Get a free book! AND watch an amazing LIVE owl show with Eyes on Owls! Learn about this birds, how they live, and how we can protect them! No registration required! This program is outdoors so bring a chair or blanket to sit on! If the weather is bad, this will be postponed!

When:

Tuesday, August 13, 2024 6:30pm

Location:

Manchester Public Library

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Tide Pool Exploration at Halibut Point

The tide pools at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport Massachusetts are some of the best in New England!

Halibut Point State Park invites families to join them on a tide pool adventure! See a great diversity of life at the rocky shore. Discover and identify different tide level zones and the unique creatures that cat these habitats their home. Learn about how salinity and exposure facilitate different creatures to live in these zones. Heavy rain cancels.

When:

Saturday, June 29, 2024 11am-Noon

Saturday, July 13, 2024 10-11am

Location:

Halibut Point State Park

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Feed the Beach Creatures at Joppa Flats

You can look at, AND touch the creatures in Joppa Flats touch tank! Feeding time is a lot of fun!

It's time to feed our touch tank animals! Assist our animal husbandry intern team with sorting, identifying, and actually feeding our live marine creatures. Feed periwinkles and rock crabs from the rocky shore, horseshoe crabs and minnows from the salt marsh and hermit crabs and shrimp from the sandy beach. Sign up for one or more and learn all about our creatures fascinating behaviors.

When:

Wednesdays, June 12 & 26, 2024 4-5:30pm

Wednesdays in July 2024 4-5:30pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Teen Volunteer Training Program

Join Mass Audubon for a volunteer training opportunity for teens with instructors from Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport Massachusetts!

Teen Volunteers recieve full training on how to assist staff with our public programs featuring live beach creatures and pollinators like butterflies and moths. These young people act as role models for our young visitors and are passionate about learning all about local ecosystems and want to share their knowledge with others on how to protect the environment.

When:

Saturday, June 22, 2024 3-7pm

Wednesday, June 26, 2024 10am-2pm

Saturday, June 29, 2024 3-7pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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On-the-River Cruise for Families

Explore the lower Merrimack River ecosystem with Lisa Hutchings from Joppa Flats Education Center and the crew of the Yankee Clipper

Join Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center on a On-the-River Science cruise aboard Newburyport Harbor Tours Inc.'s Yankee Clipper through the Merrimack River Estuary! Teacher Naturalist, Lisa Hutchings and the crew of the Yankee Clipper will guide a unique cruise where participants will do some birdwatching, examine marine plankton, and investigate tide pool touch tubs on every trip. Enjoy cruising and learning about this vital part of the area's natural history.

When:

Saturday, June 22, 2024 8:45-10:45am

Saturday, July 13, 2024 8:45-10:45am

Location:

Newburyport Harbor Tours

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All Family Field Trip: Birds of the Salt Marsh

Families are invited to explore the Marsh habitat with the Joppa Flats Education Center!

Come explore what nature has in store at some of our most amazing wild places on the north shore. Our engaging and experienced staff will introduce families to local beaches, forests, and wetlands to make observations in nature, identify wildlife, and enjoy hands on science activities outdoors. Sign up for one, some, or all!

When:

Thursday, June 20, 2024 10am-Noon

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Meet Beach Creatures and More!

Discover and explore the facts of the creatures you find at the beach at Joppa Flats Education Center Newburyport

Come to Joppa Flats this summer to enjoy some live animal encounters both outdoors in our riverside yard and indoors in our air conditioned lobby! You'll rotate through different live animal stations at your own pace and stay as long as you like!

When:

Fridays, June 28 - July 26, 2024 10am-3pm

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Drop-in Open House at the Nature Center

Drop-in Open House at the Bradley Palmer State Park Nature Center in Hamilton Ipswich Massachusetts

Explore the Nature Center at your leisure. The Park Interpreter will be on hand to demonstrate and answer questions. Come see and touch animal furs, replica skulls, animal models, and other natural history materials. For little artists, coloring pages and washable markers will be on hand. Open rain or shine. For ages Pre-K and up. This is a great family activity.

When:

Friday-Sundays & Mondays, June-October 7, 2024 12:30-2:30pm

Location:

Bradley Palmer State Park

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Salt Marsh Boat Tour with Parker River NWR

Learn how Plum Island and the Great Marsh were formed and how important they are on this boat tour of the estuary.

Pristine beauty, wide open space, gorgeous views, and the chance to float up and down the peaceful, winding creeks of the world's second most productive ecosystem. Learn how Plum Island and the Great Marsh were formed and how important they are. Boat tours are offered through a private outfitter. More information can be found by visiting the Yankee Clipper Harbor Tours website or by sending an email to info@harbortours.com

When:

Saturday, June 8, 2024 11:30am-1:30pm

Thursday, June 21, 2024 10:30-12:30pm

Location:

Newburyport Harbor Tours

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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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Trails & Sails

Essex National Heritage Area sites will offer over 150 free family fun events from September 14-29, 2024 for the annual celebration of TRAILS & SAILS. Discover special places in your backyard and be guided through unique landscapes on land and sea, explore historic properties, and take in...

7:00 am to 10:00 pm

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Maudslay in Bloom Self-Guided Walk

Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, Massachusetts, offers a delightful self-guided walk that is perfect for families with children. The park's 480-acre expanse, once the Moseley Estate, is rich with historical charm and natural beauty. Families can embark on a self-guided tour through lush...

Where: Maudslay State Park

7:00 am to 7:00 pm

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Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Pingree School hosts the 16th annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit on their campus in South Hamilton, Massachusetts .

Where: Pingree School

8:00 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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Salem Witch Hunt Walking Tour

This self-guided walking tour is designed to help explain the true history behind the Salem Witch Trials. After more than three centuries of storytelling through countless books, movies, and television shows, the line between historical fact and dramatic fiction has become increasingly blurred....

Where: Downtown Salem

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

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Gloucester Gratis Days at Hammond Castle

In keeping with John Hays Hammond, Jr's original vision for his seaside castle-home to serve as a museum offering the Gloucester community access to ancient works of architectural art, Hammond Castle Museum will offer Gloucester residents free, self-guided tours each Tuesday throughout the regular...

Where: Hammond Castle Museum

10:00 am to 4:00 pm

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Paddle Around Historic Rockport Harbor

Come join North Shore Adventures and Outdoor Center for some fun on the water! No experience necessary. Depart from our private beach in one of our safe, stable kayaks or paddle boards and paddle around the historic Rockport Harbor for 30 mins. See lobster boats, Motif #1, the Rockport Break water...

Where: Downtown Rockport

10:30 pm

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Saturday, September 20

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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Maudslay in Bloom Self-Guided Walk

Where: Maudslay State Park

7:00 am to 7:00 pm

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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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The Lady of Salem: Maritime Art

Discover Salem’s Golden Age of Sail as you uncover clues! Celebrate America’s Maritime History! The Ladies of Salem will have you looking up at whimsical and beautifully designed figureheads gracing lampposts downtown. “What is a figurehead ?” you may ask? It’s a large carved wooden decorative...

Where: Destination Salem Visitors Center, Where: Downtown Salem

8:00 am to 10:00 pm

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Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Pingree School hosts the 16th annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit on their campus in South Hamilton, Massachusetts .

Where: Pingree School

8:00 am to 6:00 pm

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Haverhill Farmers' Market

The vibrant, colorful Haverhill Farmers Market is where local farmers and food producers meet to sell directly to the community. Established in 1978, the Haverhill Farmers Market mission is to provide access to farm-fresh products and promote local agriculture, as well as serve as a social...

Where: Haverhill Farmers' Market

9:00 am to 1:00 pm

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Marblehead Farmers' Market

The Marblehead Farmer's Market boasts 15+ local farms, and booths with an educational spin nutrition, vendors and farms selling homemade prepared goods and craft vendors that are switched up in a rotation basis week to week. Additionally there are entertainers and exhibits by environmentally...

Where: Marblehead Farmers' Market

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

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Andover Farmers' Market

The Andover Farmers Market is a vibrant hub connecting local farmers, artisans and the community through the joy of local food. Whether you come for carrots or conversation, it is a place to nourish the body, mind and spirit.

Where: South Church in Andover

9:00 am to 1:00 pm

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Rockport Farmers' Market

The Rockport Farmers Market offers a variety of locally-grown produce, hand-crafted products, baked goods, and live music. It provides a community space to support local farmers and artisans.

Where: Harvey Park - Rockport

9:00 am to 1:00 pm

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Salem Witch Hunt Walking Tour

Where: Downtown Salem

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

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Science

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Saturday, September 20