Great Falls Discovery Center - Turner Falls MA - Children's Museums on Waymarking.com

From their website in part:

"Housed within a complex of old mill buildings in historic Turners Falls, Massachusetts, the Great Falls Discovery Center’s exhibits show the natural, cultural, and industrial history of the Connecticut River watershed. The Center’s four acres of colorful gardens and open lawn with picnic tables nestle into a bend in the Connecticut River to provide a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere and the perfect place for fun and learning.

Inside the main building, exquisite walk-through dioramas show the plants, animals, and landscapes of this 410-mile-long river from its arboreal source near the Canadian border, through forests and farms, past villages, towns, and cities, all the way down to the estuary at the Long Island Sound. A timeline indicates the impacts of human habitation on each environment over time and suggests safeguards to keep the watershed healthy and useful for all—people, plants, and animals—that live here together.

The Center’s charming Great Hall building is a former machine shop, with a high ceiling, brick walls, large windows, and gleaming old wood floors. It is connected to the main building by a corridor whose windows on one side open onto an old canal (once used for transportation, now for power), faced on the other by a mural depicting what is found beneath the canal water rushing by. The Great Hall is used for regularly held art exhibits and special educational programs and activities for children and adults, as well as for the Friends of Great Falls Discovery Center’s monthly live-music Coffeehouses that warm up the room while raising funds that support the Center’s free public programs.

Located in town yet close to nature, the Center is one end of an easy self-guided walking tour of the interesting little town of Turners Falls, with its historical industrial architecture and distinctive geology, restaurants, shops, and old Carnegie Library. The walk and Canalside Rail Trail along the river and canal runs from Turners Falls to Deerfield and is a favorite site for bird watching. A short distance along the other side of the bridge leads to Barton Cove’s picnic area and camp grounds, where eagles soar over the peninsula.

The Center’s building and exhibits are fully accessible and are free and open to the public. It is a Massachusetts State Park operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, with financial and program support from the Friends of Great Falls Discovery Center."

Website: [Web Link] Physical Address: 2 Avenue A Turner Falls, MA USA 01376 Phone #: 413-863-3221 Directions: From the North and South Take Interstate 91, take exit 27 onto Route 2 East/Mohawk Trail towards Boston. Turn right onto Main St. (over the Gill-Montague Bridge). Continue onto Avenue A. The Great Falls Discovery Center is the first red building on your right immediately after the bridge. From the West Take Route 2 East past route 91 to the traffic lights in Gill. Turn right onto Main St. (over the Gill-Montague Bridge). Continue onto Avenue A. The Great Falls Discovery Center is the first red building on your right immediately after the bridge. From the East Take Route 2 West to Gill. At the Route 2 lights in Gill, turn left onto Main St. (over the Gill-Montague Bridge). Continue onto Avenue A. The Great Falls Discovery Center is the first red building on your right immediately after the bridge. Hours of Operation: Currently closed because of Covid-19 virus as of Dec 31, 2020-Normal Visitor Center Hours: Open 5 days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays – 10 am to 4 pm. Open most holidays including New Year’s Day, MLK Day, Presidents’ Day, Patriots Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and the day after Thanksgiving. FREE ADMISSION – Admission to the Center is free. Almost every program at the Center is free. For fee based programs, any fees or registration requirements are announced on our online events calendar. Closed Thanksgiving Day. Closed Christmas Day. Focus of Museum: To show the natural, cultural, and industrial history of the Connecticut River watershed. Parking Coordinates: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
1. A picture of you, your family OR your GPS at either an interesting location inside the Museum or with the name or logo showing from the outside of the Museum.
2. Please answer the following questions in your log as best you can: - What sections of the Museum did you visit? - What was your experience like? - Did you participate in any programs? - What was your favourite part of the Museum? - Are there any amenities you can share? - Overall, how was your visit?

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/28/2021 Don.Morfe visited it