with James Lowenthal, Professor of Astronomy at Smith College and active in the International Dark-Sky Association Friday, September 29, 7:15pm Saturday, October 21, 7:00pm Friday, November 10, 6:30pm Saturday, December 2, 6:30pm FREE, Registration appreciated James will provide telescopes and help us view constellations, planets, galaxies and stars from our Hitchcock hilltop. We’ll discuss what we […]

with Ted Watt and Nancy Goodman, naturalists Saturday, Sept 30, 9am-2pm* Members $25/Non-members $35 Space is limited. Registration required. Join Nancy and Ted for another look at our Massachusetts oaks and hickories species. We have gathered leaves, twigs and nuts from the various species and will carefully review them with you. These species groups are extremely […]

Sundays once per month, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon (some class times may vary depending on topics) Members $275/Non-members $325 for the full course Drop-in cost is $27. For the Plum Island field trip, the drop-in cost is $45. Register here Join us for our fourth year of offering an in-depth natural history course for naturalists […]

From chipmunk stripes to ladybug spots, spiral seashells to sunflowers, patterns are everywhere you look in nature. In this homeschool class we will discover what makes a pattern and find out how these designs can help animals, plants and people. We’ll explore animal patterns such as stripes, spots, camouflage and more subtle designs such as […]

Did you ever wonder how fiber becomes thread? Do you want to learn how to turn grass into ice cream? In such a product-oriented society, it is easy to lose connection with how things are made and the origins of the things we use every day. By researching the path of how a product is […]

Wednesdays, October 4, 11, 18, 25, 1:30pm – 2:30pm Registration required Hampshire College and the Hitchcock Center are working together to train docents in the Living Building Challenge and to lead innovative building tours for the public and special groups at our two new LBC buildings. Each building is a valuable educational tool to teach […]

Hitchcock’s Nature Play Afterschool Program for children ages 6–9 is all about getting kids outside to run, jump, climb, splash, invent, imagine, play and be a free-range kid. There are many positive impacts of nature play on children’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical well-being. It’s also an effective way to build a generation of committed […]

Sometimes you just need to run, explore and play! That’s what we do at Girls into the Wild, and lots more. Now going into its fourth year, Girls into the Wild is designed to get girls outside, playing and engaging with nature in their own way. Instructor Katie Koerten strives to offer games and activities […]

with Jessica Schultz, Living Building Challenge Ambassador Thursday, October 5, 7pm-8:30pm FREE, Registration appreciated The Hitchcock Center took the Living Building Challenge in building its new building. The Challenge is an innovative philosophy that asks us, “What does good look like?” What does it mean to build healthy homes and communities that are regenerative, socially and environmentally just? […]

Welcome fall and all its colors at nature preschool at the Hitchcock Center with Colleen! Children will fill their art palettes with many colors and discover how colors affect animals, plants and their own lives. Through movement, songs, crafts and live animal observations, children will investigate camouflage, natural plant dyes, plant patterns, chlorophyll and much […]