Astronomy

Early Spring Star Tour

Stars are born, live for eons, and explode in a colorful display of gas & light.

At this time of the year, the night sky is in transition. Although the winter constellations are still on prominent display, they are slowly making their way offstage to the west. Meanwhile, the stars of early spring are entering from the east. What causes this seasonal variation, what are some of the better known stars and constellations, and what celestial treasures are there for you to enjoy through a telescope? This evening's program is intended to help you find out.

When: 
Saturday, March 29, 2014 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Astronomy Observation Night at Salem State

Join the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club at Salem State University

Ever wonder what you are actually seeing when you look into the night sky? Head to the Collins Observatory on the roof of Meier Hall at Salem State University for a free night of star-and-planet gazing with the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club to find out. Collins Observatory is normally open on CLEAR, or MOSTLY CLEAR Monday nights from 7-10 PM.

When: 
Mondays through February 24, 2014 at 7pm
No sessions when shool is on vacation!

The GOES-R Weather Satellite

Learn about the new NASA/NOAA satellite for measuring space and planet weather!

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary invites you to come learn about NASA's and NOAA's newest weather monitoring system due for launch in 2015! The evening's program will be an introduction to our nation's next generation of geosynchronous environmental satellites, as described by a member of the GOES-R Ground Segment team.

When: 
Saturday, November 9, 2013 7:30-9 pm

GAAC 10th Anniversary Party

The GAAC invites you to discover the the world of Astronomy on Cape Ann!

The Gloucester Area Astronomy Club celebrates their 10th Anniversary in October 2013! Come discover the wonder of the night sky on Cape Ann, and celebrate this milestone occasion! The evening will begin at 8:00 pm, and will feature a series of quick 10 minute talks by a parade of speakers, on topics ranging from trans-neptunian objects to the ten best things to see on the moon, from a selection of favorite astrophotos to the presence of water in the cosmos. Speakers will include young Clark Thakuria, Jim Koerth, Barry Yomtov, Alan Winter, Dr. Bill Waller, and a couple of surprise guests to boot. 

When: 
Friday, October 11, 2013 8pm

An Introduction to Amateur Astronomy

The GAAC invites you to discover the the world of Astronomy

The Gloucester Area Astronomy Club invites you to a presentation on the benefits of taking up astronomy! Come learn about the telescopes, how to use them and where to buy them. This presentation is geared toward the general public and is meant to be an orientation for first time astronomers or people who want to up their game.

When: 
Friday, March 8, 2013 8pm

Big Bird's Adventure: One World, One Sky

Big Bird and Elmo introduce kids to the stars at the Museum of Scinece Boston!

The Museum of Science hosts a special planetarium presentation geared to engage kids ages 6 and under in the world of Astronomy! Elmo and Big Bird team up to introduce young children to the start in Big Bird's Adventure: One World, One Sky at the Hayden Planetarium in Boston! Follow along with Big Bird, Elmo, and their friend from China, Hu Hu Zhu, as they take you on a journey of discovery to learn about the Big Dipper, the North Star, the Sun, and the Moon.

When: 
Saturdays through April 6, 2013 10:30am or 1:30pm
Sundays through April 7, 2013 10:30am or 12:30pm

The Northern Lights

The Aurora Borealis seen over Winnepeg Canada from the NASA's ISS

This evening's program will focus on the northern lights, what causes them, and when and how to observe and photograph them. You will learn how to use the Internet to track their activity so that you can determine on your own when observing opportunities will arise. Do not expect to view them on the evening of the program.

When: 
Saturday, November 10, 2012 7:30-9 pm

Venus Transit Viewing at Halibut Point

Veiw the 2012 Venus Transit with the Gloucester Area Astronomy Club

Come to Halibut Point State Park to enjoy a wonderful sunset at the ocean's edge, and to witness a rare astronomical event with the Gloucester Area Astronomy Club. Weather permitting, Gloucester Area Astronomy Club will make their equipment available to the general public for viewing the 2012 Venus Transit. Come for a quick look or stay for the entire show!  Either way you experience a rare natural phenomena in a beautiful waterfront setting! Setup begins at 5pm, and the transit will begin ~6:03pm.

When: 
Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 5pm-Sunset

An Introduction to the Moon at IRWS

View the Moon through a telescope at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

Undoubtedly, one of the fondest memories anyone can have in astronomy is the moment an individual takes in a first view of the Moon through a telescope. You know, of course, that its surface is covered with craters. But did you also know that there are mountains, valleys, and more exotic features?  Join North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary for a close up look

When: 
Saturday, April 28, 2012 7:30-9pm

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A Landmark Summer Experience at Landmark School in Beverly Massachusetts prepare students for success in the fall and beyond.

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

Teen Naturalist Club at IRWS: Spring/Summer Series

Join Mass Audubon for their Teen Naturalist Club at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield Massachusetts!
Explore a variety of local ecosystems, learn more about a wide range of natural history topics, and do real wildlife data collection and conservation projects in this exciting club for teens!
8:00 am to 8:00 pm

Annual Plant Sale at NTL

Newbury Town Library's annual fundraiser palnt sale in Newbury Massachusetts
The Friends Annual Plant Sale is coming. Save the date so you can spring into gardening with perennials, annuals, fabulous raffle prizes, and more!  The Friends will gladly accept divided plants from your garden if you would like to donate. Just send them an email at: friendsofnewburytownlibrary@...
8:30 am to 1:00 pm

Annual Plant Sale | Generous Gardeners

Generous Gardeners is having a plant sale just in time for the growing season in Gloucester Massachusetts!
Generous Gardeners is having a plant sale to just in time for the growing season in Gloucester Massachusetts! Join us for a Plant Sale on Stacy Boulevard on Saturday, May 18, 2024 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The event will be held rain or shine. Locally grown plants plus dahlia tubers will be...
9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Motif #1 Day

Sidewalk Chalk art at Motif #1 Day in Rockport Massachusetts - a day of family fun!
The Motif No.1 Day Festival celebrates Rockport across the arts! The Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce is excited to bring back Motif No. 1 Day, a beloved event celebrating the long history of artists featuring Motif No.1 in their works. The event will be held on Saturday, May 18 (rain date...
9:00 am to 4:59 pm

Beverly Warrior Weekend

Warrior Weekend at Beverly Massachusetts HighSchool
Warrior Weekend is a two day event that pays tribute to veterans through demonstrations and other events for the community. There will be all kinds of military hardware on site including tanks!
9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Motif #1 Day 5k & Fun Run

The Motif #1 5k run takes place on Motif #1 Day in Rockport, Massachusetts
This 5k Road Race and Kid's Fun Run is a great way to kick off Motif #1 Day! The 5k road race and 1 mile fun run that starts and ends at T Wharf in beautiful downtown Rockport. Run the race and then spend the day with your family enjoying the fun, food and entertainment of the day-log festival.
9:00 am to 10:30 am

Music Together - Saturday

Marblehead, Beverly Farms, Hamilton, Salem, Peabody Music Together
Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45 minutes...
9:15 am to 11:15 am

Birds, Bees & Butterflies - Family Nature Series Cox Reservation

Essex County Greenbelt Association hosts an Exploration Workshop for families at Cox Reservation in Essex Massachusetts!
Essex County Greenbelt Association invites families to Cox Reservation for a fun session that's all about bees! This show and tell event introduces children of all ages to the importance of bees and other pollinators. Fun and educational activities scattered around the property.
10:00 am to 1:00 pm

Sing & Dance with the Music Man

Sing & Dance with the Music Man Brian Doser in Hamilton visit Massachusetts
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,...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

Home & Food Truck Show | Topsfield

Home and Food Truck show at the Topfield Fairground in Massachusetts
April 20th & 21st. FREE admission and FREE parking. All INDOORS & Enjoy the Food Trucks outside. Speak to leading home industry professionals to plan your spring home projects.
10:00 am to 6:59 pm

Swan Boat Rides in Boston Public Garden

Swan Boat Boston North Shore Parent, North Shore Parents Summer Activities Guide
The Public Garden may be one of the most ideal picnicking locations in Boston. Well-groomed and overflowing with tulips, cherry-trees, with willows cascading over the duck pond, the Boston Public Garden is a great place to relax during Boston's most beautiful season.
10:00 am to 3:59 pm

CraneExplorer: Animals in the Estuary

Families are invited to join us for an exploration of the Castle Hill grounds in Ipswich Massachusetts
Take in beautiful views of the Crane Wildlife Refuge while learning about estuary flora and fauna and environmental conditions at the Crane Boat Dock. Families will conduct measurements of water quality and weather, census native vs. Non-native crabs, collect and observe plankton using field...
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Salamander Meander

What kind of Salamanders will we find at Mass Audubon's Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary? Photo: Mass Audubon
April is the month when frogs, toads, and salamanders return to wetlands and lay their eggs. We'll search the sanctuary's vernal pools, ponds, and woodlands for a variety of amphibians that are the on the move. If we're lucky, we might see Wood Frog and Spotted Salamander eggs and catch a few...
10:00 am to 11:30 am

Befriend the Barnyard

Befriend the Barnyard is a hands-on barnyard experience at the Trustees of Reservations' Appleton Farms in Ipswich Massachusetts
Discover our special barnyard animals! Our Angora rabbits Violet, Mabel, Oiver and Charles; Nubian goats Maeve, Morgana, and Mordred; dairy cows Gray, Jasmine, their calves Gigi and Joanie and our friendly flock of heritage chickens will take center stage as we learn about what makes them so unique...
11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Guided Tour | When Granite Was King!

Find out the story behind the history of granite quarrying at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport!
Halibut Point State Park is also a granite quarry with a history that goes back billions of years! Over one hundred years ago, the Rockport Granite Company quarried granite stone here.
11:00 am to 12:00 pm

Bluey's Big Play

Boch Center Wang Theatre
When Dad feels like a little bit of Sunday afternoon time out, Bluey and Bingo have other plans! Join them as they pull out all of the games and cleverness at their disposal to get Dad off that bean bag. BLUEY'S BIG PLAY is a brand-new theatrical adaptation of the Emmy® award-winning children’s...
11:00 am to 6:00 pm

Gloucester Public School Arts Festival

Gloucester Student Arts Festival showcases multiple forms of art created by the students of Gloucester Massachusetts
The Gloucester Education Foundation and Gloucester Public Schools are thrilled to host the Gloucester Student Arts Festival, a day-long celebration of the arts in the Gloucester Public Schools!
11:00 am to 4:00 pm

Long Hill Garden Tours

Tour the Gardens at the Trustees of Reservations Long Hill Gardens in Beverly, Massachusetts!
The Trustees of Reservations invite you to join our expert guides for a tour around Long Hill’s stunning Sedgwick Gardens and learn more about the special plants it’s most known for. In addition to learning about what plants are in bloom as well as the rare and unique species in our collection, you...
11:00 am to 12:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Castle Neck Hike in the Dunes

Hiking the Dunes at the Crane Wildlife refuge with the Trustees of Reservations.
While just about everybody on the North Shore has probably been to Crane Beach, the dunes of Castle Neck are a much less explored world unto themselves. Offering one of the most accessible dune ecosystems north of Cape Cod, Castle Neck has over six miles of trails, traversing the dunes, maritime...
1:00 pm to 3:30 pm

TitO presents Petrushka's Puppet Theater

Theater in the Open presents Petrushka's Puppet Theater at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts
Come one! Come all! Join us in Maudslay State Park for Petrushka and the Catapillar! What happens when your favorite stories need a new ending? Everyone's favorite clown upends iconic fables and fairytales in our signature storytelling style – with tons of imagination, humor, and heart. Join...
2:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Cow Connection at Appleton Farms

Join The Trustees of Reservations at Appleton Farms for Cow Connection in Ipswich Massachusetts
Come and meet, cuddle, brush, scratch, talk, and sit with our hand-raised cows at Appleton Farms! The mild heart rate and warm body temperature of the cows induces a slowing of our own heart rate, as well as the release of Oxytocin, our social bonding hormone. Visit our scenic and historic dairy...
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Wednesday, May 22

Swan Boat Rides in Boston Public Garden

Swan Boat Boston North Shore Parent, North Shore Parents Summer Activities Guide
The Public Garden may be one of the most ideal picnicking locations in Boston. Well-groomed and overflowing with tulips, cherry-trees, with willows cascading over the duck pond, the Boston Public Garden is a great place to relax during Boston's most beautiful season.
10:00 am to 3:59 pm

We Walk the Woods!

Walk the trails in a group at Harold Parker State Forest Every Wednesday at 10am
Walk the trails with a group at Harold Parker State Forest every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. – Meeting location varies weekly. Email trek.reef@mass.gov for location.
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Home & Food Truck Show | Topsfield

Home and Food Truck show at the Topfield Fairground in Massachusetts
April 20th & 21st. FREE admission and FREE parking. All INDOORS & Enjoy the Food Trucks outside. Speak to leading home industry professionals to plan your spring home projects.
10:00 am to 6:59 pm

LEGO-Palooza at North Shore Children's Museum

Kids are invited to a freestyle LEGO buiild session
Come and build Legos with us at NSCM! With TONS of Legos available, come and build your creations. This will be a casual club where all participants can follow whatever direction their engineering intuition takes them, we will not be teaching how to make specific models.
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

D&D (Tween Session) at Amesbury Library

Dungeons and Dragons for Tweens at the Public Library in Amesbury Massachusetts
Come play in a Dungeons and Dragons ongoing campaign! You'll create your own characters and build the story session to session. Come if you're a beginner or if you know the rules. All are welcome!  Registration is required and is for all 7 weeks.
10:00 am to 12:00 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, May 23

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

Swan Boat Rides in Boston Public Garden

Swan Boat Boston North Shore Parent, North Shore Parents Summer Activities Guide
The Public Garden may be one of the most ideal picnicking locations in Boston. Well-groomed and overflowing with tulips, cherry-trees, with willows cascading over the duck pond, the Boston Public Garden is a great place to relax during Boston's most beautiful season.
10:00 am to 3:59 pm

Sing & Dance with the Music Man

Sing & Dance with the Music Man Brian Doser in Hamilton visit Massachusetts
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,...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

Home & Food Truck Show | Topsfield

Home and Food Truck show at the Topfield Fairground in Massachusetts
April 20th & 21st. FREE admission and FREE parking. All INDOORS & Enjoy the Food Trucks outside. Speak to leading home industry professionals to plan your spring home projects.
10:00 am to 6:59 pm
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