Exploration

Creature of the Week at Maritime Gloucester

Come to Maritime Gloucester for a Creature of the Week Session on Cape Ann Massachusetts! Photo ©Bill O'Connor

Every week, we will highlight a different ocean animal that lives in our aquarium and can be found in and around Gloucester. Learn some interesting fun facts about the creature as you get up and close and personal through a meet and greet and a take-home craft. For kids aged 4-8.

When: 
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays 10:30-11:30am or 2-3pm

Visit the Saugus Iron Works Museum

Visit the Saugus Iron Works Museum and learn about the history of iron making in Massachusetts

Learn about the history of iron making at the Saugus Iron Works Museum. Exhibits include artifacts excavated during the archaeological dig performed on-site in the 1940s-1950s. See the original 17th century blast furnace waterwheel, an anvil base and hammer head from the original forge, and other tools and items from the 1600s. The museum also includes Native American artifacts that predate European settlement by thousands of years. This is a Trails & Sails event.

When: 
Wednesday-Sunday, September 14-29, 2024 9am-4pm

Saugus Iron Works Tours

Free Ranger guided tours at Saugus Iron Works Colonial Industrial Site in Massachusetts

Join the National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a tour of the colonial industrial site. On select days, you may be able to stick around and witness pop-up molten iron pour, blacksmithing, waterwheel demonstrations, and take part in hands-on river stewardship activities.

When: 
Wednesday-Sunday, June 1 - October 31, 2024 2pm

Saugus Iron Works House Tours

Free Ranger guided tours of the Saugus Iron Works House in Massachusetts

Join National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a 30-minute tour of The Iron Works House. Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site preserves and interprets the first sustained, integrated iron works in British Colonial America, which operated on the Saugus River from 1646 to 1670. Explore the place where European iron makers brought their special skills to a young Massachusetts colony. Saugus Iron Works is a twelve-acre National Historic Site that includes working waterwheels, forges, mills, a historic 17th century home, and a lush river basin.

When: 
Wednesday-Sunday, June 1-October 31, 2024 11am

Explore the Pond at Bradley Palmer

Join the park interpreter exploringt he ponds of Bradley Palmer State Park in Massachusetts!

What kinds of fascinating creatures live in or visit the ponds? Come and explore with the Park Interpreter to see if any creatures are stirring, and if any plants are flowering. For all ages. This is a great family activity! Meet at the ponds next to the Main Parking Lot, 40 Asbury Street, Topsfield. 

When: 
Fridays, June 21-August 30, 2024 10:30am-Noon

Friendship of Salem Open-Ship Hours

Experience 400 Years of Maritime History aboard the Tall Ship Friendship at Derby Wharf in Salem Massachusetts!

Presented by the Salem Maritime National Historic Site,explore the FRIENDSHIP OF SALEM, a replica tall ship based on a 1796 Salem vessel. Learn about the voyages of the original FRIENDSHIP and the lives of the crewmembers onboard. The two-decked, three-masted, square-rigged, 342-ton vessel represents New England’s influential role in the development of global and domestic maritime trade.

When: 
Saturdays & Sundays thru August 2, 2024 1-4pm

Salem Maritime Festival

Celebrate 400+ Years of Maritime History at Derby Wharf in Salem Massachusetts!

Presented by the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the annual Salem Maritime Festival in August hosts an exciting array of free family fun festivities, including live music, traditional craft demonstrations and seaport trade exhibits, story-telling, and family fun! Each year, music, demonstrations, exhibits, and children's activities are available throughout the park and on Derby Wharf in Salem Massachusetts!

When: 
Saturday, August 3, 2024 11am-6:30pm

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Brookwood School Summer Program for kids Pre-K through 9 in Manchester Massachusetts

Children's Craft Series: Cross-stitch Bookmarks

Kids will learn the skill of cross-stitching at the Amesbury Carriage Museum in Massachusetts.
Join us for a fun and creative series of workshops where children can learn traditional decorative arts and take home their very own handmade projects! The first class will introduce the timeless art of cross-stitch.
1:00 am to 3:00 pm

LEGO Club at Danvers Library

LEGO club at Danvers Library Massachusetts
Peabody Institute Library - Danvers invites kids to an afternoon of building and fun! Activities will include free build, themes and instructional design. All structures will remain on display in the Children’s Room till the following weeks's session
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Tuesday, January 21

Music Together - Tuesday in Marblehead

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® of Salem classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

Guided Tour | When Granite Was King!

Find out the story behind the history of granite quarrying at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, Massachusetts!
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 12:30 pm

Wednesday, January 22

Music Together - Wednesday

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...
9:30 am to 11:15 am

Dungeons & Dragons Club at Essex Library

The Essex Massachusetts Library hosts a Dungeons and Dragons club for local kids.
Enjoy a the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons on Mondays, 5:30-7pm with Student Dungeon Master, Gus Hall. Spaces are limited, register early!
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Thursday, January 23

LEGO Club at Danvers Library

LEGO club at Danvers Library Massachusetts
Peabody Institute Library - Danvers invites kids to an afternoon of building and fun! Activities will include free build, themes and instructional design. All structures will remain on display in the Children’s Room till the following weeks's session
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Friday, January 24

Music Together - Friday

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...
10:30 am to 11:15 am

Kidleidoscope at Breakheart Reservation

Kidleidoscope is a program designed for preschoolers at Bradley Palmer State Park
Come join our park interpreter for a story time and nature walk! Complete a small craft and explore the woods! Walks are gently paced and approximately 1 mile, though not accessible for strollers. Appropriate for families with children 3-5 years old. Meet at the Visitor Center.
10:30 am to 11:30 am

Animal Adventures Series: Inside & Out

Come learn about your favorite animals and their habitats at the Joppa Flats Center in Newburyport Massachusetts! Photo: Kathy Crane, NOAA Arctic Research Program
Joppa Flats Education Center invites families for family fun about your favorite animals with hands-on science, songs, a take-home craft and outdoor time, weather permitting. This is a three-week series for young "naturalists" and their adventure-loving adult to learn about animals together. Please...
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Drop-In Family LEGO at HWPL

Wednesdays are LEGO Build Days at the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library
Put your imagination and building skills to the test at this self-directed drop-in program. All ages are welcome with a caregiver.
3:15 pm to 4:15 pm

Saturday, January 25

Superbowl of Birding 2025

The Superbowl of Birding 2025 is a unique competition conducted in Rockingham County, NH, and Essex County, Massachusetts
The Superbowl of Birding 2025 is a unique competition conducted in Rockingham County, NH, and Essex County, MA. During a 12-hour period, teams of birders of all ages and abilities seek out the greatest number of avian species and amass the most points based on the rarity of the birds recorded....
5:00 am to 5:00 pm
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